The Night Sky in June

IN the early evening sky, just after sunset, we can observe the constellation Big Dipper, also known as the Plough or Great Bear, lying as a scoop on the Northern horizon.

It is one of the oldest known constellations. In Greek legend it is a female bear (!), with the tail representing the handle of the Plough.Different nations saw different pictures in the constellation, e.g. the Romans saw a big chariot, representing, however, only part of the much more extended Great Bear.Others recognised the box of the chariot as a coffin with three hired female mourners walking behind it, a dipper, or a one-legged man.Mizar, the second star in the handle of the Big Dipper, is an optical double star (i.e. a pair of stars that are seen by chance at the same position in the sky, but are in fact at different distances): Close to the lower right of Mizar stands its companion Alcor, also called the Rider, which is visible even with the naked eye and conspicuous when viewed with binoculars.Mizar itself is a famous physical double star providing a wonderful view when seen through a telescope.In contrast to Alkor and Mizar, the two components of Mizar indeed revolve around each other.The head of the Great Bear lies to the West.The forelegs are discernible to the left and the hind legs above the box of the Big Dipper.At the lower left corner of the chariot’s box stands the giant star Dubhe or a UMa, 150 times brighter than our sun.Within the constellation Great Bear, many galaxies can be found.The spiral galaxy M81 can be discerned already through using powerful binoculars.Observing most others may require a telescope with larger aperture.The Great Bear was also used for navigation purposes in former times.Even the ancient Greek poet Homer reports about this in his Odyssey.Drawing a line from Dubhe (a UMa) to Merak (b UMa) and extending it five times their distance, the famous polar star Polaris can be found in the Little Dipper.Its position coincides almost exactly with the northern celestial pole and hence is visible from everywhere in the Northern hemisphere.In Namibia, however, it is 23 degrees below the horizon all the time and therefore unobservable.On June 21 we have winter solstice, which is the shortest day and the longest night of the year.At noon on this day an observer at the Tropic of Cancer, i.e. at 23.5 degrees Northern latitude as e.g. in southern Egypt, would see the sun exactly above himself.Only at this time, therefore, the sun will even shine down to the bottom of a deep well.In 250 B.C., Eratothenes used this situation to determine the circumference of the Earth for the first time.Venus is now visible as the bright morning “star”, while Mars and Saturn in the Twins vanish in the evening dawn.Jupiter in the Lion [Leo] is the planet of the first half of the night.On May 5 it became stationary and is already travelling prograde now.Rising and setting times on June 15:Venus rises at 05h41, Mars sets at 19h26, Jupiter sets at 22h55, Saturn sets at 18h38.Moonrise at 04h21.Sunrise at 06h29 and Sunset at 17h15.- Comet NEAT Q4 sets at 20h37, Comet LINEAR T7 sets at 22h33.* Eberhard v. Grumbkow, Phone 064-402 025.E-Mail:grumbkow@iway.naIn Greek legend it is a female bear (!), with the tail representing the handle of the Plough.Different nations saw different pictures in the constellation, e.g. the Romans saw a big chariot, representing, however, only part of the much more extended Great Bear.Others recognised the box of the chariot as a coffin with three hired female mourners walking behind it, a dipper, or a one-legged man.Mizar, the second star in the handle of the Big Dipper, is an optical double star (i.e. a pair of stars that are seen by chance at the same position in the sky, but are in fact at different distances): Close to the lower right of Mizar stands its companion Alcor, also called the Rider, which is visible even with the naked eye and conspicuous when viewed with binoculars.Mizar itself is a famous physical double star providing a wonderful view when seen through a telescope.In contrast to Alkor and Mizar, the two components of Mizar indeed revolve around each other.The head of the Great Bear lies to the West.The forelegs are discernible to the left and the hind legs above the box of the Big Dipper.At the lower left corner of the chariot’s box stands the giant star Dubhe or a UMa, 150 times brighter than our sun.Within the constellation Great Bear, many galaxies can be found.The spiral galaxy M81 can be discerned already through using powerful binoculars.Observing most others may require a telescope with larger aperture.The Great Bear was also used for navigation purposes in former times.Even the ancient Greek poet Homer reports about this in his Odyssey.Drawing a line from Dubhe (a UMa) to Merak (b UMa) and extending it five times their distance, the famous polar star Polaris can be found in the Little Dipper.Its position coincides almost exactly with the northern celestial pole and hence is visible from everywhere in the Northern hemisphere.In Namibia, however, it is 23 degrees below the horizon all the time and therefore unobservable.On June 21 we have winter solstice, which is the shortest day and the longest night of the year.At noon on this day an observer at the Tropic of Cancer, i.e. at 23.5 degrees Northern latitude as e.g. in southern Egypt, would see the sun exactly above himself.Only at this time, therefore, the sun will even shine down to the bottom of a deep well.In 250 B.C., Eratothenes used this situation to determine the circumference of the Earth for the first time.Venus is now visible as the bright morning “star”, while Mars and Saturn in the Twins vanish in the evening dawn.Jupiter in the Lion [Leo] is the planet of the first half of the night.On May 5 it became stationary and is already travelling prograde now.Rising and setting times on June 15:Venus rises at 05h41, Mars sets at 19h26, Jupiter sets at 22h55, Saturn sets at 18h38.Moonrise at 04h21.Sunrise at 06h29 and Sunset at 17h15.- Comet NEAT Q4 sets at 20h37, Comet LINEAR T7 sets at 22h33.* Eberhard v. Grumbkow, Phone 064-402 025.E-Mail:grumbkow@iway.na