Mrs. Quads' Favorite Constellation

The small but pretty constellation Delphinus, the dolphin, glides high across the sky on summer nights. You need dark skies to see it. The dolphin is due east at nightfall, a little below the line linking the bright stars Deneb and Altair. It climbs high overhead later on, swimming alongside the faint glow of the Milky Way.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

29 Jun -2.0 21:14:16 W 45

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

Summer Triangle

Summer nights offer one of the grandest star patterns in the sky: the Summer Triangle. Tonight, it is well up in the east at nightfall. Dazzling Vega stands atop the triangle, with Deneb to its lower left and Altair farther to its lower right.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

teapot

The constellation Sagittarius moves into prime viewing time this month. It rises around 10 p.m. and scoots low across the south during the night. Its brightest stars form the shape of a teapot, with the handle on the left and the spout on the right.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

27 Jun -2.3 21:57:17 WSW 49

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

beautiful lineup of bright planets and stars

A beautiful lineup of bright planets and stars slants across the western sky the next few evenings. The anchor is Venus, the "evening star." Moving to the upper left of Venus, the other members of the lineup are Regulus, Mars, Saturn, and Spica.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

the Short Night Moon

The Moon is full early today, so it rises not long after sunset this evening and remains in view for the rest of the night. But since the night is short, so is the time for moonwatching, so June's full Moon is sometimes called the Short Night Moon.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

26 Jun -3.3 21:29:41 SW 54

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

a "bite" out of the Moon

Earth's shadow will take a "bite" out of the Moon early tomorrow, creating a partial eclipse. The best part of the eclipse begins when the Moon first touches the dark inner part of the shadow around 5:16 a.m. CDT. The Moon exits the shadow at 8 a.m.

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill

ISS Tonight

25 Jun -2.6 22:38:48 WSW 55

- Quads, hailing from Grand Marsh Observatory atop Elk Castle Hill