The Night Sky for July 2008
Catch a Meteor Shower, a Planetary Conjunction, and Gems of Summer
Saturn and Mars in Conjunction
A meeting of Saturn, Mars, and the moon near the western horizon on July 5 will be a beautiful spectacle. The moon will shine as a crescent at twenty percent lit. Viewers may be able to see 3rd magnitude Rho Leonis, a star between the moon and Saturn. Saturn is the brightest of the points of light near the moon, and a telescope will show its rings and largest moon, Titan. Just below Saturn will be reddish Mars, and below that will be a slightly brighter star, Regulus.
Over the next few days the moon will be away from the scene but the show will not be over. On July 10, the two planets appear so close in the sky that they are less than one degree apart. It will be easy to catch them both in the same field of view in binoculars or a telescope. If the 10th is cloudy, July 9 and 11 also show the pair less than a degree apart.
For the remainder of the month, Mars will continue to climb above Saturn each night, but both slowly sink closer to the horizon and be visible for less time each night. In August the two planets rendezvous with two other planets, Venus and Mercury. A series of August conjunctions will be visible to people with unobstructed western horizons.
Intellectually, it is interesting to gaze up at Mars and think of the Phoenix Lander on its surface, scratching up water ice and analyzing soil that may harbor life.
Jupiter Returns
With all the action in the west, it would be understandable if people neglected looking east. But Jupiter is making its return to the night sky at sunset. It will be at opposition from July 8 to 9, up all night. A pair of binoculars with a steady hand or a low power telescope can reveal Jupiter's four largest moons. At a brilliant magnitude -2.7, Jupiter is the brightest point of light in the night sky in July. Steadily held binoculars will reveal Jupiter's four largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa and Io. A small telescope will give you a better view and may even get you a glimpse of the Great Red Spot.
Meteors and the Moon
The new moon occurs on July 2, leaving a thin crescent moon setting just behind the sun on Independence Day and over the holiday weekend. The full moon occurs on July 18 at 3:59 am EDT. The waning moon allows for a decent meteor display on July 28 to 29. The Southern Delta Aquarid meteors peak over Monday night.
The Milky Way and Summer Triangle
Summer is a great time to gaze at the Milky Way. This month, Jupiter lies along the Milky Way in the constellation of Sagittarius. Sagittarius is a great spot for stargazing for deep-sky objects. In its direction lies the heart of our galaxy. It stays close to the southern horizon but is a good spot for catching star clusters.
Three widely space bright stars rising in the east-northeast on July evenings mark the corners of the summer triangle. Vega will be the highest and brightest of the three, a beacon in the constellation Lyra. The star toward the east is Altair in Aquila, and toward the northeast is Deneb in Cygnus the Swan. Cygnus is an interesting constellation shaped like a cross. The bottom of the cross is a remarkable yellow-blue double star, Albireo. Nebulae and star clusters dot the constellation and the Milky Way flows behind it.
