Lets start the month off with our inner most planet, Mercury. It will be found in the west after the Sun sets but it may be hard to spot for the first few nights of the month while it lies low on the horizon. Early in the month, your best chance of seeing Mercury will be on higher ground so nothing blocks your horizon. By the 9th, Mercury will have nearly doubled its altitude in our sky and will be found in the Beehive Star Cluster, which is one of the star clusters that I have been able to view many times. However, the sky will likely be much to bright to view the pair through a telescope. Around the 23rd and 24th of the month, Mercury and the Moon will be found in close proximity from our perspective. The pair will join the bright star, Regulus, part of the constellation Leo the Lion, on these dates. Mercury will be visible all month.
Venus, the next closest planet to the Sun, and the closest planet to the Earth, will still be found in the morning sky. It will rise above the eastern horizon around 3 in the morning, so you early risers should be sure to take a look! It will be VERY hard to miss brilliant Venus. As the Sun creeps closer to the eastern horizon, Venus will be found near another one of my favorite star clusters, the Pleiades. If you own a pair of binoculars, be sure to give Venus and the Pleiades your attention. By the middle of July, Venus will be found by yet another favorite star cluster, the Hyades. You may even notice the bright star Aldebaran, which appears noticeably more orange than the other stars in the sky. By the 20th, the Moon will join Venus in the morning sky which always makes a great pair, in my opinion.
Massive Jupiter will be easily found in our southern sky after sunset. As I have mentioned several times, if you have a pair of binoculars or a telescope, be sure to give Jupiter a look. You will be able to see the four Galilean Moons and if using a telescope, you will be able to make out the cloud bands. Since Jupiter is high in the sky, it's in a great spot for observations. Jupiter will fall below the western horizon close to 1 in the morning at the beginning of the month and will set earlier each night. Jupiter will be visible throughout the month.
Since Saturn reached opposition in June, it will now rise in the east a short time before the Sun sets in the west. If you are able to stay out late, after Jupiter sets, be sure to point your observing device towards Saturn. The rings make a spectacular view through a telescope of 4 inches or larger. You will also be able to view Saturn's largest moon, Titan, as well as a few of the larger moons through a 4 inch or larger telescope. Saturn will also be visible month long.
Uranus will also be visible this month towards the southeast. If you are under a dark sky, you should be able to see it with the naked eye. The views will be enhanced through binoculars or a telescope. It will be found the constellation of Pisces the Fish and will have a distinctive blue-green glow.
Neptune will rise shortly before midnight as July begins. You will need a pair of binoculars or a telescope to spot it among the stars of Aquarius. A dark sky will also help you find our most distant known planet. It will appear blue-gray in color.
Everyone's favorite dwarf planet, Pluto, will reach opposition this month which will make it brighter in the sky. You will need at least an 8 inch telescope to spot it however. It will be found in the constellation of Sagittarius and may require a few nights of observations to recognize this distant world. If you have the required equipment, sketch the stars in your eyepiece. Over the course of a few nights, you will notice that one has changed position. This is Pluto!
July brings the Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor shower. This shower will peak on the 30th but you can always see the meteors a week before and after the peak date. These appear to radiate from the constellation of Aquarius in the southern sky. You may be able to see up to 20 meteors per hour but this rate may go up if you are able to get to a dark sky site. Stay tuned for one of the better meteor showers of the year next month!!
Comet Johnson (C/2015 V2) will still be visible during the month of July. It reached it's closest approach to the Sun as well as the Earth during June. It can be found near the bright star Spica on the 1st and will travel through the constellations of Virgo, Hydra, and Centaurus throughout the month. Be sure to get out your binoculars to view this comet. It will appear as a fuzzy ball in your field of view. The view improves with larger instruments.
Here is your monthly breakdown.
July 03: Earth at aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) - 94.5 million miles
July 09: Full Moon
July 10: Pluto at opposition
July 23: New Moon
July 30: Peak of the Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor shower
Many remarkable discoveries and achievements have occurred during the month of July in years past. I will only mention a few of these and go into a little more detail on the events that I have found the most fascinating in hopes that you will find them interesting as well.
In the year 1054, the supernova that has created the Crab Nebula was seen on July 4th. This nebula is over 6,500 light years away from the Earth. This means that the star actually went supernova 6,500 years before it was seen in 1054. I have yet to view this nebula through my telescope, but the pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope and others are amazing! I encourage you to find a few and tell me what you think. For those with a telescope, the Crab Nebula can be found in the constellation of Taurus the Bull.
