CIAS June Newsletter - Events in June

CIAS Newsletter June Newsletter 2015

Events in June in Cayman

The public next meeting of the Society at Pedro’s Castle,  will be Wednesday 17^th June starting at 7:30 PM All welcome.  As always especially this time of the year if the weather is cloudy – that means more than 50 percent cloud cover - then the meeting will be cancelled.  This can be a tricky one to call so phone at around 7 PM if in doubt. (925 7657)  Don’t text, as I never see them until too late.  Last month for example was a great success

Non members please park outside the gates and walk in as parking is limited and headlights will dazzle the evenings viewing session.

There will be a  Astro Barbeque on Saturday 27^th June located in Patrick’s Island- 5:30 PM till 9 PM Much thanks to Carole Jones for offering to host the event.  The idea is to “bring a bottle” (of course) and one other item….

I         If you have a small telescope – an ETX or something similar please feel free to bring it along IF you want to (its not compulsory) and if you aren’t sure what to do with it we will help you out with it too.  

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      OR

      You are encouraged to bring a side dish.

Members and Partners without a dish will be charged 10 dollars. Non Members 10 dollars – but you can of course become a member or renew your membership (25 dollars). Children are free. Please contact Karen (our new membership co-coordinator) karenperkins1@hotmail.com  who will “sort you out”.

Please let me know by email (cpcooke@aol.com) of you are planning on coming and how many and Ill pass the information onto Carole

The aim of the evening is to encourage membership and growth of the Society to meet each other in an environment which isn’t usually pitch black.. We have many ex-members and potential members on our current email distribution list and the plan is to wake them up!

The Night Sky In June

Summer officially begins with the June solstice on June21st, certainly the rainy season as started already as evidenced by the rain in the past few days.   The night sky when clear has much to see this month.

Below is a star chart for 8PM the 17^th June .Venus and Jupiter are in the West.. On the 18^th Venus, Jupiter and the star Regulus will form a nice “triangle“ in the evening sky with a small moon. But on the 30^th July the two planets will be almost touching and will be quite a sight. This event is called a conjunction. The distance between the two planets will be 1/3 of a degree, to try and give an idea of how close this will be if you hold your little finger at arm’s length it will cover one degree of sky.

We have Saturn too in East in the constellation of Scorpius and to the South we still have a chance to see the Southern Cross. Interestingly I’ve wondered if the Southern Cross is visible from Miami, well it is just, it’s very low on the horizon so South of Miami’s lights and buildings and down towards Key West I think… perhaps it is just possible 

To the North is the Big Dipper or Plough depending on what side of the Atlantic you prefer – these stars do not make a constellation – they are in fact part of the bigger constellation – the Great Bear (Ursa Major).  Its smaller companion the Little Bear (Ursa Minor) circles the star Polaris, the Pole star – which lies at an angle of 20 degrees with the horizon and is indeed our latitude.

Next month brings the Milky Way more into view in the South and wonderful skies. Clear Skies!

 Chris Cooke cpcooke@aol.com 925 7657