Astronomy News for the Month of June 2005

• Moon
• Planets
  • Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
• Astronomical Events
  • Meteor Showers, Occultations, Comets, Eclipses, Asteroids
• Other Items of Interest
• Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions
• Mars Missions
• Links and Other Space News
• Astronomical Lexicon
• Universe Today
• Acknowledgments and References
• Subscription Information
• Newsletter Archives
• Items of Special Interest to Ham Radio Operators
• IAAS News
• Web Sites of Interest

Background screen credits: NGC 5775 - Imaged March 21/22, 2001 using the 16" Kitt Peak Visitors Center telescope as part of the Advanced Observing Program.

Moon

Phases

• New Moon on the 6th.
• 1st Quarter Moon on the 14th.
• Full moon on the 22nd.
• Last Quarter Moon on the 28th.

Apogee/Perigee

• Apogee on the 11th, 251,970 mi. from Earth.
• Perigee on the 23rd, 223,490 mi. from Earth.

Moon/Planet Pairs



• The Moon passes 4° north of Venus on the 8th.
• The Moon passes 5° north of Saturn on the 9th.
• The Moon passes 0.4° south of Jupiter on the 16th.
• The Moon passes 0.7° north of Antares on the 20th.
• Venus passes 5° south of Pollux on the 23rd.
• Mercury passes 5° south of Pollux on the 24th.
• The Moon passes 5° south of Neptune on the 24th.
• Venus passes 1.3° north of Saturn on the 25th.
• Mercury passes 1.4° north of Saturn on the 26th.
• Mercury passes 0.08° south of Venus on the 27th.
• The Moon passes 2° north of Mars on the 28th.

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Planets

Planetary Reports generated by "TheSky" software. These reports provide predicted data for the planets for the first of each month for the current year. The rise and set times for the Sun and the Moon for each day of the month are also included in the reports.

(All times are local unless otherwise noted.)

• Mercury - Is in superior conjunction on the 3rd. Mercury returns to the evening sky by mid-month. The 24th will provide an interesting view of Mercury, Venus and Saturn lying within an easy binocular field of view low on the western horizon. Mercury sets at 8:14 pm on the 1st and 10:04 pm by month's end. Mercury shines at a magnitude of -1.2 on the 15th and dims to magnitude 0.1 on the 30th.

• Venus - Is visible in the evening sky once again. Look to the west soon after sunset to spot Venus in the constellation of Gemini. Venus sets at 9:40 pm on the 1st and 10:05 pm by month's end. Venus shines at magnitude -3.7.

• Earth - The Summer Solstice is at 2:46 am EDT on the 21st.

• Mars - Appears in the early morning sky this month. Mars rises about 2:09 am on the 1st and about 1:01 am by month's end. Mars is in the constellation of Pisces this month. Mars shines at magnitude 0.1.

• Jupiter - Is stationary on the 5th. Jupiter sets at 2:50 am on the 1st and 12:50 am by month's end. Jupiter can be spotted in the southwest in the early evening. Jupiter is in the constellation of Virgo. Jupiter shines at magnitude -2.1.

• Saturn - Is low in the west in the early evening. Saturn sets around 11:22 pm on the 1st and about 9:36 pm by month's end. Saturn is in the constellation of Gemini. Saturn shines at a magnitude of 0.2.

• Uranus - Rises at 1:35 am on the 1st and about 11:33 pm by month's end. Uranus is in the constellation of Aquarius and shines at a magnitude of 5.8.

• Neptune - Rises at 12:27 am on the 1st and about 10:28 pm by month's end. Neptune is in the constellation of Capricornus and shines at a magnitude of 7.9.

• Pluto - Is at opposition on the 13th. Pluto rises about 8:38 pm on the 1st and about 6:37 pm by month's end. Pluto is in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Pluto shines at magnitude 13.8. As always, good luck at spotting this one.

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Astronomical Events

Meteor Showers

• The Arietids Meteor Shower - This is the strongest daylight meteor shower of the year. The duration extends from May 22 to July 2, with maximum activity occurring on June 8. The hourly rate is near 60 at maximum.

• The June Lyrids - This shower is active during June 10 to 21, producing predominantly blue and white meteors at a maximum hourly rate of 8 per hour on June 15. The average magnitude of this shower is near 3, while 32% of the meteors leave trains.

• The Zeta Perseids - This daylight shower occurs during May 20 to July 5. Maximum occurs on June 13. Radar surveys have revealed the activity of this shower to be near 40 per hour.

