June 2021

Bright Sky Digest

Monthly SAS Newsletter

Satellites over Orion
Image Credit: Amir H. Abolfath

Hello, June!

With the warmer weather rolling in SAS is looking forward to providing more opportunities for members to bond over the night sky while safely following the CDC guidelines. We are thrilled to reconnect with some of you at the Goldendale Star Party this weekend. This month in Stargazing in Seattle, Bob tells us about great opportunities to view Venus. Additionally, our trustee DuWayne Andrews Jr. tells us a little about himself.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, June 3rd to Monday June 7th
2021 SAS Goldendale Star Party

Tuesday, June 8th,
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM:
Astrophotography Special Interest Group Meeting

Wednesday, June 9th,
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM:
SAS B oard Meeting

Stargazing in Seattle

Bob Mulford

Venus is currently visible low in the West-Northwest evening sky, about 7 degrees above the horizon at dusk. Look for Venus as soon as the sky begins to get dark, which is about 9:45 PM for Seattle in June. Don't wait too long after sunset to look for this brilliant evening star; Venus sets shortly after 10:30 PM this month. Friday June 11^this an especially favorable night for sky watchers. On that evening at dusk, a beautiful one-and-a-half-day-old crescent moon will be placed within 2 degrees of Venus. A similar, even more special grouping will be seen next month, when Mars, Venus, and the Moon line up low in the West-Northwest.

Currently, Venus is chasing the Earth around the Sun as both planets move along their orbits, and Venus will be an evening star for the rest of 2021. Venus moves faster than Earth but will not catch up with us until the beginning of next year. Venus will still be an evening star at dusk on Christmas Eve, but will be lost in the Sun’s glare shortly after New Year’s Day. By mid-January 2022, Venus will have moved into the early morning sky. Two bright outer planets, Jupiter and Saturn, grace our morning sky this month, and can be seen low in the South-Southeast at dawn.

Venus is joined by an extremely narrow crescent moon on the evening of June 11^th

Stargazing in Seattle highlights interesting astronomical events that can be seen without optical aid, simply by looking up at the sky. Times and positions have been adjusted for Seattle’s location (47.6N, 122.3W) and are useful throughout the Pacific Northwest. The terms dawn and dusk refer to Civil twilight, when the sky is dark blue and only the brightest stars and planets are visible.
Graphic was produced using the planetarium program Cybersky 5 (www.cybersky.com).

Member Spotlight

DuWayne Andrews, Jr., Trustee

Name: DuWayne Andrews, Jr.

Member Since: February 2021

Location: Kent, WA

Hobbies: Some of my hobbies include naps, nice quite walks, meditating, going to movies/concerts/plays/musicals, dancing, cosplaying, talking anything Marvel/DC superhero related, and cheering on the Seahawks!

Favorite Space Movie, Show, or Character: My favorite space movie is Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back. For my favorite space character, I’d have to go with Yoda. His wisdom is second to none!

Favorite Space Fact: For my favorite space fact, I’m going with the fact, that the footprints left on the moon won’t go away because there is no wind up there.

Favorite Space Related Memory: I have a couple that I’d like to share. In the summer of 2019, I took on the role of Neil Armstrong in the US premiere of the musical, Moon Landing. It was a fantastic experience with a great cast and crew! Along with that memory, I would like to also share that in the spring 0f 2020, I was outside on a nice evening with my little niece, sister, and brother-in-law, and we were using my niece’s telescope to look at the moon. It was fun taking in that experience with family!

Dwayne at the Moon Landing primmer

Hopes & Goals: I don’t have that much knowledge when it comes to space, and I hope learn more about it and its wonders. I also hope to grow with the SAS community. It has been an honor and a privilege being with SAS and I can’t wait to see what experiences are in store with this community.

Want to nominate someone for the next member spotlight?
Contact publicity@seattleastro.org