5 minute read
Astronomy
The Night Sky
WELCOME TO THE START OF OUR SUMMER SKIES HERE IN FRANCE!
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The Summer Solstice will be on the 21st and is the time when the Sun makes its longest journey across our skies here in the northern hemisphere. The longest day and the start of summer. Even though the nights are all too short to enjoy long spells under truly dark skies we can still experience so many grand things this month. To check out when your skies will be clear and dark enough for some star gazing you can explore the website www.clearoutside.com. You can enter your own location and find out details of darkness hours, observing conditions, moon phases, International Space Station passes and lots more. It is a site I use often when planning a night out (of astronomy that is!). June will be a great month to view the return of Jupiter and Saturn in the mornings, and Venus and Mars in the evening. We can view another Supermoon towards the end of the month and a partial Solar Eclipse on the 10th - making sure of course, you NEVER look directly at the sun.
The Moon and Planets this month (and a beautiful Supermoon)
The second Full Supermoon of the year will be on the 24th. A Supermoon occurs when the full Moon coincides with the Moon's closests approach to Earth. This is also known as 'Lunar Perigee' when the distance
of the Moon from Earth will be 359,956km. While it may not be apparent when viewing, the Supermoon will be 30% brighter than a full Moon when it is at its farthest point from the Earth. This is sometimes referred to - rather nicely I think - as a 'Minimoon'. This month's Supermoon is also known as the 'Strawberry Moon' as this is the time when strawberries begin to appear. It is always inspiring to try and catch the full Moon at these times, even if it won't be strawberry coloured! I hope others are inspired to do a little moongazing too. The exact moonrise times will of course depend on your own latitude. To check this and a host of many other things before stargazing or imaging I use the really helpful site www.telescopius.com. You can enter your details and find out when to get ready for the moonrise over the horizon, a view I never tire of. The New Moon this month will be on the 10th, which marks some of the best stargazing times. On the evenings of the 12th and 13th it may be possible to spot the planets Venus and Mars close to the Geminid stars Castor and Pollux while a thin crescent Moon passes by. Wait for the Sun to set and look low in the west-northwest. Early in the mornings of the 27th to the 29th a bright Gibbous Moon will pass by the planets Saturn and Jupiter. Look towards the south. Although Mars has now faded in
By Claire Wardlaw
Claire Wardlaw, originally from Edinburgh, lives in the Charente with her husband. Since their move nearly 6 years ago, Claire has become passionate about astronomy.
Join us Facebook group Astronomy and Astrophotography France
We’re very excited to have started up this group, a place to share experiences of the night sky in France, for English-speaking residents.
Recently enough data was collected to confirm a new meteor shower which has been named the Gamma Draconids
brightness its red hue can still be seen and compared in colour with Castor and Pollux as they line up in the northwest during the evening of the 2nd.
A Partial Solar Eclipse
While the eclipse will be 'annular' or total for folks in the high latitudes of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, here in France we will experience a partial eclipse when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. What you can observe will again depend on your latitude. For my position here in the Charente just under 10% of the Sun will be occluded by the Moon, starting just after 11am. It will be possible to view the passage of the Moon across the top edge of the Sun around mid morning (depending on your view and the weather, of course!) for around two hours. Please do take great care NEVER to look at the sun directly or while using a camera or binoculars as this can cause blindness. It is possible to view the partial eclipse using specially designed solar glasses which are readily available online.
Astronomy and Space News
When the most recent mission 'Perseverance Rover' landed on the surface of the planet Mars earlier this year, it seemed to me such a positive and uplifting space event in these most difficult times. Looking back through the developments in space exploration it is amazing to realise how far we have gone and how far we have come in the expansion of our knowledge and understanding of the universe. On the 14th of June 1965, Mariner 4 launched towards the planet Mars with the aim of 'simply' carrying out the first flyby (Mariner 3 failed in its attempt). Mariner 4 delivered our very first close up images of the red planet and having only expected to survive for the eight
month journey it continued to provide data for the following 3 years. Another event in space history can be marked on the 16th June 1963 when Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. At the age of 26 and only two years after Youri Gagarine had made history, the young Russian flew into orbit in a Vostok-6 spacecraft.
Meteor Showers in June
Although the June Bootids, which peak on the 28th, are quite variable with slow speeds it is always worth having a look. Any Bootid meteors you see will seem to radiate from the constellation of Bootes. You will need to wait until it is properly dark for your best chance of seeing any meteors. Ensure you have a wide open view of the sky before lying back in a comfortable position. In other meteor related news, a new meteor shower has
