Ticker for June 20, 2001

                
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June 20, 2001      June 20, 2001      June 20, 2001      June 20, 2001


An Astronomically Important Ticker

OSU's Dr. J.D. Carlson is not only the person behind much of the
Mesonet's Agricultural presence ( http://agweather.mesonet.org ),
he's also one of many meteorologists with a passion for stargazing.
He reminded us that some important astronomical events will occur
in the next 24 hours or so.

The summer solstice will occur Friday morning at 2:38 am CDT.
This marks the time when the sun reaches its greatest northern
latitude (also known as the Tropic of Cancer) and begins its
six-month journey southward.  Tomorrow is the longest day of
the year for those of us north of the equator.

The new moon (opposite of full moon) occurs at 6:58 am CDT
Thursday morning.

Because of the new moon, nighttime skies are dark, allowing better
observation of stars and planets.  That's a good thing, because
Mars is positively spectacular this month.  This is because Mars
and Earth are making their closest pass in several years, at a
point when Mars is already oriented for great viewing. The
reddish-gold planet shines bright in the south-to-southeast sky,
about a third of the way up from the horizon.  The entire Ticker
staff took a walk last night around ten o'clock, and Mars was
quite impressive, even to the naked eye.

Also related to the new moon, there will be a total solar eclipse
across the southern Atlantic, southern Africa, and Madagascar
Thursday.  We invite all Ticker readers in these regions to send
us pictures.

Enjoy the heavens!