The purpose of this feature is to give scout leaders, educators and naturalists an idea of some of the natural events coming up each month.  We will try to cover a variety of natural events ranging from sky events to calling periods of amphibians, bird and mammal watching tips,  prominent wildflowers and anything else that comes to mind.  We will also note prominent constellations appearing over the eastern horizon at mid-evening each month for our area for those who would like to learn the constellations.  If you have suggestions for other types of natural information you would like to see added to this calendar, let us know!

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Notes and Images From May 2018

The trailhead is around 4,500 feet in elevation, and it's a relatively easy 3.4 mile round-trip hike to Whigg Meadow and back.  The meadow is at 5,000 feet.  Most of the hike is a little lower than where I've encountered Saw-whet Owls before, but we thought it would be worth a try.

It was a pretty night for the hike, and we set off down the trail as darkness approached.  We listened at intervals for the owls, but heard none.  We reached the meadow around 11:00pm.  Still we heard no Saw-whets.  As we walked up the trail that takes you to the crest of Whigg Meadow, we looked behind us and saw a waning gibbous moon rising over a ridge to the east. I hurriedly got out my camera and lens and readjusted all of the settings.  Ack! The moon had cleared the ridge.  But I realized since the ridge was sloping upward, I could go back down the trail and make it rise again!  I managed to catch it rising over a different part of the ridge and just hoped I could hand-hold the camera steadily enough to get the shot.  After that, we hiked to the top of the meadow and just enjoyed the panorama of sky and mountains.

We slowly hiked back down the trail, just enjoying the night.  We got back to the trailhead around 1:30am and started putting our packs and gear into the car.  I walked over to a corner of the parking lot, and then I became aware of a faint sound right at the threshold of my hearing.  I stopped, cupped my hands around my ears, and then there it was, very faint, coming and going, but plainly there: a Northern Saw-whet Owl!

We listened, reveling in the beauty of the call.  The short call notes, coming and going, had an ethereal quality in the cool night air.  Was the owl turning its head when it called to make the notes vary?  There was almost no wind at all.  We imagined the owl on its perch, calling into the night.

We savored the calls, the night air, the mountain ridges by moonlight.  Then, reluctantly, we said goodbye and began the drive back down the mountain.

Jupiter is in Libra this month.  Look for it in the southeastern sky after sunset as the month begins.  If you steady your binoculars on something solid, you can often pick out several of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter close to the planet.  With a telescope, you can often glimpse some details in the clouds.  These details change rapidly, and the details can look different from night to night.  It's also fun to watch the Galilean satellites transit the face of the planet, or be eclipsed by the planet's shadow.

Mars is in Capricornus as the month begins, rising around 11:40pm CDT. The planet is rapidly growing in apparent size as the Earth swings by it in late July. Mars begins the month at 15.3 arcseconds in diameter and increases to a wonderful 20.7 arcseconds in diameter by the end of the month.  In late July Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in 15 years!  Mars is always fascinating to view, but it takes patience to wait for the moments when the Earth's atmosphere steadies.

Venus continues to dazzle in the western sky after sunset this month. It reaches its highest sunset altitude of the year on June 6th.

Mercury makes an appearance in the evening sky this month, beginning to be visible around mid-month.  Look for it low in the western sky about 30 to 40 minutes after sunset at the end of the month, below and to the right of bright Venus.

Saturn is in Sagittarius this month, rising about 9:40pm CDT at the beginning of the month.  The tilt of the rings has now opened to 26 degrees, and the view is spectacular in any size telescope.  The planet transits around 2:37am CDT.  Saturn comes to opposition on the night of June 27th. The globe of Saturn is now 18.2 seconds of an arc.

Constellations: The views below show the sky looking east at 10:00pm CDT on June 15th. The first view shows the sky with the constellation outlined and names depicted.  Star and planet names are in green.  Constellation names are in blue.  The second view shows the same scene without labels.  New constellations this month in the eastern sky are Lyra, the Lyre, with its bright star Vega, Cygnus, the Swan, and Aquila, the Eagle.  The bright stars Vega, Deneb and Altair form the "summer triangle."  Looking to the north, the edge-on galaxy NGC 5907 rides high above the Little Dipper in Draco.  This galaxy was discovered in 1788 by William Herschel.  Most estimates place it at a distance of around 40 million light-years.  Using averted vision, I've seen it as a faint narrow streak of light in my 85mm Televue refractor.  A 6 inch telescope will give you a better view.  As with all deep sky objects, you need a clear dark sky.