This article is the last one for the 2015-2016 academic year. It always amazes me how fast the year seems to go by.
Keeping up with the tradition of the last 11 years, this article will cover the summer from May until the end of August. Unfortunately, this summer will not rank up there with past summers for viewing events. There are no bright comets to expect, but there can always be a surprise when it comes to comets. There are no lunar or solar eclipses worth watching from Maine. Do not give up hope, however. There are a few things that may be fun to see.
The first big event of the summer will occur on May 9 between 7:10 a.m. and 2:44 p.m. ET. Mercury will transit the sun. This rare event occurs when the planet Mercury passes directly between the Earth and the sun. To view this event, you will need a telescope and either a projection system or proper sun viewing filters. Please do not try to look at this event with your naked eye. Looking at the sun directly is dangerous and can damage your eyesight. To set up your own projection system, go to http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/make-pinhole-projector.html to learn how to build a pin hole projector.
The International Space Station will make several close passes to planets and stars over the summer. These close passes act as easy ways to find the ISS as it crosses the sky. If you can find the star, just watch it and the ISS will slide into view. All of the passes listed below are less than the visible diameter of the moon (0.5 degrees). Special note should be given to the June 11 pass of Spica and the ISS. There is a chance that the ISS may actually pass directly over Spica, the brightest star in Virgo.
05/16 02:26 ISS pass 0.09 degrees from Altair (Alpha Aql.)
06/11 21:58 ISS 0.003 degrees from Spica (Alp Vir).
07/14 03:58 ISS oases 0.24 degrees from Capella (Alpha Aur).
07/19 02:44 ISS passes 0.31 degrees from Capella (Alpha Aur).
07/21 04:11 ISS passes 0.41 degrees from Elnath (Bet Tau).
07/25 22:03 ISS passes 0.32 degrees from Saturn.
07/28 02:43 ISS passes 0.22 degrees from Vega (Alpha Lyr).
One of my favorite events each summer is the Perseid Meteor Shower. This year’s meteor shower should be one of the best in past years. Start watching for the Perseids after midnight on August 10. At this point, you may see about 20 meteors an hour. That count will grow each night after midnight until the morning of August 12. August 12 will be when the maximum number of meteors will be visible. The moon will set a little after midnight, leaving dark skies to watch for the meteors. Between 50 and 60 meteors an hour may be visible. Although the number of meteors will decline each night after the 12th, you will still be able to see more than 20 meteors an hour through the morning of August 15.
THE NIGHT SKY
The International Space Station is visible as follows:
Mornings–May 8 to June 6.
Evenings–May 24 to June 14.
Mornings–July 8 to August 3.
Evenings–July 23 to August 19.
For the times of other events go to www.calsky.com. You will need to register at this site and load your location to be able to get exact times. The University of Maine at Presque Isle is located at 68d00m7.8s west longitude and 46d40m45.6s north latitude.
To get a free sky chart go to www.skymaps.com.
Sun and Planet Visibility
05/15/2016
04:57 Sunrise.
19:59 Sunset.
Not visible Mercury.
04:48–05:00 Venus.
20:48–04:42 Mars.
20:12–02:30 Jupiter.
21:24–04:24 Saturn.
06/15/2016
04:38 Sunrise.
20:27 Sunset.
03:42–04:24 Mercury.
20:30–20:36 Venus.
20:42–02:48 Mars.
20:42–00:36 Jupiter.
21:06–04:00 Saturn.
07/15/2016
04:54 Sunrise.
20:21 Sunset.
Not visible Mercury.
20:24–20:54 Venus.
20:36–00:42 Mars.
20:36–22:42 Jupiter.
21:00–02:00 Saturn.
08/15/2016
05:30 Sunrise.
19:40 Sunset.
20:12–20:24 Mercury.
19:42–20:24 Venus.
19:54–20:48 Mars.
19:54–23:12 Jupiter.
20:12–23:54 Saturn.
05/05 55th Anniversary of the Freedom 7 Launch. Alan Shepard becomes the 1st US man in space–1961.
05/06 Space Day.
05/06 00:07 Moon at perigee–Closest to the Earth (357,800 km/222,400 mi).
05/06 15:30 New moon.
05/09 07:10 Mercury begins to Transit the sun.
05/09 11:12 Mercury at Inferior Conjunction–between the Earth and the sun.
05/09 14:44 Mercury ends its Transit of the sun.
05/13 13:03 First quarter moon.
05/13 14:17 Mercury 23 minutes from Venus.
05/15 01:54 Jupiter 3.16 degrees from the moon.
05/16 02:26 ISS pass 0.09 degrees from Altair (Alpha Aql).
05/18 17:55 Moon at apogee–Farthest from the Earth (406,000 km /252,300 mi).
05/19 12:34 Mercury at aphelion–Farthest from the sun (69.9 million km/43.4 million mi).
05/21 17:15 Full moon.
05/21 20:24 Mars 5.56 degrees from the moon.
05/22 06:25 Mars at opposition–Closest to the Earth (76.1 million km/47.3 million mi).
05/22 21:36 Saturn 3.39 degrees from the moon..
05/27 04/03 ISS passes 1.5 degrees from the moon
05/29 08:13 Last quarter moon.
05/30 21:16 ISS passes 0.77 degrees from Regulus (Alpha Leo).
06/02 21:50 ISS 0.79 degrees from Caster (Alpha Gem).
