Latest news with #Boötes
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Wyoming Skies: June brings summer solstice and constellations in every direction
June 20, 2025, brings us the summer solstice. Supposedly, that means warmer weather has finally arrived in Wyoming. This month, if you go out after it gets dark, you will see some wonderful stars and constellations in every direction. If you face north you will see a 'W' above the northern horizon; those five stars are the constellation Cassiopeia. The Little Dipper, also known as Ursa Minor, is halfway above the northern horizon. And almost overhead you can see the Big Dipper, the most well-known group of stars in Ursa Major. If you follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper you'll run into the brilliant star Arcturus. Arcturus marks the bottom of Boötes, a constellation that looks like a kite or ice cream cone. If you continue the arc from the handle of the Big Dipper, you'll hit another bright star, that is Spica in the constellation Virgo. And follow that curve to Corvus, a quadrilateral-shape group of stars. Facing west you'll see the twin stars of Gemini, Pollux and Castor, above the horizon. They'll slip toward the horizon more each day. And higher in the sky, you can see the spring constellation of Leo. It's easily picked out by locating the Sickle, a group of stars that look like a backward question mark. The bright star at the bottom of the Sickle is Regulus. If you look to the south, you can see two constellations very close to the horizon; Scorpius resembles a fishhook or the letter 'J,' and Sagittarius is obvious as a group of stars that resembles an old-fashioned teapot. And here's a fun fact, the spout of the Teapot it is pointing toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Finally, when you face east you will see a definite sign that summer is here because the Summer Triangle shines brightly in the sky. The Summer Triangle is made up of these three bright stars: Vega in Lyra, Deneb in Cygnus, and Altair in Aquila. Under dark skies, you'll see the Milky Way arching up from the northeast horizon, starting under Cassiopeia, passing overhead through Cygnus and Aquila, finally ending up in the south going through Sagittarius and Scorpius. What's cool about the Milky Way is that this glowing patch of stars, gas and dust is a spiral arm of our galaxy. In order of brightness in the evening sky you will find: Mercury, Arcturus, Vega, Capella, Altair, Antares, Spica, Pollux, Deneb, Regulus and Mars. Planets this month are split between the evening and morning sky. In the June evening sky, look for Mars as a steady red light slowly moving across the stars of Leo. Mars will be closest to the bright star Regulus on the evening of June 16. Jupiter has dominated the evening sky for months, but is challenging to spot in the bright western twilight and will slip away toward the beginning of the month. It's being replaced by Mercury emerging in the evening sky about 30-40 minutes after sunset. Mercury will reach its greatest distance from the sun on July 4. Morning observers can catch brilliant Venus before dawn; it reached its greatest distance from the sun at the end of May. Golden Saturn is higher in the sky than Venus and will move away from Venus each day. The moon is a great way to locate stars and planets. The moon is near Mars on the evening of June 1, and will float near Saturn on the mornings of June 18 and 19. Then it visits Venus on the mornings of June 21 and 22. Then it will move back to the evening sky, so the moon will float near Mercury on June 26 and will pay Mars another visit on the evening of June 29. The full moon of June occurs overnight on June 10-11. It's the Full Strawberry Moon — named to coincide with the abundance of strawberries harvested this month — and will lie near the bright star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion. The full moon will be visible all night. A fun trio to look for on the evenings around June 24 is Mercury forming a line with Pollux and Castor in the evening twilight. Binoculars might help spot them. There is a meteor shower this month that might be worth watching for before dawn on the morning of June 7. It's the daytime Arietids. They are the most active daytime meteor shower, but how can you watch for them in the daytime? Its radiant — or point where the meteors seem to originate — rises before the sun. So you might catch meteors shooting up from the horizon before dawn. How fun would that be to see?
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
Starwatch: Boötes, the herdsman ploughing the heavens
This week, we track down another prominent constellation in the northern hemisphere's spring night sky: Boötes, the herdsman. Listed as part of the 48 constellations described by Ptolemy in the 2nd century, it is now one of the International Astronomical Union's 88 official constellations. Although known as the herdsman, some stories associated with the constellation depict him as more of a ploughman, driving the constellation of Ursa Major, the great bear, around the pole. In these stories, Ursa Major is changed into an oxen and plough. The nearby constellation of Canes Venatici, the hunting dogs, is also said to be associated with Boötes. On many old star maps, he is depicted as holding these dogs on a leash. The chart shows the view looking south-east from London at 22.00BST on 19 May, although the view will remain essentially unchanged all week. The brightest star in Boötes is the red giant star Arcturus, which is the fourth brightest star in the night sky. Although it has about the same mass as our sun, it has swollen to 25 times its size and now pumps out around 170 times more light. Boötes is also visible from the southern hemisphere, where it will appear quite close to the northern horizon.
