Monday, June 26
Observers of the outer solar system get their first good views of Uranus before dawn during June. The best time to look for this planet is shortly before twilight begins around 3:30 a.m. local daylight time. Uranus then lies 20° high in the east among the background stars of Pisces the Fish. This morning, use binoculars to find the magnitude 5.8 planet 1° north and a touch west of 4th-magnitude Omicron (o) Piscium. A telescope reveals Uranus’ blue-green disk, which spans 3.5".
Tuesday, June 27
The typically minor June Boötid meteor shower occasionally reminds us of its presence. After decades of inactivity, the shower produced up to 100 meteors per hour in 1998. It then returned with about half that number in 2004. Although astronomers aren’t predicting an outburst this year, veteran observers know that the only way to be sure is to actually watch the sky. The shower peaks before dawn today, and conditions should be ideal with the waxing crescent Moon setting well before midnight. The meteors appear to radiate from a point, called the radiant, located in the northern part of the constellation Boötes the Herdsman. This region remains above the horizon all night.
The waxing crescent Moon lies just a degree or two from 1st-magnitude Regulus this evening. The two appear closest from the East Coast; the separation grows the farther west you live.
Wednesday, June 28
For people who live near 35° north latitude, today marks the latest sunset of the year. Although Earth’s summer solstice and the Northern Hemisphere’s longest day occurred last week (June 20/21), latest sunset happens several days after and earliest sunrise several days before. The specific dates depend on your latitude, however — latest sunset at 40° north took place yesterday. In general, latest sunset occurs closer to the solstice the farther north you live.
Thursday, June 29
Magnificent Saturn reached its peak just two weeks ago, when it appeared opposite the Sun in the sky, and our view of the ringed planet remains spectacular. It is on display nearly all night among the background stars of southern Ophiuchus, hanging in the southeastern sky as darkness falls and climbing high in the south by midnight local daylight time. Saturn continues to shine brightly, too, at magnitude 0.1. When viewed through a telescope, the dramatic ring system spans 42" and tilts 27° to our line of sight, while the planet’s family of moderately bright moons appears next to the gorgeous world.