June was extremely hot over Utah, with a few days breaking previously set record high temperatures. There were many clear nights but I was once again, unable to take full advantage of them. I was able to see Venus after sunset and the two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, in the morning before sunrise with the unaided eye, as I'm sure many of you were able to as well. Hopefully July will find me under the stars more often with my equipment!
July will remain hot over Utah, likely breaking more high temperature records set in previous years. Hopefully the nights won't be too unbearable and allow the stargazers ample opportunities to enjoy the night sky. July will offer observers the chance to view most of the planets with ease. July will also bring the return of a meteor shower which, unfortunately, is hardly worth mentioning due to the low number of meteors per hour and the interference from the Moon. This shower will be a precursor to the much anticipated Perseids in August. These short summer nights will allow an observer to view many deep sky objects with just a pair of binoculars or a small telescope with a 3-4 inch aperture. Of course a larger telescope will show greater detail and a greater number of objects. Don't forget to get away from as much light pollution as possible!
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| Mercury |
Mercury will be the last planet an observer staying out all night will view before sunrise. This tiny world will reach its greatest western elongation on the 4th and rise about 80 minutes before the Sun. The observer staying out from sundown to sun-up will notice the Pleiades rising shortly before Mercury. On the 8th, the 2% lit Moon will be found to the left and help an observer locate this innermost planet. As the month goes on, Mercury will fall closer to the Sun but brighten in the morning sky, perhaps making it easier to spot. Mercury will continue to fall closer to the Sun all month as it approaches superior conjunction in August. For those following the constellations, Mercury will be found in Taurus as July begins and will end the month in Gemini.
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| Venus |
Venus will again be the first planet that an observer should look for after sunset. On the first and second evening of July, Venus can be found in the Beehive Cluster which can be seen with the unaided eye if the observer is away from light pollution. A pair of binoculars or a telescope will reveal many more stars which are a part of this cluster. On the 12th, Venus and Mars will be paired together with less than 1° separating the two. An observer using a telescope or binoculars will be able to see both planets in one field of view, with Venus showing an 87% lit disc. Venus will begin the month in Cancer the Crab and end in Leo the Lion.
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| Mars |
Mars will be the second planet for an observer to look for. It has dimmed significantly and will glow at magnitude 1.82 on the first evening of the month and continue to dim as it approaches the Sun. The Red Planet will be found close to Venus on the 12th and can be seen in a single field of view if using a telescope or binoculars. After this close conjunction, Mars will be found closer to the horizon than Venus and will pass from Cancer the Crab into Leo the Lion as the month comes to an end.
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| Jupiter |
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| Saturn |
The two gas giants will be visible after midnight as the month begins and a full two hours earlier by the end of the month. Jupiter will lag behind Saturn but may be easier to notice since it will shine much brighter than the ringed world. Its magnitude will also increase throughout the month as it approaches opposition. Jupiter is a great target no matter what type of gear is used. A simple pair of binoculars will reveal the Galilean Moons while a telescope can show an observer the cloud bands and Great Red Spot. The rate at which Jupiter rotates on its axis is so quick that viewing this planet at different times throughout the night will show different things. An observer may also witness one or more of the Galilean Moons pass behind this giant planet or in front, causing a shadow of the moon on the cloud tops. The Moons of Jupiter and Jovemoons apps are great additions to an arsenal of stargazing apps for any observer who wishes to see such a transit. They can use the location of the observer so they will know when a transit or the Great Red Spot is visible in their location. Jupiter will be found in Aquarius throughout July.
Saturn will rise an hour prior to Jupiter which should make it the third target for an observer. A small telescope can reveal the rings and Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. I often tell the story of my first memory of looking through a telescope at Saturn and how I became interested in astronomy. Unfortunately, it took me many more years before I realized my passion for it and was able to purchase a telescope of my own. Saturn can be found in Capricornus throughout July.
Both gas giants will be joined by the Moon on the 24th and 25th. On the 24th, the Moon can be found just below Saturn and to the right of Jupiter. The following night, the Moon will be just below Jupiter as the pair rise above the Rocky Mountains around 10:30 Mountain Time.
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| Neptune |
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| Uranus |
The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus will rise around 3:30 in the morning, about the same time as the Pleiades, on the first night of the month. By the end of the month, the pair will rise about 2 hours earlier. They will be joined by the Moon on the 4th and 31st this month, possibly making them easier to locate in the night sky.