Newsweek
23-04-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
Astronomers Reveal Secrets of the Universe's Awkward Growth Spurt
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new survey of distant galaxies undertaken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing new secrets of the "cosmic noon"—when galaxies in the young universe underwent something of an awkward growth spurt. According to researchers from the University of Kansas, this mysterious epoch, 2 to 3 billion years after the Big Bang, saw so much star formation that all galaxies today owe half their stellar mass to the cosmic noon. And now the team's new survey is revealing never-been-seen star formation and black-hole growth from this critical period in cosmic history. Galaxies from the cosmic noon. Galaxies from the cosmic noon. NASA/JWST/Backhaus The James Webb Space Telescope's power allowed the team to peer through cosmic dust to see far enough into the past to observe galaxies during the cosmic noon, 10 billion years ago. "Our goal with this project is to conduct the largest JWST survey in the mid-infrared across multiple bandwidths," said lead author, Professor Allison Kirkpatrick, in a statement. "The mid-infrared is where dust emits, so we're looking at dust-obscured galaxies. Dust hides a lot of things, and we want to peer behind the dust. "We want to understand how these galaxies are forming stars, how many stars they're forming and especially how the black holes at their centers are growing," Kirkpatrick said. The survey focused on a patch of the sky, between the constellations of Boötes and Ursa Major, known as the Extended Groth Strip (named for the American astrophysicist, Edward John Groth III.) The strip provides something of a clean window into the deep universe. "The Extended Groth Strip is a region of the sky that has now become one of the premier JWST fields," said Kirkpatrick. "Within this region, we're able to see about 10,000 galaxies—even though the area is only roughly the diameter of the moon." Studying the Extended Groth Strip is allowing the researchers to look, for the first time, at galaxies that could be the ancestors of galaxies like the Milky Way today; to measure how fast galaxies form stars and grow their central black holes; and how they change as a result of collisions and mergers. The full findings of the study are being published in The Astrophysical Journal. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the cosmic noon? Let us know via science@ Reference Backhaus, B. E., Kirkpatrick, A., Yang, G., Troiani, G., Hamblin, K., Kartaltepe, J. S., Kocevski, D. D., Koekemoer, A. M., Lambrides, E., Papovich, C., & Ronayne, K. (2025, March 24). MEGA Mass Assembly with JWST: The MIRI EGS Galaxy and AGN Survey. arXiv.
Forbes
11-04-2025
- Science
- Forbes
When To See The Full ‘Pink Moon' Rise With Spica: Skywatching This Weekend
Full moon rises behind Saint Jean-Baptiste (San Giovanni Battista) statue over Baptistery in Pisa, ... More Tuscany, Italy, on April 5, 2023. April full moon is also known as pink, egg and fish moon. (Photo by Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Each Friday, I pick out North America's celestial highlights for the weekend ahead (which also apply to mid-northern latitudes in the northern hemisphere). Check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more. This weekend, it's all about the full moon. The first of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (and fall in the Southern Hemisphere), the pink moon will appear on the eastern horizon in a blaze of oranges and yellows (but not pinks!), but exactly when to look depends on where you are. Here's everything you need to know about stargazing this weekend: Saturday, April 12: Full 'Pink Moon' Rises with Spica From across the world, the moon will appear big and bright for a few nights, but tonight it won't be alone. Close to it will be Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo, and one of the brightest stars of the new season. From North America, tonight's the night to see it rise, with our natural satellite appearing shortly after sunset in gathering dusk. Use a moonrise calculator to find out the exact time of moonrise where you are, and get to a location with a good view low to the eastern horizon. The full moon sets behind Stonehenge on April 27, 2021 in Amesbury, England. (Photo by Finnbarr ...) For those in Europe, the best full moonrise of the month occurs tonight about an hour after sunset. That's a little late for twilight — when the spectacle is arguably at its best — but it's as close as it gets this month. Rising in a dark sky, the full moon will no longer be very close to Spica, but it's sure to still be a special sight. Seeing the 'Spring Diamond' in the eastern night sky is a sure sign that the new season has arrived. ... More Wherever you are on the planet this weekend, the full moon — or almost full moon — will dominate the night sky, making it tricky to see stars and constellations. However, this asterism (shape in the sky) is worth finding. Look to the east after dark to the bright stars Spica in the constellation Virgo and Arcturus in Boötes. Now add the fainter Denebola in Leo (at the tail of the lion) and Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici (closer to the Big Dipper). The times and dates given apply to mid-northern latitudes. For the most accurate location-specific information, consult online planetariums like Stellarium. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
