This week is the first quarter of the moon.
Universal Images Group through Getty Images
Every Monday, I choose the celestial highlights of the northern hemisphere (mid-northern latitudes) for the coming week, but be sure to check out my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses, and more.
What to see in the night sky this week: June 6-12, 2022
This week is suitable for watching the moon. With our natural satellite in space growing toward its full Strawberry Supermoon phase next week, the night sky will become fuller than the moon. Although the glare will worsen over the course of the week, try placing binoculars on the moon’s surface to see its craters and ancient, dark lava fields called mares.
Illustration of a Gateway in lunar orbit with contributions from international partners.
NASA
Monday, June 6, 2022: NASA’s CAPSTONE mission may begin
Today, the Rocket Lab’s Electron launch window opens, which will send the Cislunar Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPSTONE) technology experiment for operations and navigation into orbit around the moon.
Starting from the Mahiya Peninsula, New Zealand, CAPSTONE will test the stability of a new orbit around the moon (almost a rectangular halo orbit, if you must know) that NASA wants to use for its Lunar Gateway space station.
Tuesday, June 7, 2022: First quarter of the moon and launch of SpaceX to the ISS
Tonight is the last quarter of the moon, when the moon is half lit and rises after midnight. EDT is scheduled to launch at 11:25 a.m. today from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on a SpaceX Dragon CRS-25 cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Thursday, June 9, 2022: Moon and Spica
Stelarium
Thursday, June 9, 2022: Moon and Spica
Tonight in the southern sky with the onset of night you will see 75% illuminated Moon only 5º from Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Spica is the 16th brightest star and is about 260 light-years away.
Sunday, June 12, 2022: The Moon and Antares
Almost 97% of the Moon tonight will shine just above the bright star Antares in the constellation Scorpio. A red supergiant star and the 15th brightest visible star, Antares is 555 light-years away. It is located just above the bright center of our Milky Way galaxy (although with such a bright moon you will have a hard time finding it, even if you are under a dark sky).
The summer triangle on the star map in the Northern Hemisphere
getty
Constellation of the week: Lyra, Harp
This small diamond-shaped constellation is home to Vega, the star by which everyone else is judged. The fifth brightest star in the night sky and about 25 light-years away, this blue star is a measure of the apparent magnitude or brightness of stars. If a star is darker than Vega, it gets a (+) number, and if it is brighter than Vega, it gets (-).
Together with Deneb in Swan and Altair in Aquila, Vega helped form the Summer Triangle, a seasonal asterism (recognizable shape, not an official constellation) that rises in late spring and sets in the fall. Watch the summer triangle move higher every night for the next few months and you will have an anchor in the summer night sky for the rest of your life.
I wish you clear skies and open eyes.
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