Stargazing will probably be a late evening exercise for July for the reason that days will probably be brighter and longer in the course of the summer time. It’s an awesome exercise for individuals who love tenting and get a transparent evening for it. The celebrities will probably be extra seen round midnight, so we must always begin to see the constellations round then. Mild air pollution could be a little bit of an issue for anybody who lives in greater cities or cities, so being within the countryside could make a large enchancment. Additionally it is helpful to maintain telephones away in order that your eyes can regulate to the darkish, taking a look at your telephone can undo the adjustment to the darkish.
Constellations
Ophiuchus and Scorpio. Picture Credit score: Stellarium.
The thirteenth zodiac constellation, forgotten or ignored, is Ophiuchus. It sits beside the constellation of Scorpius, and the Solar takes longer to undergo Ophiuchus than Scorpius. Whereas there are twelve higher recognized Zodiac constellations, they have been recorded hundreds of years in the past. A lot has moved since then; Earth, The Solar and all the opposite stars aren’t nonetheless, the whole lot is in movement. So now, we now have a thirteenth constellation for the Zodiac. Ophiuchus is also called the Serpent Bearer, which represents a doctor who blended a potion for immortality in historical Greek mythology. The brightest star on this constellation is Rasalhague or Alpha Ophiuchus. It’s the star that’s highest within the sky from our perspective right here in Armagh. This is among the stars that have been named in Arabic, and our fashionable names vaguely replicate the previous names. This specific ‘star’ can also be a binary star system with one star orbiting the opposite.
Scorpius, or Scorpio, is partially seen
Scorpio. Picture Credit score: Stellarium.
on the horizon via July, so getting someplace darkish with clear fields of view to the South is greatest. Being on hills, or usually elevated, can be useful as properly. The constellation will probably be beneath the horizon by the tip of the month and by no means rises very excessive from our perspective right here in Armagh. The brightest star in Scorpius is Antares. This identify comes from the Greek, roughly which means “opposing Ares” as a result of it’s a pink star and one other pink object within the sky is Mars, named for the Roman equal of Ares, the god of Warfare.
Planets
From the third of month, we’ll see Jupiter rising within the East with the Moon and Mars, early within the morning round 3am to 4am. I do know it’s very early, or late in case you keep up, however right now of the yr we now have fewer midnights within the sky.
Saturn will probably be seen from in additional southern areas of the sky and significantly greater than Jupiter and Mars. Evening by evening they’ll all appear to shift throughout the celebrities behind them from east to west.
With the appropriate telescope it’s doable to see the rings of Saturn or as much as 4 of the moons of Jupiter often known as the Galilean moons. The rings of Saturn are nice to see, particularly as they are going to be much less seen subsequent yr when the orbit of Earth traces up “edge on” to the rings that are about 1 kilometre thick in some elements, and thinner in others.
The planets will seem fairly vivid on clear nights, notably Jupiter and Saturn. Mars will probably be notably pink, therefore the identify “The Purple Planet”, nonetheless there are extra shades of orange and brown on its floor. If you’re monitoring the planets, or moon, with a telescope it is very important have the proper setup since they transfer at completely different speeds to the celebrities behind them.
The Planets within the Evening Sky. Picture Credit score: Stellarium.
Deep Sky Objects
The Sagittarius Star Cloud. Picture Credit score: Stellarium.
That is the half the place it might be helpful to have binoculars or a telescope, having a digicam setup will help seize some further element that our personal eyes have bother seeing. Deep Sky Objects consists of a wide range of sorts of objects from nebulae to clusters of stars. There are a variety of lists and catalogues that they will belong to. Two which might be generally used are the Messier (M) checklist and the New Normal Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars (which is a mouthful so we’ll use “NGC”). Every checklist numbers their objects like ‘M123’ or ‘NGC123’, and whereas they’re every a listing in their very own proper, they usually share objects in widespread.
The Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24) is faint and just a little greater than 10,000 lightyears away, and so is extra seen with binoculars. These clusters are like crowds of stars within the sky, some are extra seen at completely different elements of the yr. Sagittarius doesn’t rise very excessive within the Armagh sky, so having a transparent view to the south with no mild air pollution will make this cluster extra easy to seek out within the southern sky. Behind this cluster is a spiral arm of the milky method, however that is extremely faint from our perspective. As we glance nearer at Sagittarius, we’re wanting in direction of the centre of our galaxy as properly.
The Whirlpool Galaxy. Picture Credit score: Stellarium.
We are able to flip to a different a part of the sky for the subsequent object. If yow will discover The Plough, a well known asterism within the constellation of Ursa Main, you would possibly discover the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51, NGC5194). This galaxy is seen with the appropriate telescope, or possibly even a digicam, and it’s a circumpolar object that by no means truly units beneath the horizon.
The Moon
The total moon this month happens on the 21st of July. This one is called the Buck Moon, a nod to these deer who begin rising their antlers right now of the yr. Names like this may change relying on the place you might be on the earth, and are sometimes linked to what we see on the earth round us.
This full moon is auspicious, because it happens on the day after the anniversary of Armstrong and Aldrin strolling on the Moon, 55 years in the past. Artemis 1, the primary of a brand new set of moon missions, launched in 2022 (near the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 17). This was an uncrewed launch to check the programs earlier than the Artemis 2 launch which has been pushed again till 2025. Artemis 2 may have a crew (already chosen), orbit the Moon and return to Earth, with out touchdown on this event.