06/03 02:41 Saturn at opposition–Closest to the Earth (1,349 million km/838 million mi).
06/03 06:48 Moon at perigee–Closest to the Earth (361,100 km/224,400 mi).
06/03 21:00 ISS 0.588 degrees from Deneb (Alpha Cyg).
06/04 23:00 New moon.
06/05 04:45 Mercury at greatest elongation 24.2 deg. west in the morning sky.
06/06 17:30 Venus in Superior conjunction–other side of the sun.
06/09 22:00 ISS 1.2 degrees from Arcturus (Alpha Boo).
06/11 20:42 Jupiter 3.56 degrees from the moon.
06/11 21:57 ISS 0.4 degrees from the moon.
06/11 21:58 ISS 0.003 degrees from Spica (Alp Vir).
06/12 04:10 First quarter moon.
06/15 07:55 Moon at apogee–farthest from the Earth (405,100 km/251,700 mi).
06/16 04:38 Earliest sunrise of the year for Presque Isle.
06/17 01:54 Mars 7.33 degrees from the moon.
06/18 20:48 Saturn 2.52 degrees from the moon.
06/20 07:03 Full moon.
06/20 18:35 June solstice–summer begins in the northern hemisphere.
06/25 20:29 Latest sunset for Presque Isle.
06/27 14:19 Last quarter moon.
07/01 02:32 Moon at perigee–closest to the Earth (365,900 km/227,400 mi).
07/02 12:18 Mercury at perihelion–closest to the sun (46.1 million km/28.6 million mi).
07/04 07:02 New moon.
07/04 11:53 Mars southward equinox.
07/04 12:24 Earth at aphelion–furthest from the sun (approx. 152.1 million km/94.54 million mi).
07/06 23:24 Mercury in superior conjunction with the sun–other side of the sun.
07/07 18:30 Pluto at opposition–closest to the Earth (4.804 billion km or 2.985 billion mi).
07/08 22:30 Jupiter 4.38 degrees from the moon.
07/09 06:11 Moon eclipses Jupiter.
07/10 22:04 Venus at perihelion–closest to the sun (107 million km/66.7 million mi).
07/11 20:52 First quarter moon.
07/13 01:22 Moon at apogee–farthest from the earth (404,400 km/251,300 mi).
07/14 03:58 ISS oases 0.24 degrees from Capella (Alpha Aur).
07/14 20:36 Mars 6.94 degrees from the moon.
07/16 01:18 Saturn 2.68 degrees from the moon.
07/16 18:46 Mercury 30.7 minutes from Venus.
07/19 02:44 ISS passes 0.31 degrees from Capella (Alpha Aur).
07/19 18:57 Full moon.
07/20 47th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing (1969).
07/20 40th Anniversary of Viking 1 landing on Mars (1976).
07/21 02:34 ISS passes 0.66 degrees from Capella (Alpha Aur).
07/21 04:11 ISS passes 0.41 degrees from Elnath (Bet Tau).
07/25 03:47 ISS passes 0.742 degrees from Deneb (Alpha Cyg).
07/25 22:03 ISS passes 0.319 degrees from Saturn.
07/26 19:00 Last quarter moon.
07/27 07:34 Moon at perigee–closest to the Earth (369,700 km/229,700 mi).
07/28 02:43 ISS passes 0.215 degrees from Vega (Alpha Lyr).
07/29 04:00 Beta Cassiopeids Maximum–5 Meteors per hour.
07/29 09:00 Beta Cassiopeids Maximum–6 Meteors per hour.
07/30 04:00 Beta Cassiopeids Maximum–5 Meteors per hour.
07/30 20:50 ISS 1.4 degrees from Deneb (Alpha Cyg).
08/02 16:45 New moon.
08/03 20:06 Venus 4.53 degrees from the moon.
08/04 20:18 Moon 1.52 degrees from Mercury.
08/05 20:48 Moon 1.99 degrees from Jupiter.
08/08 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–6 Meteors per hour.
08/09 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–10 Meteors per hour.
08/09 20:06 Moon at apogee–farthest from the Earth (404,400 km/251,300 mi).
08/10 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–17 Meteors per hour.
08/10 14:21 First quarter moon.
08/11 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–32 Meteors per hour.
08/11 23:24 Saturn 5.84 degrees from the moon.
08/12 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–54 Meteors per hour.
08/12 13:00 Perseid Meteor Shower Maximum–60 Meteors per hour.
08/13 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–49 Meteors per hour.
08/13 21:09 ISS 1.11 degrees from Saturn.
08/14 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–27 Meteors per hour.
08/14 20:16 ISS 0.64 degrees from the moon.
08/15 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–15 Meteors per hour.
08/15 11:52 Mercury at aphelion–farthest from the sun (69.9 million km/43.4 million mi).
08/16 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–9 Meteors per hour.
08/16 17:24 Mercury at greatest elongation 27.4 deg. east in the evening sky.
08/17 04:00 Perseid Meteor Shower–6 Meteors per hour.
08/18 05:27 Full moon.
08/18 05:42 Penumbral lunar eclipse.
08/19 20:04 ISS passes 0.95 degrees from Mars.
08/20 02:16 Mercury 3.8 degrees from Jupiter.
08/21 21:27 Moon at perigee–closest to the Earth (367,000 km/228,000 mi).
08/24 07:26 Mars 4.4 degrees from Saturn.
08/24 23:41 Last quarter moon.
08/27 18/31 Venus 4 minutes from Jupiter.
