June 16
The Bearer's Head
Sun Position
The Sun is in Gemini, declination near +23.3°. The Northern Hemisphere's solstice is days away; evening twilight lasts well past 9 p.m. at mid-latitudes.
Sky Highlight
No major meteor shower peaks today. Ophiuchus is rising well in the southeast after dark, and its rich field of Messier globular clusters (M9, M10, M12, M14, M19, M62, M107) begins to become accessible for systematic observation through the month.
Deep Sky Object
M14 (NGC 6402), a globular cluster about 30,300 light-years away. M14 in Ophiuchus is a large, loosely concentrated globular cluster that is one of the few to have had a nova observed within it; in 1964, a nova briefly brightened inside the cluster before fading, and photographic plates from 1938 were later found to show another. Best from southern and tropical latitudes; visible in binoculars from northern mid-latitudes in June and July.
Featured Star
Rasalhague (α Oph) is a white giant (A5III) 47 light-years away, the head of Ophiuchus, a figure whose constellation crosses the ecliptic for longer than Scorpius does, yet is left out of the twelve-sign zodiac. At 47 light-years, its light is roughly as old as a typical internet company.
Around This Date
- June 16, 1963Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space when Vostok 6 launched from Baikonur; she completed 48 orbits before returning safely three days later.
- June 18, 1983Sally Ride became the first American woman in space when she launched aboard Space Shuttle Challenger on the STS-7 mission.
The head of the healer rides the midsummer sky, 47 light-years overhead and easy to find.