Neptune will rise an hour after Jupiter throughout the month. The most distant planet will be joined by the Moon on the 27th. Neptune will join Jupiter in the constellation of Aquarius this month.
Meteor Shower
July brings the Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor shower which, unfortunately, will not be a great shower to watch. A last quarter Moon will brighten the sky on the 30th, the peak date of the shower. Typically this shower produces around 25 meteors per hour which are usually quite dim. They will appear to radiate from the constellation of Aquarius, which is where Jupiter and Neptune will reside. Occasionally, a bright meteor may be seen streaking across the sky from any meteor shower. To increase your chances of seeing a shooting star, get to a dark sky location and away from all light sources. Remember that the average amount of meteors that can be seen on any given night is around 10 per hour.Spot Me....🕵️
I've had you try to spot quite a few different objects in the night sky, most of which require a telescope. In June, I had you look for Mars and the Beehive Cluster. This month, I encourage you to view the Beehive Cluster and Venus. Both should be viewed as early in the evening as possible since the closer they are to the horizon, the harder they will be to bring into focus if using binoculars or a telescope. I also encourage you to view the Lagoon Nebula (M8) and the open star cluster NGC 6530. Both of these objects are found close together in the southern Milky Way band. To find these two, look for Antares (red super giant star in Scorpius), then move directly to the left into the constellation of Sagittarius and the Milky Way band. From here, you should be able to spot the open star cluster and the Lagoon Nebula. Be sure to get away from all sources of light pollution to improve your view!
The Lagoon Nebula, like the Orion Nebula, is a place where stars are formed. As stars form, they can group together, creating star clusters, like NGC 6530, M45 (Pleiades), and M13 (Hercules Cluster). Eventually, some stars go supernova leaving awesome deep sky objects for us to view from Earth. We will look at a few of these as well as other targets next month!
As always, leave a comment to let me and others know what you see!
Monthly Breakdown
July 01: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
July 04: Moon passes within 2° of Uranus
July 04: Mercury at greatest western elongation
July 08: Moon passes within 4° of Mercury
July 09: New Moon 🌑
July 12: Moon passes within 3° of Venus
July 12: Moon passes within 4° of Mars
July 13: Venus and Mars pass within 0.5°
July 17: First Quarter Moon 🌓
July 23: Full Moon 🌕
July 24: Moon passes within 4° of Saturn
July 25: Moon passes within 4° of Jupiter
July 27: Moon passes within 4° of Neptune
July 30: Southern Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower Peaks
July 31: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
July 31: Moon passes within 2° or Uranus
Think About This....💡
Many people think that the night sky never changes and not very many new discoveries will be made in astronomy. While it's true that many of the loved DSO's (deep sky objects) such as the Hercules Cluster, Andromeda Galaxy, and the Orion Nebula return to our sky year after year, new or rare objects and events can also be seen such as comets (think NEOWISE), eclipses, conjunctions, and the like. Recently, a new comet-like object was discovered in the Oort Cloud, making its way to the inner solar system. This object is much larger than the typical comet, which vary widely in size but average about 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter. This new comet is estimated to be nearly 200 kilometers (125 miles) in diameter! The new comet likely won't reach anywhere near the inner solar system but may come as close as Saturn in its orbit by the year 2031 before heading back out to the far reaches of the solar system where the gravity of the Sun may not be able to hold on to it. There is a high likelihood that this comet will not reach unaided eye visibility, but that still remains to be seen.
There is a small chance that another comet may become visible with the unaided eye at the end of the year. It is known as Comet Leonard and was discovered earlier this year. It is currently between Mars and Jupiter and is creeping closer to the Sun. It will have its closest approach to Earth, while still maintaining a safe distance, in December and its closest approach to the Sun in January of 2022. Hopefully we will have a repeat of an unaided eye comet in 2021 as we did in 2020 with NEOWISE!
I will keep you up to date with news about these two comets.
Beginning in July, this blog service will no longer support email notifications for my posts, so you will not receive a reminder that a new report has been published. I typically post on the 15th and last day of the month, so be sure to check around those dates! When a new post has been created, I will let my followers on Instagram know. If you want to stay up to date with my posts, follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.
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