May 3, 2024

Don’t Miss: A Planetary Breakup, Hercules Star Cluster, and the Harp Constellation

Enjoy a nice view of the constellation Lyra, which is easy to locate by looking for Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky.

Skywatchers in June will wish to see the worlds Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, the Hercules Cluster, and the constellation Lyra.
Whats Up for June? A planetary break up, prime viewing for a widely known star cluster, and the constellation Lyra.
There is likewise the Hercules Cluster, one of the most well-known globular clusters, which youll be able to see with simply field glasses if you do not have access to a telescope. Delight in a great view of the constellation Lyra, which is easy to locate by looking for Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky.

June is an outstanding time to observe one of the best-known globular star clusters– M13, also known as the Hercules Cluster. Globular clusters are round collections of stars, firmly loaded together in their. M13 itself includes several hundred thousand stars.
The stars in M13 are thought to be around 12 billion years old, which is approaching the age of the universe itself.

The event of four naked-eye planets weve been enjoying in the early morning sky for the past few months– including a number of close combinations, is starting to separate. Over the next couple of months, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus will appear progressively spread out throughout the early morning sky– so much so that Venus and Saturn will make their exits as morning things for many observers by September.
Look for this significantly spaced out planetary precession in June, and note that the crescent moon delves into the lineup on the early morning of the 23rd.
Worlds continue to make a program in the early morning before sunrise in June, with the Moon joining the lineup on the 23rd. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
June is an excellent time to observe among the best-known globular star clusters– M13, likewise understood as the Hercules Cluster. Globular clusters are round collections of stars, tightly packed together in their centers. M13 itself consists of a number of hundred thousand stars.
The stars in M13 are thought to be around 12 billion years old, which is approaching the age of the universe itself. They orbit outside the galaxys disk, taking a trip tens of thousands of light-years above and below its spiral arms and many of its stars.
Find M13 in Hercules by very first finding the stars that form the Keystone, about a 3rd of the method between brilliant stars Vega and Arcturus. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Now, the Hercules Cluster is finest observed with a telescope, and larger telescopes will allow you to see more of the clusters stars. You can also discover it with a pair of binoculars, where itll look like a hazy little spot.
Discover M13 in the constellation Hercules, which is high in the east in the very first number of hours after dark in June.
This image, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals the core of the terrific globular cluster Messier 13 and offers an extraordinarily clear view of the hundreds of thousands of stars in the cluster, among the brightest and best known in the sky. Simply 25,000 light-years away and about 145 light-years in diameter, Messier 13 has actually drawn the eye since its discovery by Edmund Halley, the noted British astronomer, in 1714. The cluster lies in the constellation of Hercules and is so brilliant that under the right conditions it is even visible to the unaided eye. Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA
Appearance for the intense stars Vega and Arcturus.
Discover the 4 stars that make up “the Keystone,” which is the pattern making up the central part of Hercules.
Youll find M13 about a third of the way between the 2 stars on the western, or leading, side of the Keystone.
So have a look at the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, M13, in June, and discover yourself gazing at an ancient event of stars that skyrockets high above the Milky Way.
Lyra is easy to locate in the sky, thanks to the brightness of Vega, which becomes part of the Summer Triangle asterism. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
In June, a fast intro to one of the smaller sized constellations thats house to one of the brightest stars.
Thats the constellation Lyra.
It represents a lyre, or harp, played by the musician Orpheus in Greek folklore.
In Arab cultures, as well as ancient Egypt and India, Lyra was viewed as an eagle.
And the Inca of South America saw it as a llama.
Find Lyra by searching for Vega, which is the westernmost of the three intense stars in the Summer Triangle.
This image shows the remarkable shape and color of the Ring Nebula, otherwise understood as Messier 57. From Earths perspective, the nebula looks like an easy elliptical shape with a shaggy border. However, observations combining existing ground-based data with brand-new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope data reveal that the nebula is formed like a distorted doughnut. This doughnut has a rugby-ball-shaped area of lower-density product slotted into its main “space,” extending towards and far from us. It lies about 2,500 light years from Earth in the Lyra Constellation. Credit: NASA, ESA, and C. Robert ODell (Vanderbilt University).
In the Northern Hemisphere, youll find it halfway up the eastern sky in the first couple of hours after dark in June.
Vega is without a doubt the brightest star in Lyra.
Its the fifth brightest star in the sky and the 2nd brightest in the Northern Hemisphere, after Sirius.
A set of field glasses will help you see the others stars in Lyra, which form a sort of parallelogram hanging below it.
Its in some cases referred to as looking a bit like a diamond ring, with Vega as the diamond.
And thats not the only ring in Lyra. Its also home to the famous Ring Nebula, where a star has blown off many of its outer layers, leaving behind a remnant star called a white dwarf.
Let the brilliant star Vega lead you to Lyra, the harp constellation, in the June sky. And if you see it as an eagle, or a diamond ring, or a llama, well thats completely alright too …