2024, June 25: Summer Evenings – Look for Cygnus

June 25, 2024: Cygnus is high in the eastern sky as twilight ends.  Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and the moon are visible during morning twilight.

A Milky Way View
Photo Caption – A Milky Way View (Generated by AI)

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:17 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:30 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Saturn, Moon in Southern Sky

2024, June 25: During morning twilight, Saturn and the gibbous moon are in the southern sky.
Chart Caption – 2024, June 25: During morning twilight, Saturn and the gibbous moon are in the southern sky.

The moon begins to approach Saturn in the early morning sky.  At one hour before sunrise, the gibbous moon, 86% illuminated, is nearly 30° up in the southern sky. In the waning sequence of phases, the moon passes the Ringed Wonder in two mornings.

This morning, Saturn is nearly 40° up in the south-southeast and over 30° to the moon’s upper left.  The Ringed Wonder is brighter than most of the stars in the sky this morning, though not as dazzling as Jupiter, low in the east-northeast.

Jupiter, Mars, Capella in Eastern Sky

2024, June 25: Jupiter, Mars, and Capella shine from the eastern sky during morning twilight.
Chart Caption – 2024, June 25: Jupiter, Mars, and Capella shine from the eastern sky during morning twilight.

At this hour, the Jovian Giant is about 7° above the horizon.  It is bright enough to shine through the blurring and dimming effects of the atmosphere that affect celestial bodies when they appear near the horizon.

Do not confuse Jupiter with Capella, 15° up in the northeast and less than 30° to the planet’s upper left.  Discounting Jupiter, Capella is the second brightest star in the sky this morning after Vega.  Arcturus sets less than 30 minutes before this view.

Mars, marching eastward in front of Aries and over 11° to Hamal’s lower right, is over 20° above the eastern horizon.  Slightly brighter than Saturn, the Red Planet does not compete with Jupiter’s visual intensity this morning.

The four bright solar system bodies appear along an arc that starts at Jupiter and extends toward the southwest horizon.  This is the plane of the solar system, known as the ecliptic.  Most of the stars in this region of the solar system’s background are dim and washed out this morning by twilight and moonlight.

Evening Sky

Venus, Mercury

Mercury and Venus are east of the sun, meaning they are in the western sky after sunset.  At this season our view of the solar system in the western sky is unfavorable.  The ecliptic makes a low angle with the western horizon and the planetary bodies set during bright twilight.

This evening Venus sets 26 minutes after the sun, during bright evening twilight, followed by Mercury about 45 minutes later, although this occurs near mid-twilight.

Cygnus on Summer Evenings

Cygnus summer evenings
Chart Caption – 2024, June 25: After twilight ends, Cygnus the Swan, seems to fly southward along the Milky Way’s plane.

To see what is described below, venture to the countryside on moonless evenings during the next four to five months and identify the Summer Triangle with Vega, Altair and Deneb.

Look for Cygnus the Swan in the eastern sky after sundown. The pattern is sometimes known as the Northern Cross.  Deneb, the “hen’s tail,” is about halfway up in the east-northeast after twilight ends during late June.  The constellation is easy to trace, from Deneb to Albireo, that could represent the bird’s nose.  The two wings extend from Sadr, the “hen’s breast.”  The figure appears to be flying southward along the Milky Way’s plane. 

Deneb is one of the most distant bright stars in the sun’s neighborhood.  It is about 1,400 light years away and shines with an intensity of 48,000 suns.

Albireo, about 500 light years away, is a double star, one gold and the other blue through a telescope.  If you attend an astronomy club’s star party this summer, ask to see the star through a telescope.  This is a pretty view.

In the Milky Way

This image shows the star-studded center of the Milky Way towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The crowded center of our galaxy contains numerous complex and mysterious objects that are usually hidden at optical wavelengths by clouds of dust — but many are visible here in these infrared observations from the Hubble Space Telescope.
Photo Caption – This image shows the star-studded center of the Milky Way towards the constellation of Sagittarius. The crowded center of our galaxy contains numerous complex and mysterious objects that are usually hidden at optical wavelengths by clouds of dust — but many are visible here in these infrared observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. (Photo Credit: ESA, NASA)

Farther behind the starfield, dust and gasses make fascinating celestial combinations. Cygnus is where galactic dust appears to divide the Milky Way’s plane into what is known as the “Great Rift.” This region extends southward from Cygnus to above Sagittarius and Scorpius.

North American Nebula in Different Lights This new view of the North American nebula combines both visible and infrared light observations, taken by the Digitized Sky Survey and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively, into a single vivid picture.
North American Nebula in Different Lights This new view of the North American nebula combines both visible and infrared light observations, taken by the Digitized Sky Survey and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively, into a single vivid picture. (NASA photo)

The North American Nebula, about 3° to Deneb’s lower left, is one celestial trophy that sky watchers attempt to see through a binocular.  A very dark location is needed to see it.  A glowing reddish gas cloud seems to mix with a dusty region to form a shape resembling a map of North America. 

Take a look at Cygnus this summer and autumn.

Tonight, the moon rises after midnight.  Tomorrow morning it is in the south-southeast as it nears Saturn.

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