STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400 / FAX 440/775-1460 / nasaco@leeca.org / http://core.nasa.gov
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Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers.
If you're new to star and planet gazing then like most people
you have difficulty finding planets because they constantly change
their position in relation to the stars. But every once in a while
the Moon passes very close visually to a planet or a star at which
time you can use the Moon to make absolutely sure you've found
a particular planet or star. And such is the case the first weekend
of June. Let me show you.
O.K., we've got our skies set up for Friday night June 6th just after it gets dark out which is about 10 p.m. For most people across the U.S. facing west where just above the horizon you will see an exquisite four day old crescent Moon complete with earthshine which will look like a dark full Moon nestled within the crescent. And if you mentally draw a line up to its left that line will pass first through the red planet Mars then Regulus the brightest star of leo the lion and very close by the wonderful ringed planet Saturn. But it's much more fun using the Moon to identify these objects, which means all you have to do is wait until 24 hours later on Saturday June 7th when a five day old Moon will be less than two fingers at arm's length away from Mars. And 24 hours later on Sunday the 8th a six day old Moon will be only four fingers at arm's length away from the heart star of the lion king. At which time the Moon and Regulus and Saturn above them will form a lovely triangle.
Once again, this Friday the crescent Moon will be only about one and a half fists, held out at arm's length, away from Mars. On Saturday the Moon will be less than two fingers away from Mars and ta da! On Sunday the Moon, Regulus and Saturn will form an exquisite tight triangle. But remember even though these objects will look close together visually nothing could be farther from the truth. On Saturday our 2,000 mile wide Moon will be only 231,000 miles away from us but 4,000 mile wide Mars will be 181 million miles away. And on Sunday when the Moon makes a lovely triangle with Regulus and Saturn the Moon will be only 235,000 miles away while Saturn will be 866 million miles beyond, almost 5 times farther than Mars. But hold onto your hats because Regulus, which is a star five times wider than our million mile wide Sun, will be a whopping 459 trillion miles away. Or to put it in a better light it is so far away that it takes its light 78 years to reach us. Wow!
And now would be a good time to get out a small
telescope because on all three nights, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
you'll be able to watch the Moon's shadow slowly shrink plus you'll
be able to see Mars' reddish globe and Saturn's rings, I guarantee,
will knock your socks off. Regulus, however will not look any
bigger through any telescope, it will only look brighter. And
that's because it is so incredibly far, far away. Have a great
first weekend of June and keep looking up!
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Horkheimer: Next week you can use the Moon to find two planets and a great star. On Friday June 6th about 10 p.m. face west and you'll see a lovely crescent Moon. If you draw a line up to its left it will pass through the planet Mars and Regulus the brightest star of Leo and ringed Saturn. 24 hours later the Moon will be parked only two fingers away from Mars and on Sunday only four fingers away from Regulus and above it Saturn. For fun compare their distances. Our Moon will be 235,000 miles away while Saturn will be 866 million miles away. But Regulus will be a whopping 459 trillion miles away. Watch the Moon get bigger each night as it visits three cosmic friends. Keep looking up!
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* This week's Sky At A Glance
and Planet Roundup from Sky & Telescope.Starry Night Deluxe was used to produce this episode
of Star Gazer
![[SmilinJack]](jack1sm.jpg)
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