by This week we find a dearth of bright planets in our evening sky. Only one, Mercury, is available by the end of the month, but even then, this small rocky world can only be seen for about 30 to 45 minutes after sunset very low on the west-northwest horizon . After that, you will have to wait until after the witching hour of midnight to see another celestial planet, Saturn.
That said, let’s turn our attention to two celestial objects that are easily visible during the evening hours this week even from bright cities. One is our nearest neighbor in space, and the other is a common pattern of stars.
The first is, of course, the moon, which will turn full on the first full day of summer, June 21. The moment when the moon is “officially” full will come that evening at 9:08 pm Eastern Time; the moon will be above the horizon for most of the eastern states, although it will still be up for much of the central and western US. No problem, however, since for a day or two on either side of June 21, the moon will be visible almost entirely to most casual observers.
Native American tribes a few hundred years ago kept track of the seasons by giving specific names to each recurring moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. According to our List of full moon names at Space.com, the June full moon was traditionally known to all Algonquin tribes as the “Strawberry Moon,” probably because strawberry picking season peaks during this month. The Europeans called it the Rose Moon.
Want to capture photos of the full moon at night? Be sure to check out our guide on how to photograph the moon. If you need imaging gear, consider our best astrophotography cameras and best astrophotography lenses to make sure you’re ready for the next eclipse.
And if you’re looking for some new binoculars or a telescope to look at the moon, check out our guides to the best binoculars and the best telescopes.
Related: full moon June 2024: The Strawberry Moon follows the solstice
Another moon maker in June
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Based solely on astrological geometry, Guy Ottewell, a popular figure in British astronomy, in his annual Astronomical Calendar, sometimes referred to the June full moon as the “Money Moon.” In June the sun is at its greatest distance north of the celestial equator and the full moon (which is almost opposite the sun in the sky) is therefore at its greatest distance south of the celestial equator. So the June full moon appears especially low in the southern sky. Objects seen low in the sky are affected by the reddening properties of the atmosphere.
Therefore, the full moon in June usually has a beautiful golden appearance, just like good honey.
Atmospheric reddening has many other effects. The most obvious is the rising or setting sun. When sunlight passes through the thick atmosphere, most of the blue light is absorbed and scattered away; the red light comes through favorably. The reddening of stars when seen close to the horizon is not apparent to the casual observer. Finally, the red color of the Moon during a total lunar eclipse is due to the reddening of sunlight as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere and then bends through refraction into the Earth’s shadow.
Big Bear or Dipper?
During this week, as the sky darkens enough for us to see stars, we can look well up in the northwest sky and catch a glimpse of the seven stars that make up the Big Dipper. At this time of year, the Dipper is pointed sideways, with the bowl pointed down and the handle straight up.
Interestingly, scholars are fairly certain that our oldest star groups date back to the Mesopotamian peoples of five or more millennia ago. In fact, the creatures made in the ancient Western constellations are similar to those in the Bible. And there are hints that some of them are much older. The fact that the seven stars of Ursa Major created a bear for Native Americans and Old World and Siberian cultures suggests that our Ursa Major is a piece of Stone Age culture at least 8,000 to 12,000 years old . That is the estimated time of the last migration from Siberia to North America across the Bering Strait.
And yet strangely enough, the Big Dipper itself has frustrated some constellation historians: Who came up with this name?
In Great Britain, it is better known as the Plow. But as Dipper it is an American phenomenon; This heavenly “drinking gourd” was often mentioned in mid-19th century books, but not before that. It’s a pity that the Little Dipper is much weaker and harder to see compared to the Big Dipper, since – at least to my eyes – it seems to be closer to a real blacksmith, as could be used to ladle soup. The Great Dipper looks more like a saucepan.
Wagon in the sky
For most of the world this pattern is, if not a bear, then a wagon, chariot or wheeled vehicle of some kind. In Shakespeare’s King Henry IV, the Big Dipper is referred to as Charles’ Wain (a wain is defined as a large open farm wagon). Here is how it is translated from an astronomical passage in Homer’s Iliad:
There he worked the Earth and the
heaven, and the Sea.
The sun is not spent and the moon is full,
And all of the constellations that have the
The Heavens are crowned.
The Pleiades, the Hyades, the strength
of Orion
And the Bear, which they also call the Wain.
Who revolves and sees Orion,
But it is alone unwashed by a briny Ocean bath.
These words date back to about 700 BC, so we can see how ancient this seven-star constellation is as a wagon.
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Free natural history magazine,the The Farmers’ Almanac and other publications.
