Derekscope

• First Quarter Moon tonight!
  o
• Half-lit and shining bright in the evening sky.
  o
• A perfect time for sky-watching, as craters and lunar details along the shadow line become especially sharp and beautiful through binoculars or a telescope.
  o

• Today marks the Summer Solstice

• The official start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
  o
• The longest day of the year in the UK, with around 16 hours and 45 minutes of daylight.
  o
• The Sun rises at approximately 4:42am and sets near 9:27pm, giving us the shortest night of the year.
  o
• How to sign equinox in BSL?
  o

Venus meets the Beehive Cluster (M44) tonight.

• Look toward the western sky after sunset to enjoy this stunning sight.
  o
• Binoculars may help reveal the sparkling stars of the Beehive Cluster (M44) around bright Venus.
  o
• A beautiful close approach in the evening sky ~ perfect for sky watching and astrophotography.
  o

• A very close pairing of the thin Moon and bright Venus, appearing near each other shortly after sunset.
  o
• Low in the western sky.
  o

• Time
  – Appears in the western evening sky about 21:30–22:30 BST.
  o
• Position
  – low west-northwest
  o
• Appearance
  – small but sharp, may look slightly golden ~ you’ll need a clear, flat horizon (no buildings/hills blocking west).
  o

• The Moon reaches apogee ~ the farthest point in its orbit from Earth.
  o
• The Moon appears slightly smaller and dimmer in the sky compared to perigee.
  o
  o

• Look toward the eastern sky before sunrise on the mornings of Friday 12th and Saturday 13th June.
  o
• Best viewing window ~ roughly 4am or 4:30am BST.
  o
• Binoculars will improve the view, but both objects should be visible to the naked eye if skies are clear.
  o

• Look closely over three nights ~ Venus crosses the sky while Jupiter moves down, like two planets swapping places in the sky in these animated pictures.
  o

• Venus and Jupiter – their closest approach tonight as calculated by Casper Dyne, those two planets were 439 million miles apart!
  Weird ,isn’t it!
  o

• The Moon close to Saturn will be visible in the eastern sky in the early morning on Wednesday 10th June from around 3am until sunrise.
  o