Starwatch for June 2019

Hello! I’m Karl Hricko of United Astronomy Clubs of NJ, and the National Space Society bringing you the June Starwatch for the WNTI listening area.
The stars and galaxies are moving faster and faster away from each other. Is the universe expanding? Edwin Hubble is given credit for observing that the galaxies are moving away from each other. Reversing this process leads to a single point from which all matter and energy exploded. However, Two years earlier, Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian priest, astronomer, and mathematician proposed a similar idea. He said the universe expanded from a primeval atom and was accelerating. He published this in a paper including what is now known as Hubble’s Law. In the meantime, Fred Hoyle, who believed the universe was static and unchanging, mockingly called it “The Big Bang”. Observational evidence now supports the Big Bang Theory.
Although the universe may be expanding, you can still see the visible planets this month. At dusk, look for Mercury to the left of Mars in the west-northwest. Both are moving from Gemini to Cancer. At about the same time, Jupiter is seen brightly southeast in Ophiuchus. At midnight, in the same direction, Saturn is found in Sagittarius. At dawn in the east-northeast, Venus shines in Taurus. So this month, try to get your own Big Bang out of watching the motion of our visible planets. And don’t forget – our summer begins on June 21 at 11:54 a.m. EDT.

Until our next Starwatch – Don’t forget to check out … What’s up in the night sky!