Occultations

• More information on occultations can be found by clicking the IOTA logo.

Comets

• There are 4 comets visible with a telescope this month, comet 9P/Tempel 1 which will be receiving a visit from the Deep Impact probe in early July, Comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) and later in the early am hours, two more, Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS and 21P/Giacobini-Zinner. These comets shine at magnitudes between 9 and 10.

• For information, orbital elements and ephemerides on observable comets, visit the Observable Comets page from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Eclipses

• No eclipse activity this month.

Asteroids

(From west to east)

• Pallas is between the constellation of Leo and Coma Berenices.
• Ceres is in the constellation of Libra.
• Irene is in the constellation of Libra.
• Iris is at opposition on the 3rd. Iris is in the constellation of Scorpius.
• Melpomene is at opposition on the 18th. Melpomene is in the constellation of Ophiuchus.
• Isis is in the constellation of Capricornus.

• Information about the Minor Planets can be found at the Minor Planet Observer web site.

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Other Items of Interest

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Planetary/Lunar Exploration Missions

(Excerpts from recent JPL mission updates)

• Cassini - May 25, 2005 - Odd Spot on Titan Baffles Scientists
  (Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

  "Saturn's moon Titan shows an unusual bright spot that has scientists mystified. The spot, approximately the size and shape of West Virginia, is just southeast of the bright region called Xanadu and is visible to multiple instruments on the Cassini spacecraft.

  The 483-kilometer-wide (300-mile) region may be a "hot" spot -- an area possibly warmed by a recent asteroid impact or by a mixture of water ice and ammonia from a warm interior, oozing out of an ice volcano onto colder surrounding terrain. Other possibilities for the unusual bright spot include landscape features holding clouds in place or unusual materials on the surface."

  Cassini Imaging Team

  For the latest mission status reports, visit Cassini Mission Status web page. The speed and location of the spacecraft along its flightpath can be viewed on the "Where is Cassini Now?" web page.

• Deep Impact - May 17, 2005 - Dirty Ice Balls: Comet Slide Show

  "Spacecraft provide unique views of comets, whose cores consist of the same materials that helped form the Sun and planets billions of years ago. In July [4th] 2005, NASA's Deep Impact will take the highest resolution images ever of a comet when it encounters comet Tempel 1. Our new slide show features comet images taken in space."
  Go to slide show

  For the latest mission status reports, visit http://www.nasa.gov/deepimpact and http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/.

• Genesis - No new news since April 20, 2005 - NASA ANNOUNCES KEY GENESIS SCIENCE COLLECTORS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE

  "Scientists have closely examined four Genesis spacecraft collectors, vital to the mission's top science objective, and found them in excellent shape, despite the spacecraft's hard landing last year.

  Scientists at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston removed the four solar-wind collectors from an instrument called the concentrator. The concentrator targets collected solar-oxygen ions during the Genesis mission. Scientists will analyze them to measure solar-oxygen isotopic composition, the highest-priority measurement objective for Genesis. The data may hold clues to increase understanding about how the solar system formed."

  The latest status reports can be read at the Genesis Mission web site. Find out more about the Genesis mission at the Genesis Mission and Genesis Mission at JPL web sites. Visit Where Is Genesis Now?

• Stardust - No new news since April 06, 2005 - NASA Teams Receive National Recognition -
  "NASA accomplishments in aviation and aerospace were honored at Aviation Week and Space Technology's 48th Annual Aerospace Laurels Awards. Laurel honorees were nominated by the editors of the aerospace magazine for "extraordinary individual and team accomplishments in the global aviation, aerospace and defense industries."

  Stardust LPSC 2004 Abstracts
  "Abstracts of the Stardust science results from the Comet Wild 2 encounter are now available here (Adobe Acrobat reader required): ftp://www.lpi.usra.edu/pub/outgoing/lpsc2004/full07.pdf"

  For more information on the Stardust mission - the first ever comet sample return mission - please visit the Stardust home page.

• Galaxy Evolution Explorer - (GALEX) -
  The GALEX Image Gallery is available at http://www.galex.caltech.edu/imagegallery.html.

  For more information on the GALEX mission - What's New!

• Past, Present, Future and Proposed JPL Missions - http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions

• Visit JPL's mission pages for current status.

Mars Missions

• Mars Global Surveyor - May 19, 2005 -
  Mars Global Surveyor Sees Mars Odyssey and Mars Express

  "NASA's Mars Global Surveyor recently imaged two other spacecraft orbiting Mars, NASA's Mars Odyssey and the European Space Agency's Mars Express."

