5 Sky Events This Week: You don't want to miss!

This week skywatchers get a chance to watch the  most elusive of naked-eye  sky show of the year.

Moon with Venus

About 30 minutes after sunset on Monday, June 10, skywatchers around the world had looked towards the very low northwest for the razor-thin crescent moon to the left of Venus.

Surprise meteor shower? 

The gamma Delphinids are coming to Earth tonight, NASA says, as it predicts that the early hours of Tuesday, June 11, will bring the best visibility of the meteors since they were first observed in 1930. People in North and South America may be able to spot them in areas with dark skies, the agency says.
Because no viewing of the gamma Delphinids has been strongly confirmed since a group of Maryland sky watchers reported seeing them in 1930, the meteor shower has retained an air of mystery.
While there is no guarantee, the best bet to observe any activity will be to find a dark location away from city lights and face the southern sky where the meteors will appear to radiate out from their namesake constellation, Delphinius (the dolphin) before local dawn. 

Mercury at its best

On Wednesday, June 12, Mercury will be at its farthest possible separation from the sun in our evening sky for the entire year, positioned at its very best for mid-northern latitude observers. Mercury will be easy to find even for a novice because Venus acts as a convenient guide, appearing less than 5 degrees below (equal to the width of your three middle fingers at arm’s length).
Even a small telescope adjusted with high power will reveal that Mercury disk is about 40% illuminated and looks like a miniature version of the crescent moon.

Moon joins lion’s Heart  

Thursday, June 13, for the crescent moon will be hanging below the brightest star of constellation Leo, the lion.
Regulus marks the heart of the lion and lies 78 light years away. A hot blue-white star, it is about 3.5 times larger than our Sun and, at 300 million years old, is an adolescent when it comes to star lifetimes.
By the next evening, June 14,  the moon will slid to the lower left of Regulus. Meanwhile southern hemisphere observers will see the crescent moon to the immediate left of the brilliant blue-white star.

Mars meets Aldebaran 

Saturday, June 15, try to spot down the Red Planet  in the very low eastern sky near Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus, the bull constellation.
Start spotting  about an hour before your local sunrise and look for Aldebaran to the lower right of Mars (upper right in southern hemisphere). The planet-star pair will appear higher in the sky–and therefore brighter and easier to spot–the more southerly your observing location. Binoculars will help in tracking down both objects.
While both morning stars shine with similar brightness and orange tinges, they lie at very different distances. Mars is currently stationed 369 million kilometers (229 million miles) from Earth, while the dying red giant star is a respectable 65 light years off.

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