In this episode of What's in the Sky this Month, Teagan reviews some of the beautiful celestial objects you can see in the month of June 2024!
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Messier 5
While it may be a little challenging for beginners to find, it’s worth taking the time to seek out this fine globular cluster. You’ll first need to locate the star Unukalhal (Alpha Serpentis) and then look for 10 Serpentis, a magnitude 5 star six degrees to the southwest. A little more than two degrees due west of that star is 5 Serpentis, with M5 conveniently located just 20 arcminutes to its northwest. (The star and the cluster will easily fit within the same low powered field of view.)
Binoculars will show a tiny misty patch that’s clearly non-stellar in nature, while a telescope at low magnification will show the cluster as being slightly oval, with a small bright core. The halo extends about twice as far as the core, and a magnification of around 80x will resolve the individual stars. Larger scopes and higher magnifications will also show chains of stars.
OUR NEAREST NEIGHBORS
Venus and Uranus are both too close to the Sun to be visible this month, while Mercury makes a fleeting appearance in both the morning and evening sky. You might be able to spot it very low in the east-northeast about 15 minutes before sunrise during the first few days of June, and then again low in the west-northwest about 15 minutes after sunset for the last week of the month. Saturn will be far enough from the Sun to be observable from around mid-month, with the waning gibbous Moon just to its west on the 27th. Neptune may also be worth tracking down during the last week, but only at around a few hours before dawn, when the skies are sufficiently dark and the planet has sufficient altitude. A crescent Moon appears beside Mars on the 2nd and 3rd before the planet moves into Aries from Pisces on the 10th. Jupiter emerges into the predawn twilight and may be visible shortly before dawn from around the 5th. Look for a very thin crescent Moon above it, with Mercury just to its left on that date. The Moon itself turns new on the 6th and then the Full Strawberry Moon occurs on the 21st.
Image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team
Messier 102 - The Spindle Galaxy
Located four degrees south of Iota Draconis, a small scope will show a streak that gradually brightens toward the core. Unfortunately, you’ll need a large scope and dark skies to see the dust lane that runs through it.
Image credit: TheSkyLive.com
Kappa Herculis (Marfik)
A fine double for small scopes, a low magnification of around 35x will show two stars of almost equal brightness. Of the two, the slightly brighter primary appears pale gold while the secondary is white.
Image credit: Alan Dyer - Amazing Sky Photography
Beta Scorpii (Graffias)
Graffias is a nice double for both binoculars and telescopes. Binoculars will show two white stars, while a telescope at low magnification will split the primary star again, with the third star appearing blue-white.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Messier 4
Another fine globular cluster, easily found nestled between Antares and Al Niyat in Scorpius. It’s bright enough to be detected in binoculars, but is a fine sight in telescopes. One particularly notable feature is the distinctive bar of stars that runs through its center.
STELLAR CONCEPTS
Magnification: While a higher magnification will make any object appear larger, unless your telescope has the aperture to capture more light, you’ll find the view hard to focus and you won’t see any additional detail. As a general rule, a telescope’s maximum useful magnification can be calculated by doubling its aperture in millimeters, or if measured in inches, multiplying the aperture by 50. Not sure about your eyepieces? Simply divide the focal length of your telescope by the focal length of the eyepiece you’re using.
