June 14
Blue Sting
Sun Position
The Sun is in Gemini, declination near +23.3°. Northern Hemisphere days remain very long; Scorpius begins its evening rise in the south.
Sky Highlight
No major meteor shower peaks today. Mid-June evenings offer the first good views of the year of the Scorpius-Sagittarius region from mid-northern latitudes, as the galactic center climbs above the southern horizon after dark.
Deep Sky Object
M80 (NGC 6093), a globular cluster about 32,600 light-years away. M80 in Scorpius is one of the most densely packed globular clusters in the Milky Way, and in 1860 it hosted a bright nova, one of the few novae ever observed within a globular cluster. Better from southern latitudes; accessible from northern mid-latitudes low in the south in June and July evenings.
Featured Star
Shaula (λ Sco) is a blue subgiant system (B1.5IV primary) roughly 700 light-years away, marking the raised tip of the scorpion's tail; it is a triple star that appears as a single hot blue point. At this distance, the light arriving tonight has been traveling since roughly the time of the First Crusade.
Around This Date
- June 14, 1967NASA's Mariner 5 was launched on a flyby mission to Venus, contributing measurements of the planet's atmosphere and magnetosphere.
- June 11, 1985ESA's Giotto spacecraft was launched toward Halley's Comet, eventually flying through the comet's coma in March 1986.
Three stars at the scorpion's tip, steady and blue, 700 light-years above the southern horizon.