Moon And Saturn Align As ‘Space Clouds’ Shine: The Night Sky This Week

Each Monday, I pick out North America’s celestial highlights for the week ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere), but be sure to check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.

The Night Sky This Week: June 24-30, 2024

Just a few days after the solstice, this week has the latest sunsets of 2024. A bad week for stargazing? Actually, no. Sure, you’ll have to stay up until about midnight to get skies dark enough to see stars, but the twilight hours will include fabulous views of the waning gibbous moon close to Saturn and Neptune, plenty of satellites catching the glint of the sun, and even “space clouds” in northern skies.

Here’s what to see in the night sky this week:

Tuesday, June 25: Falcon Heavy Rocket Launch

Today will see the launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It will take the NASA/NOAA GOES-U (soon called GOES-19) weather satellite into a geostationary orbit 22,300 miles above the equator. As well as providing weather forecasts for the U.S, GOES-U is unique in having a coronagraph to image the sun’s corona—it’s mysteriously hotter outer atmosphere only visible from Earth during a total solar eclipse—and so help solar physicists more accurately predict coronal mass ejections and, therefore, the solar wind from the sun.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting a two-hour launch window opening at 5:16 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, June 25. Keep an eye on the SpaceX feed for exact timings, and check the SpaceX YouTube channel for a live feed.

Thursday, June 27: Moon-Saturn Conjunction

In the early morning hours (rising in the east about 01:00 a.m.), the 68% lit waning gibbous moon—at its closest to Earth this month—will appear very close to Saturn. Mars and Jupiter will also be on show above east.

From eastern Australia and north-eastern New Zealand, the moon will occult (eclipse) the “ringed planet” for a few hours, according to In-The-Sky.org.

Friday, June 28: Last Quarter Moon Occults Neptune

This morning, it’s the turn of Neptune—the eighth planet from the sun—to be visited by a 58% lit waning crescent moon, rising in the east at about 01:00 a.m. It’s an excellent opportunity to see Neptune—usually a challenging target—with a pair of binoculars.

From northern South America (northwestern Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela), the moon will occult (eclipse) the “ringed planet” for a few hours, according to In-The-Sky.org.

Saturday, June 29: Darkest Summer Skies

Stargazing becomes difficult with the nights now so short in the northern hemisphere. However, at least the moon is now out of the way. It is now rising close to 01:00 a.m. wherever you are above the equator, the Last-Quarter (or Third-Quarter) Moon—just half-illuminated—will rise 50 minutes later each night.

Sunday, June 30: ‘Asteroid Day’

Today is Asteroid Day, but hopefully, that doesn’t mean any dangerous space rocks are Earth-bound. Later this year will see the “first light” for the Vera Rubin Observatory, which will deploy a wide-angle camera to map the night sky in real-time, helping to find thousands of asteroids scientists don’t yet know about.

Naked-Eye Target Of The Week: Noctilucent Clouds

Twilight will dominate your stargazing, so make the most of it. At their best in northern twilight skies during June and July (at latitudes between 50° and 70° north and south of the equator), noctilucent or “night shining” clouds are high-altitude clouds of icy dust that form about 50 miles/80 kilometers up.

Best seen with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars, delicate NLCs are visible at this time of year because they’re being lit by the sun, which sets yet never gets far below the horizon.

Binocular Target Of The Week: Great Globular Cluster

Ideally placed in the night sky this month is M13, the “Great Globular Cluster in Hercules.” A spectacular sight in binoculars or a small telescope, the closest and the brightest globular cluster—as seen from the northern hemisphere—is about 25,000 light-years distant.

A globular cluster comprises 10 billion years old stars that formed outside the Milky Way and now orbits in its halo. M13 is one of 150 we know about—but it’s one of the best to observe. Look almost at the zenith—directly above—between brights stars Vega and Arcturus.

The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like SkySafari Pro and Stellarium. Check planet-rise/planet-set, sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset times for where you are.

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Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.