The Witches Astronomy Journal for Monday, June 4

The Witches Astronomy Journal for Monday, June 4

Well, as everyone knows, once witchcraft gets started, there’s no stopping it.

—Mikhail Bulgakov

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Monday, June 4

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 89.31° E
Sun Altitude: 38.43°
Sun Distance: 94.301 million mi
Next Solstice: Jun 21, 2018 5:07 am (Summer)
Sunrise Today: 5:35 am↑ 61° Northeast
Sunset Today: 8:10 pm↑ 299° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 14 hours, 35 minutes

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 233.10° SW
Moon Altitude: 16.70°
Moon Distance: 250675 mi
Next New Moon: Jun 13, 20182:43 pm
Next Full Moon: Jun 27, 201811:53 pm
Next Moonset: Today10:45 am
Waning Gibbous
Illuination: 70.7%
Source
timeanddate.com

Planets Visible in the Night Sky for Jun 3 – Jun 4, 2018

Mercury: From Mon 5:26 am
Venus: Until Sun 10:48 pm
Mars: From Sun 11:48 pm
Jupiter: Until Mon 4:11 am
Saturn: From Sun 9:46 pm
Uranus: From Mon 3:21 am
Neptune: From Mon 1:31 am
Source
timeanddate.com

Astrology of Today – Monday, June 4, 2018

The Moon is in Aquarius all day.
The Moon is void from 1:09 AM forward (until tomorrow at 6:53 AM).
The Moon is waning and in its Waning Gibbous phase.
The Full Moon occurred on May 29th and the Last Quarter Moon will happen on June 6th.
Mars is in its pre-retrograde shadow (Mars will retrograde from June 26th to August 27th).

Moon in Aquarius

The Moon is traveling through Aquarius today. Go against the grain. Fight for a cause. Stand up for the underdog.

Attraction to all that is new and unusual, and an instinctive need for improvement, characterize the Moon in Aquarius. Reactions are more intellectual than emotional, and interactions are more impersonal than personal, under this influence. This is a time that promotes social gatherings, dealing with group ideals and goals for the future, brainstorming, new ideas, and progressive changes. We are open to new methods of doing things and we have our eye on the future. It can be hard to stick to schedules now, as personal freedom is most important to us.

The Moon in Aquarius generally favors the following activities: Unusual or radical undertakings, social pursuits, group projects, trying something new, joining a group.

Daily Overview of Your Stars and Planets for Monday, June 4, 2018

The Moon spends the day in the sign of Aquarius, and for most of the day (from 1:11 AM EDT forward) is void and forms no major aspects to major bodies after that point. This can have a “twilight zone” effect. It’s better not to begin new initiatives, and instead, focus on tying up loose ends or developing existing projects. The void Moon makes it difficult for entirely new endeavors to have sticking or staying power. Attraction to all that is new and unusual figures strongly with the Aquarius Moon. Reactions are more intellectual than emotional, and interactions are more impersonal than personal, under this influence.

The Moon is void from 1:11 AM EDT, with the Moon’s last aspect before changing signs (a square to Jupiter), until the Moon enters Pisces the next day, Tuesday, June 5th, at 6:54 AM EDT.

The sky this week for June 4 to June 10

Venus, Neptune, and Saturn are among the sights to spot in the sky this week.
By Richard Talcott

Monday, June 4

Although Saturn won’t reach opposition and peak visibility until late June, observers will be hard-pressed to see it as inferior this week. The ringed planet rises near 10 p.m. local daylight time and appears highest in the south around 3 a.m. Saturn shines at magnitude 0.1 and stands out against the background stars of northern Sagittarius. If you target the planet through binoculars this week, you’ll find it 2.0° northwest of the 5th-magnitude globular star cluster M22 and 3.3° south of the similarly bright open cluster M25. But the beautiful world looks best through a telescope, which reveals its 18″-diameter disk and a stunning ring system that spans 41″ and tilts 26° to our line of sight.
Tuesday, June 5

The Big Dipper’s familiar shape lies high in the northwest on June evenings. The spring sky’s finest binocular double star marks the bend of the Dipper’s handle. Mizar shines at 2nd magnitude, some six times brighter than its 4th-magnitude companion, Alcor. Even though these two are not physically related, they make a fine sight through binoculars. (People with good eyesight often can split the pair without optical aid.) A small telescope reveals Mizar itself as double — and these components do orbit each other.

Mercury reaches superior conjunction at 10 p.m. EDT. This means the innermost planet lies on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth and remains hidden in our star’s glare. It will return to view in the evening sky in about two weeks.

Wednesday, June 6

Last Quarter Moon occurs at 2:32 p.m. EDT. When it rises around 2 a.m. local daylight time tomorrow morning, it will appear slightly less than half-lit. Earth’s only natural satellite then appears against the background stars of northeastern Aquarius.

Thursday, June 7

Jupiter reached opposition and peak visibility about a month ago, and it remains a stunning sight nearly all night. It appears some 30° high in the south-southeast during evening twilight and climbs highest in the south shortly before 11 p.m. local daylight time. Shining at magnitude –2.4, the giant planet is the night sky’s brightest point of light once Venus sets around 11 p.m. Jupiter resides among the background stars of Libra the Scales, 1° north of Zubenelgenubi (Alpha [α] Librae). If you view the gas giant through a telescope tonight, its disk spans 44″ and displays spectacular cloud-top detail. You’ll also see its bright moons put on a nice show. Ganymede lies in Jupiter’s shadow in early evening, but it gradually returns to view between Io and Callisto. At 12:40 a.m. EDT, Io and Callisto appear 25″ apart southeast of the planet. If you watch the space between these moons, you’ll see Ganymede emerge into sunlight starting at 12:43 a.m. It return to full visibility by 1:02 a.m.

Friday, June 8

Venus passes 5° due south (lower left) of 1st-magnitude Pollux this evening. The planet has brightened slightly (to magnitude –4.0) since early in the week, and shines 100 times brighter than the star.

Saturday, June 9

Another comet in the growing crowd of such objects discovered by the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii makes its appearance in June’s morning sky. Comet PANSTARRS (C/2016 M1) currently glows around 9th magnitude within the Teapot asterism of the constellation Sagittarius, and you’ll need a telescope to spot its subtle glow. As a bonus both today and tomorrow, the comet slides about 40′ from the 8th-magnitude globular star cluster M54. Your best views will come from under a dark sky when Sagittarius climbs highest between 2 and 3 a.m. local daylight time.

Sunday, June 10

The conspicuous Summer Triangle asterism dominates the eastern sky in late evening. Vega, the triangle’s brightest member, shines at magnitude 0.0 and stands highest of the three stars. To its lower left lies Deneb; at magnitude 1.3, it is the faintest of the trio. Magnitude 0.8 Altair resides at the bottom right and completes the bright asterism. Despite its name, the Summer Triangle appears prominent from late spring until winter begins.

Source
Astronomy Magazine

In the Sky for the Month of June

The planets seem especially busy this month, highlighting both morning and evening skies. Venus reigns as the Evening Star, and points out some interesting sights in Gemini and Cancer during the month. Saturn puts in its best showing of the year, with Jupiter just past its best. And Mars climbs inexorably across the sky, toward its best appearance next month.

June 4: Ophiuchus
The constellaton Ophiuchus is low in the eastern sky on June evenings. Its stars are faint. Under a dark sky, though, they form a pattern that resembles an old coffee pot, which is on its side in early evening, and upright later on.

June 5: Earliest Sunrise
The year’s earliest sunrises in the northern hemisphere occur over the next few days. The date varies by latitude, with southern locations getting that extra sunlight first. The longest day of the year is the summer solstice, June 21.

