Fred Barrett | Jul 08, 2020


What a month for planets! Wild banded Jupiter and ringed Saturn are up all night by mid month as they move from the southeast through to the southwest. After the beauty of Saturn’s rings, it’s hard to beat observing Jupiter’s four most prominent moons as they shift and dance in their orbits as the month passes. Mars rises in the east by midnight and moves to the south by dawn. In the early hours Venus is bright in the east and you can follow its changing phases as the month passes. Mercury shows up late in July during the predawn hours low in the northeast. After midnight, Neptune should be a findable binocular view as the constellation Aquarius rises in the eastern horizon about midnight. Look carefully in the north western quadrant of Aquarius. Uranus rises 2 hours before dawn in early July but you’ll need a star chart to find it. It’s nestled between the bright star Hamal in Aries and Menkar , the brightest star in Cetus. A telescope and some experience is necessary for this search – a fun challenge!

There are a few minor meteor showers in July but with a full Moon on July 5th, the early days of the month are not good for meteor watching. Later on, the Southern Delta Aquarids start making an appearance by the 12th and can be followed through to August 23rd. It peaks July 29th with about 20 meteors per hour. Once again a waxing Brightening Moon interferes with observing. But, what the hack, you can’t go wrong with a beautiful summer night, out in the fresh air, looking at our spectacular dark sky. Don’t forget that our Milky Way galaxy stretches south to north during summer and all through it and on both sides, there are jewels to discover. Constellations, star clusters, galaxies and most are viewable by eye and binoculars.

Since the Moon is playing with us this month, going from Full to new, then waxing towards Full again, we should take advantage of that and get our binoculars out tour the details on its surface. There are craters and mountains and valleys and plains. The best time to observe is when the Moon is at its waxing or waning quarter. That’s the best time for shadows. Take a look at the terminator, the boundary between the light and dark sides. Mountain and crater shadows bring out much more contrast and detail.

Here’s an interesting question: if the Earth is farther from the Sun in the summer than it is in the winter, why are we hotter? Well, as the Earth orbits the Sun, it does so with a 23 degree tilt. It was tipped over by a massive collision in its early days with an object the size of Mars. We have the offspring Moon as a result of this lover’s quarrel. During the summer, the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun and receives more light and heat than in the winter when it is tilted away. Interesting, eh?

July events

July 10: Neptune can be found 4 degrees north of the Moon at 3 am EDT. This is for those of you who might want a crack at finding Neptune. Also, Venus is at its maximum brightness at 4 am EDT.

July 12: Venus passes 1 degree north of the bright star Aldebaran, the eye of the bull in Taurus. The Moon is at apogee (farthest) – 401,850 Kms. The Moon enters its last quarter.

July 14: Jupiter is at opposition – closest to Earth. Venus is 3 degrees south of the Moon at 3 am EDT.

July 20: New Moon. Saturn is at opposition.

July 25: The Moon is at perigee (closest) – 366,222 Kms.

July 27: First quarter Moon

July 29: Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks.

It’s a great month for looking up!

“The Beginner’s Observing Guide by Leo Enright is an invaluable companion for adventures in the sky. It also contains useful star charts. It can be ordered from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications. A subscription to our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine “SkyNews” can be arranged at the RASC website as well.

Let me know how your observing has gone this month, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies! Fred.

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