The Summer Triangle is high in the east. This consists of the brightest stars in Cygnus, Lyra, and Aquila. Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the south, with the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius to his left. Leo, the Lion, sets in the west. From the Big Dipper’s handle, ‘arc to Arcturus’ and ‘speed on to Spica’ in the southwest. Venus now moves away from Jupiter as they both gradually become lost in the Sun’s glare
This is the last month to observe the two brightest planets in the western evening sky. On June 30, Venus overtook Jupiter. This month, watch Venus shift to the left of Jupiter each evening at dusk. Meanwhile, both planets appear lower and lower to the horizon each night, until they are both lost in the Sun’s glare by the end of the month. At dusk, look over the point of sunset for the brightest objects there; Venus and Jupiter outshine everything but the Sun and the Moon.
Saturn is now in the southern sky at dusk. Although it is not as brilliant as Venus or Jupiter, it outshines the stars around it, so it’s also easy to see.
Mars remains lost in the glare of the Sun.
The Big Dipper is above and left of the North Star, with its handle pointing up. From that handle, you can ‘arc to Arcturus’ and then ‘speed on to Spica’; those stars are in the southwest at dusk. Leo, the Lion, sets in the west at dusk.
Antares, brightest star of Scorpius, the Scorpion, is in the southeast, with the ‘teapot’ of Sagittarius rising behind it. Saturn is right above the scorpion’s head. The Summer Triangle has fully risen in the northeast. The stars of summer are here.
Moon Phases in July 2015:
Full July 1, 9:20 pm; July 31, 5:43 am
Last Quarter July 8, 3:24 pm
New July 15, 8:24 pm
1st Quarter July 23, 11:04 pm
At 2:41 pm on Monday, July 6, Earth is as far from the Sun as it will get this year, a moment known as aphelion. Remember, though, that the difference between aphelion and perihelion (in January) is small (only about 3%). Earth’s 23.5 degree tilt on its axis is a much more important effect. That’s why we have all this miserable heat and humidity now, rather than in January.
Just before 6:50 am CDT on Tuesday, July 14, the New Horizons spacecraft makes its closest approach to Pluto. As this is our first opportunity ever to gather real data from Pluto and its moons, astronomers are quite excited. The craft is already close enough to take some pictures, which you can see here. The Museum will have special activities for this occasion; email me if you want more information.
The Full Moon of July 31 is the second one of the month. That’s one of the definitions of a Blue Moon.
Brazos Bend State Park, where our George Observatory is sited, has been closed since May 27 because the rains of Memorial Day and of Tropical Storm Bill caused the Brazos to overflow. The park plans to reopen on a limited basis July 8, making July 11 the first Saturday available for public observing.
On most clear Saturday nights at the George Observatory, you can hear me do live star tours on the observation deck with a green laser pointer. If you’re there, listen for my announcement. I generally do one such tour on short June evenings.
