TRAC Action Plan: June 2024
- Category: Action Plans
- Author: JM
- Published: 06 Jun 2024
- Last updated: 10 Jun 2024
Daytime Astronomy
You will have noticed that the evenings are much longer now, and it doesn't get really dark until around midnight. That's a bit late for us to meet, so over the summer we can have a go at the daytime astronomy ideas, starting with the pinhole camera project to view the Sun safely.
Pinhole Camera
Please refer to the May 2024 Action Plan!
We need a few large, sturdy cardboard boxes that are at least the size of an adult shoe box. Have a look around and see what you can find. Save one for the pinhole camera project. In my experience, the Amazon cardboard boxes are too flimsy.
I had a decent-sized box, but Zak used it as a bed and chewed off one of the edges, rendering it unusable. Keep boxes away from cats!
Lunar Observations
June 2024 Lunar Calendar
- New Moon Thu 06
- First Quarter Fri 14
- Full Moon Sat 22
- Last Quarter Fri 28
The Moon at first quarter will be high in the early evening sky around the middle of the month. Fri 14, Sat 15, or Sun 16 would be good days to take a look at it from the park.
On Sun 16, the Moon will be in conjunction with Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. The best views will be after 22:00.
June's full moon falls on a Saturday, which would normally be good news, but, like May, the Moon rises at around 23:00, so it won't be visible until after midnight. It'll be positioned more favourably from September.
Planets
Sad Times
As you know, it wasn't possible to see any planets in May due to their positions relative to the Earth and the Sun. The situation remains unchanged in June.
Where Did All the Planets Go?
Krum used the virtual planetarium software to view a model of the Solar System to get an idea of the current and future positions of the planets.
If you were paying attention, you should know when the planets will be back in favourable positions and when we'll have the best opportunity to observe them! If you weren't paying attention, ask Krum, and I'm sure he will tell you all the answers.
Admin Tasks
We need to design a leaflet to distribute to every house that backs onto the park to inform the occupants that an astronomy club is now operating in the area. When the leaflet is posted, we'll see if we can receive some positive feedback from residents. Then, when I write to the council, I can say that folks in the local area have been supportive of our activities.
This forms part of our strategy to persuade the council to allow us to stay in the park past the official closing time. Access to the park is not important in the summer, but it will be vital in the autumn and winter months when we're hunting down faint objects, for example, Neptune.
Summary
We'll keep busy this month with some daytime astronomy activities and solar observations with home made pinhole cameras. Let's see what we can achieve over the summer!
James M
TRAC Team Leader
06 Jun 2024 – Rainham, Kent
TRAC is an amateur astronomy group based in Rainham (Kent) in the United Kingdom.
On clear nights, you'll find us outside, observing stars, planets, moons, galaxies, satellites, meteors, and comets.
This action plan is specifically tailored for our location, schedules, optical equipment, level of experience, personal interests, and local sky conditions.
Unless stated otherwise, all magnitude values refer to apparent magnitude and have usually been rounded to one decimal place.
We welcome any questions, feedback, or suggestions you may have. Please let us know if anything is unclear or if you notice an error, inaccuracy, or typo. Contact us via email.
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