ISS Visibility Chart for the End of June

Staff Writer, DB Holmes
ISS / Space 
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 Do you like seeing the ISS? Here is a visibility chart for Phoenix, AZ this week.

Source: Heavens Above 

Skywatching Opportunities Bring Planets and Moon Rays

Staff Writer, DL Mullan

Astronomy / Stargazing
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June is a bit quiet when it comes to stargazing events. However, every night Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn can be seen as well as different modes of the Moon. In the morning hours close to dawn, Venus shines bright.

• June 13 - Full Moon. The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 04:11 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Strawberry Moon because it signaled the time of year to gather ripening fruit. It also coincides with the peak of the strawberry harvesting season. This moon has also been known as the Full Rose Moon and the Full Honey Moon.
• June 21 - June Solstice. The June solstice occurs at 10:51 UTC. The North Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude. This is the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere.
• June 27 - New Moon. The Moon will be directly between the Earth and the Sun and will not be visible from Earth. This phase occurs at 08:08 UTC. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

Source: Sea and Sky, AccuWeather, Weather Underground  

Mid and Late May Stargazing Events

Staff Writer, DB Holmes

Astronomy / Stargazing
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May is full of great nights for skywatching:

Phoenix at 11pm.

May 14 – Full Moon, 3:16 a.m. The visible Moon is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. Though the Moon is only technically in this phase for a few seconds, it is considered “full” for the entire day of the event, and appears full for three days. May’s full Moon with be a “supermoon,” meaning it coincides with the Moon’s perigee, or closest point to the Earth, making it larger in appearance and causing exceptionally high tides.

May 18 – Moon at perigee (its closest point to the Earth), 8 a.m.

May 21 – Last Quarter Moon, 8:59 a.m. One-half of the Moon appears illuminated by direct sunlight while the illuminated part is decreasing.

May 25 – Mercury at greatest eastern elongation. A body in space is at elongation is when it reaches its farthest angle from the Sun, as viewed from Earth. This is the best time to view an inferior planet – one inside of the Earth’s orbit.

May 28 – New Moon, 2:40 p.m. The Moon is not illuminated by direct sunlight.

Source: Farmer's Almanac, Weather Underground,