1 00:00:07,140 --> 00:00:09,480 Your guide to constellations, 2 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:14,420 deep-sky objects, planets, and events: 3 00:00:14,420 --> 00:00:22,200 Tonight’s Sky. Highlights of the June sky: 4 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:48,520 Brilliant Venus dominates the western sky at dusk, 5 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,520 joined by the crescent moon 6 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:57,320 during the middle of the month. 7 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:59,120 With a backyard telescope, 8 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:02,460 Venus looks like a miniature moon. 9 00:01:02,460 --> 00:01:04,540 It is clear that we see only part of the sunlit side of the planet. 10 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:23,740 Jupiter dominates the southern sky, 11 00:01:23,740 --> 00:01:30,660 shining in the dim constellation of Libra, the scales. 12 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,800 A backyard telescope readily reveals its cloud bands 13 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:42,500 and orbiting moons. 14 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:54,780 Saturn rises later in the evening, and on June 27 15 00:01:54,780 --> 00:02:00,300 it comes into opposition. 16 00:02:00,300 --> 00:02:05,100 On this night, Saturn lies opposite the Sun in the sky— 17 00:02:05,100 --> 00:02:08,920 at its brightest, rising with the full moon at sunset, 18 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:13,340 and visible throughout the night. 19 00:02:13,340 --> 00:02:16,960 During opposition, Saturn is closer to Earth 20 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:22,380 than at any other time of year. 21 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:27,780 Appearing at its largest for the year, 22 00:02:27,780 --> 00:02:29,800 its rings and perhaps a faint cloud band or two 23 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:37,740 may be visible with a modest telescope. 24 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,400 Turn your gaze upward to find 25 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:56,880 four distinctive constellations. 26 00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:04,520 High overhead lies Boötes, the Herdsman. 27 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,580 Find it by looking for its prominent kite shape, 28 00:03:07,580 --> 00:03:14,220 which was noted by many ancient cultures. 29 00:03:18,100 --> 00:03:24,200 Arcturus is the fourth-brightest star in the night sky. 30 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:31,560 The star Epsilon Boötis is also known as Izar. 31 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,060 In binoculars, Izar resolves into one of the 32 00:03:35,060 --> 00:03:39,540 finest double stars in the sky. 33 00:03:39,540 --> 00:03:47,180 The color contrast between the stars is striking. 34 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:07,840 Just to the left of Boötes lies the Northern Crown, 35 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:12,980 Corona Borealis. 36 00:04:12,980 --> 00:04:16,320 This lovely circlet of stars represents the 37 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,520 wedding crown of Ariadne, 38 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,740 the daughter of King Minos of Crete. 39 00:04:22,740 --> 00:04:24,960 While the stars are not very bright, 40 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:31,380 their pattern is easy to pick out. 41 00:04:49,660 --> 00:04:52,360 The mythical strongman Hercules 42 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,600 is also found high in the summer night sky, 43 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,840 wielding his mighty weapons. 44 00:05:00,840 --> 00:05:04,440 The constellation is rather dim. 45 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,000 Look for its lopsided square of four stars, 46 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,600 called the Keystone. 47 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,400 The Keystone in Hercules is the “key” to finding 48 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:17,440 one of the brightest globular star clusters 49 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:19,900 in the summer night sky. 50 00:05:19,900 --> 00:05:24,960 The wonderful Hercules Cluster, also known as M13, 51 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,920 contains about a million stars. 52 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,660 Outside the Keystone lies another magnificent 53 00:05:32,660 --> 00:05:37,020 globular cluster of stars, M92. 54 00:05:37,020 --> 00:05:40,660 Globular clusters are collections of closely packed, 55 00:05:40,660 --> 00:05:47,740 gravitationally bound stars. 56 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,540 Draco, the Dragon, winds his way 57 00:06:09,540 --> 00:06:11,900 through the northern sky. 58 00:06:11,900 --> 00:06:16,140 The Dragon’s head is a skewed square of stars. 59 00:06:16,140 --> 00:06:19,820 Look for the dimmest of the corner stars. 60 00:06:19,820 --> 00:06:23,440 In binoculars, it resolves into two stars, 61 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:30,960 which look like a bright pair of headlights. 62 00:06:45,500 --> 00:06:47,740 Mars, shining like a bright, 63 00:06:47,740 --> 00:06:50,940 red coal in the constellation Capricornus, 64 00:06:50,940 --> 00:06:56,400 rises around midnight. 65 00:06:57,900 --> 00:07:01,640 As Mars approaches opposition next month 66 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:05,640 and the distance between it and Earth shrinks, 67 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,680 its image grows larger. 68 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,500 It may be possible to see large-scale 69 00:07:11,500 --> 00:07:15,920 details on the surface.