  Mars Global Surveyor Images - May 19-25, 2005
  "The following new images taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft are now available:

  • MGS Sees Mars Odyssey and Mars Express (Released 19 May 2005)
    
  • Gullied Slope (Released 20 May 2005)
    
  • Martian Valley (Released 21 May 2005)
    
  • Tithonium Yardangs (Released 22 May 2005)
    
  • 4 Mars Years of Change (Released 23 May 2005)
    
  • Mars at Ls 211 Degrees (Released 24 May 2005)
    
  • Looking Into a Trough (Released 25 May 2005)
    
  • All of the Mars Global Surveyor images are archived here.

  Every six months, a new suite of MGS MOC data are archived with the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS).

  Information about how to submit requests is online at the new Mars Orbiter Camera Target Request Site, at http://www.msss.com/plan/intro"

  Newly-released MOC images can be seen in the MOC Gallery, a web site maintained by Malin Space Science Systems, the company that built and operates MOC for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA.

  Mars Global Surveyor has begun its eighth year orbiting the red planet. MGS reached Mars on 12 September 1997. The first MOC images were obtained on 15 September 1997.

  Visit the MGS pages at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/index.html. There are over 134,000 images of Mars from the MGS, check out the newest MGS images of the surface of Mars.

• Mars Odyssey Orbiter - May 19, 2005 - One Mars Orbiter Takes First Photos of Other Orbiters -
  "Photographs from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft released today are the first pictures ever taken of a spacecraft orbiting a foreign planet by another spacecraft orbiting that planet.

  The new images of the European Space Agency's Mars Express and NASA's Mars Odyssey are available on the Internet from NASA at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/mgs-images.html and from Malin Space Science Systems, the San Diego company that built and operates the camera, at http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2005/05/19/index.html. "

  Mars Odyssey Themis Images May 23-27, 2005

  • Meridiani (Released 23 May 2005)
    
  • More Meridiani (Released 24 May 2005)
    
  • Elysium Mons (Released 25 May 2005)
    
  • Cratered Acidalia Planitia (Released 26 May 2005)
    
  • Acidalia Planitia Channel Margin (Released 27 May 2005)
    
  • All of the THEMIS images are archived here.

  The Odyssey data are available through a new online access system established by the Planetary Data System at: http://starbrite.jpl.nasa.gov/pds/"

  Visit the Mars Odyssey Mission page.

• Mars Exploration Rover Mission (Spirit and Opportunity) - May 20, 2005 -
  Spirit Status: Spirit Drives to 'Larry's Outcrop' - sol 483-489, May 20, 2005

  "Spirit finished work at the target "Reef." Over the weekend (May 14 and 15), Spirit performed work using the instruments on the robotic arm on a target informally called, "Davis" on "Jibsheet." Work included use of the microscopic imager, the rock abrasion tool brush, a long alpha particle X-ray spectrometer integration, and a long Mšssbauer spectrometer integration. Spirit spent 2 sols (May 17 and 18) driving to "Larry's Outcrop." Upon arrival, Spirit took detailed navigation camera and panoramic camera observations in support of possible robotic arm work on Larry's Outcrop. Spirit remains in excellent health.

  Total odometry as of May 19, 2005, is 4,368.07 meters (2.71 miles)."

  Opportunity Status: Moving Slowly in the Dune - sol 467-470, May 20, 2005

  "Opportunity continues to make inch-by-inch progress toward getting out of the dune where it has been dug-in since sol 446 (April 26).

  Sol 467 (May 17):
  Opportunity was commanded to rotate its wheels enough to have rolled 4 meters (13 feet) if there were no slippage. It advanced 2.1 centimeters (0.8 inch) through the loose material of the dune.

  Sol 468:
  A commanded motion of 8 meters (26 feet) was executed this sol. Forward progress was about 4 centimeters (1.6 inches).

  Sol 469:
  A 2-meter (7-foot) drive was commanded, and Opportunity advanced about 1 centimeter (0.4 inch).

  Sol 470 (May 20):
  The rover was sent commands for a 12-meter (39-foot) drive. This drive incorporates larger step sizes, lower current limits for the drive motors, and a lower bogie angle limit."

  Landing sites

  Visit the Mars Exploration Rover page.

• Mars Missions Status - New Mars missions are being planned to include several new rover and sample collection missions. Check out the Mars Missions web page and the Mars Exploration page.