Mars continues to dim in the west-northwestern sky after sunset, and Mercury appears low near the horizon all week. A thin crescent Moon appears near Mars on June 5th, and moves towards the south each day.
The Moon appears by the star Regulus on June 7th and 8th.
Saturn, Jupiter and the star Antares have been slowly crawling across the southern sky for several weeks; Antares sets a bit earlier each morning.
Saturn and Jupiter in the southern predawn on June 5th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.Venus appears very low on the horizon just before sunrise all week.
Venus in the east-northeastern sky just before sunrise on June 5th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.
Earthshine
Earthshine is visible earthlight reflected from the Moon‘s night side. It is also known as the Moon’s ashen glow or as “the new Moon with the old Moon in her arm.”
Earthshine is most readily visible from a few nights before until a few nights after a new moon, during the (waxing or waning) crescent phase. – Wikipedia
The next few days will be the ideal time to try and catch a glimpse of Earthshine!
Earthshine, Jan. 31, 2015. Credit: DYLAN O’DONNELL / Public Domain
The Moon is a waxing crescent,visible toward the southwest in early evening.
The first quarter Moon occurs on June 10th, it will be visible high in the southern sky in early evening.
The Moon from June 4-10, 2019. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.Moon News
The Sun has been spot-free for 16 days… but something with a lot of coronal loop activity is rotating into view; there’s no sunspot under all that activity, yet, but there is a faint plage. Coronal holes continue to remain open at both poles; you can watch one open up near the equator in the video below:
SpaceWeather.com says: “SOLAR MINIMUM CONDITIONS ARE IN EFFECT: The sun has been without spots for 16 consecutive days–a sign that Solar Minimum is underway. Many people think Solar Minimum is uninteresting. Not so. This phase of the solar cycle brings extra cosmic rays, long-lasting holes in the sun’s atmosphere, and a possible surplus of noctilucent clouds.”
That region of coronal activity in the video above almost looks like a bullseye in the video below!
The solar wind speed is 328.5 km/sec (↓), with a density of 9.3 protons/cm3 (↑).
Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-CaltechYou can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.
Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT)
|
Miss Distance
|
Velocity (km/s)
|
Diameter (m)
|
| 2019 KE2 |
2019-Jun-04
|
19.9 LD
|
9.3
|
48
|
| 2019 KY |
2019-Jun-04
|
5.5 LD
|
6.2
|
19
|
| 2019 KS |
2019-Jun-04
|
12.3 LD
|
17.6
|
42
|
| 2019 KA4 |
2019-Jun-05
|
8.4 LD
|
7.2
|
22
|
| 2019 KA3 |
2019-Jun-06
|
4 LD
|
3.9
|
9
|
| 2019 JX2 |
2019-Jun-06
|
13.8 LD
|
7
|
41
|
| 2014 MF18 |
2019-Jun-06
|
8.8 LD
|
3
|
22
|
| 2019 LA |
2019-Jun-07
|
13.9 LD
|
22.3
|
67
|
| 2019 KZ3 |
2019-Jun-07
|
5.7 LD
|
10
|
52
|
| 2019 KG3 |
2019-Jun-11
|
16.3 LD
|
6.8
|
26
|
| 2019 LB |
2019-Jun-12
|
9.1 LD
|
6.1
|
32
|
| 2013 YA14 |
2019-Jun-14
|
14.7 LD
|
11.1
|
65
|
| 2019 KJ |
2019-Jun-14
|
12.6 LD
|
8.1
|
68
|
| 2019 LU |
2019-Jun-16
|
4.1 LD
|
8
|
35
|
| 2019 LR |
2019-Jun-16
|
18.3 LD
|
15
|
34
|
| 441987 |
2019-Jun-24
|
7.7 LD
|
12.6
|
178
|
| 2008 KV2 |
2019-Jun-27
|
17.8 LD
|
11.4
|
195
|
| 2016 NN15 |
2019-Jun-28
|
9.6 LD
|
8.4
|
16
|
| 2015 XC352 |
2019-Jul-01
|
11.9 LD
|
4.1
|
26
|
| 2016 OF |
2019-Jul-07
|
12.8 LD
|
8.5
|
85
|
| 2016 NO56 |
2019-Jul-07
|
3.4 LD
|
12.2
|
26
|
| 2019 KD3 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15.5 LD
|
8
|
89
|
| 2016 NJ33 |
2019-Jul-12
|
15 LD
|
4.5
|
32
|
| 2015 HM10 |
2019-Jul-24
|
12.2 LD
|
9.5
|
68
|
| 2010 PK9 |
2019-Jul-26
|
8.2 LD
|
16.5
|
155
|
Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Table from SpaceWeather.com
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 1983 (last updated May 8, 2019)
Minor Planets discovered: 795,810 (+671)
Asteroid News: Help
On June 3, 2019, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 19 fireballs.
(19 sporadics)
In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). From: Spaceweather.comFireball News:
https://twitter.com/UKMeteorNetwork/status/1134954449322094593
This is the position of the planets and a couple bodies in the solar system:
Solar System News: New Moon for Neptune!
Not sure how I missed this, but….
Imagine how many more moons we’d discover if we had orbiters for Uranus and Neptune!
Artist Concept Uranus Orbiter. Credit: Space Engine / Kerbal Space Program / Bob TrembleyJupiter at opposition: the Earth will be between Jupiter and the Sun on June 10th.
Jupiter at opposition – June 10, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.
OSIRIS-REx
Parker Solar Probe
The Parker Solar Probe will reach aphelion #2 on June 18th.
Parker Solar Probe Aphelion #2 – June 18, 2019. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.Landsat
Climate
Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
Exoplanet Highlight: NGTS-4b
I created the star NGTS-4 and exoplanet NGTS-4b in Universe Sandbox, and let the simulation run – this is what I got:
Star NGTS-4 and exoplanet NGTS-4b in Universe Sandbox. Credit: Bob Trembley
Universe Sandbox: New Physics Engine
Apps used for this post:
NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC. I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions.
Universe Sandbox: a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Includes VR support.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support coming soon!
Section header image credits:
