What’s Up in the Night Sky? – July 2022

Fred Barrett | Jul 06, 2022

I really enjoy taking you on a tour of the Milky Way and the summer triangle at this time every year.  The observing hour is not too late for amateurs and family to go out and enjoy a not too difficult observing challenge with or without binoculars. By 10 pm it’s dark enough to see the white band of stars and dark dust clouds that are our Milky Way, curve up over the vault of the sky from horizon to horizon.  In my opinion, the summer constellations and deep sky objects are more spectacular than the winter ones and can mostly be found in or beside the path of the Milky Way. 

So grab a star chart to help, if you have one, and we shall begin at the southern horizon.  There you will see a prominent ‘teapot’ shape, or asterism, imbedded in the constellation Sagittarius.  An asterism is a formation of stars in a constellation that can resemble the shape of an everyday object.  The end of the spout marks the centre of our galaxy, black hole and all! 

Moving up, we soon find Aquila, the ‘Eagle’.  At the top of this constellation is the bright star Altair.  Further north, at the zenith of the sky, straight up, we can observe Cygnus, the Swan.  It has the shape of a cross and at its northern end at the top of the cross, is the swan’s tail and the beautiful star Deneb.  Looking southwest of Cygnus is the constellation Lyra.  The Greeks thought it looked similar to a stringed instrument they played called a ‘lyre’.   Others nicknamed it the “Weaver” since its shape reminded them of a weaving tool used to spin yarn.  The intensity of the bright star Vega at its top is hard to miss. The 3 stars Altair, Deneb and Vega are known as the Summer Triangle.  They offer a handy reference point for finding other constellations in the summer sky

Just west of Lyra is the constellation Hercules.  A great ball of stars, called the Hercules cluster, is easy to view on the northwest side of the constellation. As we slip down towards the northern horizon, our next stop is the constellation Cepheus. It’s shaped like a simple house, complete with walls and a sloped roof. Continuing, we soon come upon Cassiopeia.  It appears in the form of a great ‘W’ shape.  If you shift your binoculars east of the W, you will see the great square of Pegasus with the constellation Andromeda at its top corner. Look for a small, cotton ball puff of white half way up the arm of Andromeda. This white smudge is the galaxy Andromeda, the nearest galaxy to our Milky Way. Just north of Cassiopeia, near the horizon, is the ‘sort of’ cone shape of the constellation Perseus.  At the tip of the cone is a wonderful double cluster of stars in Perseus. You can even see them with the unaided eye and are hugely spectacular in binoculars.  

Set yourself a challenge this summer.  Find yourself a star map and take a trip along the Milky Way trail.  There’s so much to see and discover. 

Moving from far outer space and back to Earth, have a look at the Moon.  Binoculars or a small telescope bring out a great deal of detail on its surface – craters, mountains, valleys and plains. The worst time to observe the Moon is when it is full.  The Sun’s light falls from straight overhead and the details that are brought out by shadows are completely washed out.  The best time to observe is when the Moon is at its quarter either waxing or waning.  This is the best time for shadows.  Take a look at the terminator boundary between the light and dark sides.  Shadows help lead the eye to complex valleys and mountains and craters and provide contrast to make them more seeable. By the way, the Earth is farthest from the Sun at midsummer.

There is one meteor shower this month – the Southern Delta Aquariids.  It has an hourly rate of about 20.  It peaks on July 30^th and the Moon is a waxing crescent.  At our latitude, the radiant is near the star Skat in Aquarius and reaches only 30 degrees above the southern horizon by 3 am.  An alternate viewing opportunity is nearby Saturn.  Jupiter is also far up and to the left.

The spectacular planetary show continues this month.  Take a look in the east about 40 minutes before dawn early in the month and from right to left are 7 planets.  They are Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter, Mars, Uranus, Venus and Mercury.  Uranus and Neptune will require a telescope and Mercury is close to the horizon but the other planets provide a nice sight.  Mercury is also viewable in the west just after sunset.  Here are the monthly highlights. 

July 4:  Earth is at aphelion, farthest from the Sun each year: 151.2 million Kms or 94.5 million miles.

July 6:  First quarter Moon.

July 13:  Full Moon and it is at perigee: 355,189 Km.  This Full Moon called the Birds Shed Feathers Full Moon or the Berry Full Moon.  Both make sense.

July 20:  Last quarter Moon.

July 26:  The Moon is at apogee: 403, 915 Kms.  Crescent Moon is 3.5 degrees above Venus.

July 28:  New Moon.

July 30:  Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks.  Islamic New Year; begins sunset previous evening.

Have a great observing month and keep looking up!  Follow the links below for information and upcoming events at the North Frontenac Dark Sky Preserve:

www.northfrontenac.com/en/open-for-business/dark-sky-preserve.aspx#

www.visitfrontenac.ca/en/explore-and-do/dark-sky-preserve.aspx

Useful books, star charts and related items for beginners and through to advanced amateurs 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.

Fill me in on your observations and ask questions.  I welcome emails and all feedback.  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!