Sunday – is associated with the Sun
Candle colors – Red, Gold, and Orange
This is a Leo’s power day
Conjuring Work Excellent for Sundays: Power, Health, Success, Personal Finances, Prosperity, Home life, Control, Hotfoot work, Shut your mouth conjure, Sunday is good for all hot work.
—Old Style Conjure Wisdoms, Workings and Remedies
Starr Casas
This week, it’s all about Saturn … but if you look close, you might spy an asteroid.
Sunday, June 19
• Full Moon officially arrives at 7:02 a.m. EDT tomorrow morning, but it looks completely illuminated throughout the night. It appears low in the southeast as the Sun sets and reaches its peak in the south around 1 a.m. local daylight time. For North American observers, the Full Moon crosses from Ophiuchus the Serpent-bearer into Sagittarius the Archer during the evening hours.
• Mercury shines brightly in morning twilight this week, standing 5° high in the east-northeast a half-hour before sunrise today. The inner planet glows at magnitude –0.6 and shows up easily through binoculars if you have an unobstructed horizon. Look carefully and you might also glimpse 1st-magnitude Aldebaran 4° to its south (lower right). When viewed through a telescope, Mercury appears 6″ across and about two-thirds lit.
Monday, June 20
• Earth’s summer solstice occurs at 6:34 p.m. EDT, when the Sun reaches its farthest point north in the sky. The solstice marks the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and today has more hours of sunlight than any other. For astronomy buffs, however, long days translate into short nights and extended twilight, which limit our time under the stars.
Tuesday, June 21
• Asteroid 10 Hygeia currently lies near the border between the constellations Leo the Lion and Virgo the Maiden. This region lies about one-third of the way from the southeastern horizon to the zenith after evening twilight fades away. Tonight, you can find the 11th-magnitude asteroid 1° due south of the 4th-magnitude star Upsilon (u) Leonis.
Wednesday, June 22
• Magnificent Saturn reached its peak earlier this month, when it appeared opposite the Sun in the sky, and our view of the ringed planet remains spectacular. It is on display nearly all night among the background stars of southern Ophiuchus, hanging in the southeastern sky as darkness falls and climbing highest in the south around 11:30 p.m. local daylight time. Saturn continues to shine brightly, too, at magnitude 0.1. When viewed through a telescope, the planet measures 18″ across while the dramatic ring system spans 42″ and tilts 26° to our line of sight. This evening also provides an excellent view of the gas giant’s large family of moons. The most obvious is 8th-magnitude Titan, which appears northeast of the planet. Next, look for the 10th-magnitude trio of Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. They appear in a straight line northwest of Saturn and closer to the rings. Finally, target 10th-magnitude Iapetus well to the west of Saturn. Don’t confuse any of these satellites with the brighter, 6th-magnitude star SAO 184541, which appears between the planet and Iapetus.
Thursday, June 23
• Mars remains near its peak all this week. The Red Planet reached opposition and best visibility a month ago but, like Saturn, has not declined much. Mars appears almost due south and at its highest as twilight fades to darkness. The world shines at magnitude –1.5 against the much fainter background stars of Libra. When viewed through a telescope, Mars’ orange-red disk spans 17″. Look for subtle dark markings along with a whitish north polar cap.
Friday, June 24
• Brilliant Jupiter appears high in the west as darkness falls and remains on display until midnight local daylight time. The giant planet shines at magnitude –1.9 against the backdrop of southern Leo the Lion. Jupiter appears equally dazzling through a telescope, which reveals a wealth of atmospheric features on a disk that spans 35″.
Saturday, June 25
• Look high in the northwest after darkness falls this month, and you’ll be greeted by the familiar sight of the Big Dipper. The Dipper is the most conspicuous asterism — a recognizable pattern of stars that doesn’t form a complete constellation shape — in the entire sky. It forms the body and tail of Ursa Major the Great Bear. Use the Pointers, the two stars at the end of the Dipper’s bowl, to find Polaris, which lies due north for everyone north of the equator. Polaris marks the end of the Little Dipper’s handle. On June evenings, the relatively faint stars of this dipper arc directly above Polaris.
Sunday, June 26
• If ever there was a good time to track down Pluto, this is the night. The distant world passes just 2.7′ due south of the 3rd-magnitude star Pi (p) Sagittarii in northeastern Sagittarius, making the task of finding the dwarf planet much easier than usual. Pluto glows dimly at magnitude 14.1, however, so you’ll need an 8-inch or larger telescope to spot it visually.
The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 96.61° E
Sun Altitude: 48.49°
Sun Distance: 94.457 million mi
Next Solstice: Jun 20, 2016 5:34 PM (Summer)
Sunrise Today: 5:35 AM↑ 59° Northeast
Sunset Today: 8:22 PM↑ 301° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 14 hours, 46 minutes
The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 292.64° WNW
Moon Altitude: -53.87°
Moon Distance: 247089 mi
Next Full Moon: Jun 20, 20166:02 AM
Next New Moon: Jul 4, 20166:00 AM
Next Moonrise: Today7:37 PM
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 99.1%
Over the years
As we grow old,
We remember our father
So brave and bold.
