Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th June 2024
There will be a new Moon on Thursday 6th. One day either side of that, if you fancy a challenge, you could try spotting what will be a 2%-lit crescent Moon; known as a waning crescent the day before the new Moon and a waxing crescent the day after the new Moon.
On Wednesday 5th the crescent Moon will have risen above the north east horizon by 4am, just as it's getting light. You might be able to identify planet Mars at the same time over towards the east. Please don't be tempted to use binoculars or a telescope though, as the Sun will be rising in the same area.
If evenings are more your thing, on Friday 7th the crescent Moon will be setting towards the north west just as it's getting dark, say around 10pm. One curious thing to note is that a waning crescent always appears to be on the left edge of the Moon, where a waxing crescent is always on the right.
During the hours of darkness, the Moon will be below the horizon and this is a period favoured by astronomers because the lack of light pollution from the Moon makes it much easier to observe deep sky objects - those faint fuzzy blobs like galaxies and nebulas. Last week I mentioned the Summer Triangle which is a great area of the night sky to find different objects that are listed in the Charles Messier catalogue.
The coming week would be an ideal opportunity to dig that telescope out and see if you can hunt down some of them! A star chart to help you find the Summer Triangle and identify some of the nebulas contained within it is available at my website.
www.starsoversomerset.com
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2024
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