June 6: Dark Nebulae
Some of the most interesting objects in the constellation Ophiuchus look like dark holes in the sky. Instead, though, they are immense clouds of cold gas and dust. They absorb the light of the stars behind them, so they look almost black.

June 7: Menkent
From the southern latitudes of the United States, the upper half of Centaurus, the centaur, stands due south at nightfall. The brightest star in that part of the constellation is Menkent, the centaur’s shoulder.

June 8: IC 4665
The star cluster IC 4665 is a quarter of the way up the sky as it gets dark. It stands to the lower right of the brightest star of Ophiuchus the serpent-bearer. Under really dark skies, the cluster is barely visible to the unaided eye.

June 9: Serpens
The sky is divided into 88 constellations. One of them is split into two disconnected parts. Serpens, the serpent, consists of a head and a tail. Serpens is in full view in the east and southeast by a couple of hours after sunset.

June 10: Leaping Gazelle
In western culture, the stars of the Big Dipper and those around it form the great bear, Ursa Major. The dipper is his body and tail, and three faint pairs of stars represent his feet. In ancient Arabia, those stars represented the leaps of a gazelle.

Source
StarDate

COSMIC CALENDAR

June 4, 2018

Anyone familiar with this calendar knows that every so often, very long void lunar cycles put a damper on accomplishing everything on your daily to-do list. The void moon zone that began in Aquarius yesterday remains in effect until tomorrow at 3:55am when the lunar orb enters watery Pisces.

Finishing old business on a high note – while not initiating bold, new plans – is recommended with the moon out of sorts.

While a square between Vesta in Capricorn and Chiron in Aries (2:40am) acts as a reminder to safeguard your valuables while being patient concerning investment planning, healing interests veer on to center stage as the sun forms an inspirational, 72-degree rapport with rainbow-bridge builder Chiron (9:58am).

The moon in parallel formation with King of the Gods Jupiter (1:20pm) is a potential source of hope and faith.

[Note to readers: All times are now calculated for Pacific Daylight Time. Be sure to adjust all times according to your own local time so the alignments noted above will be exact for your location.]

Copyright 2018 Mark Lerner & Great Bear Enterprises, Ltd.
Astrology.com

The Witches Current Moon Phase for June 4, 2018

Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 71%

The Moon today is in a Waning Gibbous Phase. This is the first phase after the Full Moon occurs. It lasts roughly 7 days with the Moon’s illumination growing smaller each day until the Moon becomes a Last Quarter Moon with a illumination of 50%. The average Moon rise for this phase is between 9am and Midnight depending on the age of the phase. The moon rises later and later each night setting after sunrise in the morning. During this phase the Moon can also be seen in the early morning daylight hours on the western horizon.

PHASE DETAILS FOR – MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2018
Phase: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 71%
Moon Age: 20.09 days
Moon Angle: 0.49
Moon Distance: 403,331.59 km
Sun Angle: 0.53
Sun Distance: 151,780,776.32 km

Source
MoonGiant.com

Do You Know What Happened On This Day – June 4 (Nothing Magical, But)

1989 Thousands die in the Tiananmen Square Massacre
Using assault rifles and tanks, Chinese troops massacred unarmed civilians who had taken part in pro-democracy protests.

1989 Poland holds the first free elections after World War II
The landslide victory of the Polish trade union, “Solidarity”, marked the beginning of the Autumn of Nations, a wave of revolutions resulting in the fall of communism.

1984 Bruce Springsteen releases Born in the U.S.A.
The album was Springsteen’s most successful. It featured hits like “Born in the U.S.A.”, “Dancing in the Dark”, and “I’m on Fire”.

1917 The first Pulitzer Prize is awarded
Every year, the prestigious award honors outstanding journalistic achievements. It was established with money bequeathed to Columbia University by publisher Joseph Pulitzer.

1783 The Montgolfier brothers demonstrate the first hot air balloon
The flight of the montgolfière lasted only about 10 minutes, but it secured the French inventors a place in the history books.

Source
timeanddate.com