Dipper Scoops Ice Cream For Cone And Cup

For a summer vacation pursuit, launch a star watch to witness a rare visible nova. In the midst of summer ice cream, a new star may appear.

You could begin with the June solstice. After a long day, ice cream would be welcome. From sunset segue through twilight and into the dark. Scoop a big dipper of ice cream onto a cone and scoop another into a cup. It's summer!

Follow the arc of the ice cream dipper's handle to the drip of ice cream on the bottom of the sugar cone. Then go up the cone topped with ice cream to the nearby U-shaped cup. If a new drip of ice cream appears under the left curve of the cup, that's your nova.

Summer nights reveal a big dipper (right) for scooping ice cream onto a cone and into a cup.

While awaiting the end of twilight, consider for your summer reading Walt Whitman's When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer.

Within an hour after sunset, stars of different magnitudes are visible. The Big Dipper is high in the summer sky. Star hop, following the arc to Arcturus. Nearby are two second-magnitude stars. If a third star of equal brightness appears in a line, you may be on to something. That new drip of ice cream

Red marks the zenith overhead. Two circles mark Izar in the ice cream cone and Gemma (or Alphecca) in the ice cream cup. Looking high and south on the June solstice, 10:40 p.m.

After you follow the arc to Arcturus, spike down to Spica. Less than a week later, on July 3, 2025, the waxing moon will pass about 3 degrees away. Hold that thought. Next year at this time you may be counting down for the fireworks going into Fourth of July, 2026. You can then celebrate the star Spica as America's Semiquincentennial Star.

The Summer Triangle is fully above the horizon, fulfilling its seasonal and geometric obligations. Now get back to the ice cream.