On July 9, 1979 the spacecraft, Voyager 2, flew past Jupiter. This spacecraft is now approximately 115 AU from the Sun. This distance is 115 times the distance the Earth is from the Sun. Voyager 2 is on the verge of entering interstellar space, the space between the stars. Voyager 1 entered this area in 2012 and is still sending information back to Earth. The smartphone that you use today is much more powerful than the technology used to build and operate both of the Voyager spacecraft.
Very recently, the New Horizons spacecraft made its historic flyby of Pluto. This occurred on July 14, 2015. We have received very many pictures and data from Pluto, changing our understanding of it dramatically. For comparison, it took the Voyager spacecraft over 12 years to reach the distance Pluto is from the Sun, which is about 40 AU from the Sun. It took New Horizons only 9.5 years to reach this distance. New Horizons mission is not over yet. It is currently flying to another target in the Kuiper Belt and is expected to reach it sometime in 2019.
Who could forget about the historic moon landings?! Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. While Neil and Buzz landed on the Moon, Michael stayed in the spacecraft that was used to rendezvous with the lunar module and return the three astronauts safely home. They splashed down on Earth 4 days later and were welcomed home as heroes.
The space shuttle program came to an end when Atlantis touched down on July 21, 2011. I made a trip to the Kennedy Space Center a year or so before this time to watch the last mission of the Discovery shuttle, but unfortunately it was pushed back to later date. I still had a great time at the space center and if given the chance, I would definitely go again. Atlantis is currently on exhibition at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA has been relying heavily on Russia and their space program to take astronauts to and from the ISS.
A few final noteworthy happenings from the month of July are the discovery of dwarf planet Eris on the 29th in 2005, the deployment of the Chandra X-ray observatory in orbit around the Earth on the 23rd 1999, and finally the founding of NASA on the 29th in 1958. Where would we be today without NASA and the technological contributions that they have made?
Now get outside and look up!
Here is your monthly breakdown.
July 03: Earth at aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) - 94.5 million miles
July 09: Full Moon
July 10: Pluto at opposition
July 23: New Moon
July 30: Peak of the Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor shower
Many remarkable discoveries and achievements have occurred during the month of July in years past. I will only mention a few of these and go into a little more detail on the events that I have found the most fascinating in hopes that you will find them interesting as well.
In the year 1054, the supernova that has created the Crab Nebula was seen on July 4th. This nebula is over 6,500 light years away from the Earth. This means that the star actually went supernova 6,500 years before it was seen in 1054. I have yet to view this nebula through my telescope, but the pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope and others are amazing! I encourage you to find a few and tell me what you think. For those with a telescope, the Crab Nebula can be found in the constellation of Taurus the Bull.
On July 9, 1979 the spacecraft, Voyager 2, flew past Jupiter. This spacecraft is now approximately 115 AU from the Sun. This distance is 115 times the distance the Earth is from the Sun. Voyager 2 is on the verge of entering interstellar space, the space between the stars. Voyager 1 entered this area in 2012 and is still sending information back to Earth. The smartphone that you use today is much more powerful than the technology used to build and operate both of the Voyager spacecraft.
Very recently, the New Horizons spacecraft made its historic flyby of Pluto. This occurred on July 14, 2015. We have received very many pictures and data from Pluto, changing our understanding of it dramatically. For comparison, it took the Voyager spacecraft over 12 years to reach the distance Pluto is from the Sun, which is about 40 AU from the Sun. It took New Horizons only 9.5 years to reach this distance. New Horizons mission is not over yet. It is currently flying to another target in the Kuiper Belt and is expected to reach it sometime in 2019.
Who could forget about the historic moon landings?! Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The crew consisted of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. While Neil and Buzz landed on the Moon, Michael stayed in the spacecraft that was used to rendezvous with the lunar module and return the three astronauts safely home. They splashed down on Earth 4 days later and were welcomed home as heroes.
The space shuttle program came to an end when Atlantis touched down on July 21, 2011. I made a trip to the Kennedy Space Center a year or so before this time to watch the last mission of the Discovery shuttle, but unfortunately it was pushed back to later date. I still had a great time at the space center and if given the chance, I would definitely go again. Atlantis is currently on exhibition at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA has been relying heavily on Russia and their space program to take astronauts to and from the ISS.
A few final noteworthy happenings from the month of July are the discovery of dwarf planet Eris on the 29th in 2005, the deployment of the Chandra X-ray observatory in orbit around the Earth on the 23rd 1999, and finally the founding of NASA on the 29th in 1958. Where would we be today without NASA and the technological contributions that they have made?
Now get outside and look up!
No comments:
Post a Comment