June 24
The Trailing Hem
Sun Position
The Sun is in Cancer, declination near +23.3°. Northern days are incrementally shortening after the solstice; Virgo sets progressively earlier in the evening.
Sky Highlight
No major meteor shower peaks today. June 24 is the feast day of St. John the Baptist in the Christian calendar, which has long been associated with midsummer bonfires across northern Europe, a folk tradition that tracked the solstice before the calendar was corrected.
Deep Sky Object
M68 (NGC 4590), a globular cluster about 33,600 light-years away. M68 in Hydra is a loose, moderately rich globular cluster best observed from southern and tropical latitudes; its slightly low density compared to compact clusters makes individual stars at its edges resolvable in small telescopes. Best from southern latitudes; from northern mid-latitudes it sits low in the south and benefits from a clear horizon.
Featured Star
Syrma (ι Vir) is a yellow-white subgiant (F0IV) about 70 light-years away in Virgo; its name is Greek for 'the trailing garment' or 'train of a robe,' preserved through Arabic astronomical catalogs. A subgiant evolving off the main sequence, it is slightly expanded from its former self, the stellar equivalent of early middle age.
Around This Date
- June 24, 1997The Progress M-34 spacecraft collided with Mir's Spektr module during a manual docking rehearsal, causing a breach that permanently disabled the module.
- June 22, 1978James Christy discovered Charon from photographic plates taken at the U.S. Naval Observatory, doubling the known population of Pluto's moons in a single afternoon.
The trailing hem of the constellation is sliding toward the horizon; summer is turning on its axis.