In the garden,
Leaning on the plow,
He would listen to me;
I see him now.
He would give advice
And understand;
He was always there
To lend a hand.
Goddess made fathers
Strong and firm,
For She knew our lives
Would have great concerns.
So She gave us fathers
To teach us to pray,
And guide our lives,
And show us the way.
So on his day
Let’s take the time
To say “Thanks, dad.
I’m glad you’re mine.”
—Author Unknown
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2016 June 18
Sputnik Planum vs. Krun Macula
Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ./APL, Southwest Research Institute
Explanation: Pluto’s pitted plains meet rugged highlands in this stunning view. On the left lies a southeastern extent of the bright region still informally known as Sputnik Planum. At right the edge of a dark region, informally Krun Macula, rises some 2.5 kilometers above the icy plains. Along the boundary, connected clusters of large pits form deep valleys, some over 40 kilometers long with shadowy floors. Nitrogen ice is likely responsible for the more reflective plains. The dark red color of the highlands is thought to be from complex compounds called tholins, a product of ultraviolet light induced chemical reactions with methane in Pluto’s atmosphere. The enhanced color image includes portions of the highest and secondhighest resolution image data from the New Horizons July 2015 flyby of the distant world.
The last time a full moon fell on a solstice generally was in 2010 – the December solstice of December 21, 2010, when the full moon staged an exceedingly rare December solstice total lunar eclipse. There is amazingly accurate Gregoriana eclipse cycle of 372 years, featuring the recurrences of eclipses with the seasons, as defined by solstices and equinoxes.
We find a total lunar eclipse last happening on the December solstice 372 years ago, on December 21, 1638. Looking 372 years ahead of 2010, to the year 2382, we find a December solstice partial lunar eclipse on December 21, 2382. And 19 years after that, in 2401, there’s a December solstice total lunar eclipse on December 21, 2401.
Bottom line: Solstice and full moon both fall on June 20, 2016, for the first time since 1967, aka the Summer of Love.
Article originally published on EarthSky
Tonight – on June 18, 2016 – you might have difficulty seeing the planet Saturn in the glare of the brilliant waxing gibbous moon. If so, place your finger in front of the moon to spot nearby Saturn.
The red planet Mars will be much easier spot because it shines five times as brilliantly as Saturn, and moreover, lies farther from the moon on the sky’s dome.
The third object near tonight’s moon is the star Antares. Although Saturn is brighter than Antares, the star might be easier to spot than Saturn on June 18, because this star shines farther from the moon’s glare.
Of course, the moon isn’t literally closer to Saturn than to Mars on June 18. It’s only that the moon and Saturn are much closer to aligning on the same line of sight. Saturn lies nearly 18 times Mars’ distance from Earth right now. Considering all five bright planets at once – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn – Saturn ranks as the farthest world we can easily see with the unaided eye.
And, if we include the star Antares in the mix, this supergiant red star lodges way, way outside the solar system at some 600light-years away. Mars and Saturn, in stark contrast, are our close neighbors, at only 4.4 and 75 light-minutes from Earth, respectively.
Want to know the distances of the planets from Earth and the sun right now? Click here.
Remember the number 9.5. And, presto, you have Saturn’s vital statistics at your fingertips:
Saturn’s diameter = 9.5 Earth diameters
Saturn’s distance = 9.5 times the Earth-sun distance
Saturn’s mass = 95 times Earth’s mass
Also, add 20 to 9.5 and you have Saturn’s orbital period: 29.5 Earth-years.
Bottom line: As darkness falls on June 18, 2016, you might – or might not – see the planet Saturn in the harsh glare of the waxing gibbous moon. If you can’t see it, place your finger in front of the moon to reduce its glare.
Today’s Witches Rune
Man
Meaning: The Man rune demands action. It’s not longer time to quietly sit and think, or to hide yourself and heal. No, it’s time to get up and fight for what you want. If things are slow or stagnated, change them. Begin something new. It’s not a moment to let things flow as they will, but to grab the reigns and gain control over the situation. Be the leader and defend your stand.
While the Woman rune is about healing, this one can be about defending yourself, and, sometimes, hurting or getting hurt in the process. You may have to defend your opinions, your actions or choices against some aggressive people. This rune offers you a challenge, but is also shows that you have the resources needed to face it. Naturally, this rune has very aggressive potentials in it, and they need a good deal of discipline in order to not become sorely destructive.
The Man rune also accelerates everything… nothing stays still when its around. The outcome of your question may happen sooner than you expected, but the result will probably be unexpected. It does not mean that all will go wrong, no – things will simply develop in unseen ways.
In relationship readings, the Man rune promises a period of instability, so it’s important to not have high expectations. Under the influence of this rune, the relationship can be a stairway to Heaven or a ticket to Hell… and sometimes both, in a short period of time. It promises a bumpy journey for the heart, but with a great level of intensity. The Man rune can stand for love/hate relationship, cat and rat games and obsessions… the kind of things that turns one nuts (for good and for bad). This rune is good in questions concerning sexuality.
Additional information about Today’s Witches courtesy of Your Spiritual Journey Australia
You must be logged in to post a comment.