Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.
June 5: Check in on Mars
Look east around 11 P.M. local daylight time, and you’ll see three bright stars forming a triangle — this is the famous Summer Triangle asterism, which flies high overhead in the middle of short summer nights. We’re still a bit early for that, but with all three stars — and their constellations — above the horizon, it means we can now enjoy all these star patterns have to offer. Tonight, we’re after not Deneb, the tail of Cygnus the Swan, but the long-necked bird’s head to Deneb’s southwest: Albireo.
Glowing at magnitude 3.1, Albireo (also cataloged as Beta [β] Cygni) is a famous double star that is easy to split in small scopes and even well-stabilized binoculars. Its two component stars shine at magnitude 3.4 and 5.1, separated by some 34”. But what really catches the eye are their colors: the brighter star appears yellow-gold, while the fainter component shines with a much bluer light. However, no two pairs of eyes are the same. Some observers see blue and white, while others even see yellow and green (although this is a trick of the brain — there are no green stars!). What colors do you see?
Sunrise: 5:32 A.M.
Sunset: 8:26 P.M.
Moonrise: 12:28 A.M.
Moonset: 11:04 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (63%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
