What's Up?  Sky Sights in July, 2022

Evening Skies:
 
2 promient star configurations, or "asterisms" guide your evening activities on clear Summer evenings. First, the "Big Dipper" looms unmistakably high in southwestern skies. Second, the "Summer Triangle" beams brightly throughout the entire evening, a conspicuous isosceles triangle of 3 brilliant stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Your outstreteched hand fits neatly within the grouping located in easter/southeastern skies!

Finally, this month features, from a dark sky location or camp, sublime and spectacular gazing at our Milky Way Galaxy streaming southeast to south!

Morning Skies: 

The spectacular planet parade still marches and dances awaiting "early birds" throughout July. In order, gaze at:

Saturn, a bright and golden starpoint, rests essentially due South in pre-twilight and twilight hours throughout the month. Regrettably, its prized-rings remains visible only telescopically as this distant gas giant orbits approximately 1 billion miles from the Sun.

Jupiter, blazes triumphantly more than a handspace eastward of Saturn. The largest planetary world in the solar system appears in binoculars as a tiny disky surrounded by at least one if not several tiny starpoint(s)..........the huge 4 satellites of Jupiter.

Mars shines unmistakably tiger colored orange about a handspace to the east of Jupiter. Still quite distant from the Earth, Mars will ever increasingly close the gap until reaching a much closer and brighter appearance in Decembe.r

Venus still outshines all other planets in the predawn silence,  very bright and hugging the horizon while abiding among the conspicuous constellations of Taurus and Gemini. 


Note: an I-phone app will greatly assist you in discovering these planets and stars/constellations with the unaided eye. Go to you I-store and check out:
"Stellarium"; "SkySafari"; "Sky Tonight" for starters.  Consider using your I-phone cameras as well for some candid camera images to share!
Moon Phases

New Moon: Thursday, July 28th
 
First Quarter: Thursday, July 7th

Full Moon:  Wednesday, July 13th

Last Quarter: Wednesday, July 20th                       



Planets (Column 1: Venus/Mars)  
              (Column 2: Saturn/Jupiter)

Venus Saturn
Venus Jupiter


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"Call the Astronomer" @ the Science Center (207) 488-5451 for any further details on these and other super sky sights throughout 2022.  The Science Center Facebook page also gives weekly opportunity to pose your astronomy thoughts and questions.

Enjoy the Spring Sky everyone!