As darkness falls, Venus and Jupiter are still both visible in the evening sky. Venus can be found low in the western sky, and Jupiter in the southern. That brilliant, white “star” visible in the western sky after sunset is actually no star at all. It is the planet Venus making its appearance as the “Evening Star.” Venus is the 3rd brightest object in our sky, with only the Sun and Moon being brighter. Throughout July and August, Venus will move from Leo into Virgo and remain the bright white “diamond in the sky.”
Far to the east, at the same time, you can find the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter. It is easily visible to the unaided eye as a very bright, yellowish star currently within the small constellation Libra, the mythological scales. A look with steadily held 7 X 50 mm binoculars or a small telescope will reveal up to four of Jupiter’s moons–the same ones that Galileo discovered and first spied in January of 1610. Just recently, astronomers looking for the yet to be discovered Planet X, discovered 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter raising its “moon count” to an astounding 79!
These two planets will be visible as soon as the sky is dark enough to see stars. Still further to the east, embedded within the summer constellation, Sagittarius, the archer, we find Saturn. Appearing as a bright, cream-colored star, Saturn is not nearly as bright as Venus or Jupiter. But, what it lacks in brightness, it makes up for in other ways. Saturn will reveal its majestic ring system in small telescopes viewing at only 40 – 50 power. Larger telescopes under higher magnification will show the rings in greater detail and possibly some clouds belts on the planet itself.
Then, to top off this summer parade of planets we find brilliant orange Mars, which is at its brightest since August of 2003! On the evening of July 27, Mars reaches opposition. This happens when Mars is opposite the Sun in the sky and is visible all night long. And, it is bright now and it will stay bright all through August! Every 26 months, Mars and Earth reach their minimum distance in space and that minimum distance changes as the two planets orbit the Sun. The last time the Sun was as close as it is now was in late August of 2003. While Mars won’t get that close (approximately 34,500,000 miles, it will get to within 36, 270,000 this time around. And, because of this relatively close distance, Mars will be visibly brighter in the sky and larger in a telescope eyepiece. So, find a telescope this month and look up in the sky at the beautiful planets. Of course you can take advantage of the University of New Hampshire’s Observatory on the Durham campus. We host two free public observing nights each month–on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the Month from 9 – 11 PM.
One more celestial event to be aware of. On the afternoon (eastern time) of Friday, July 27, the full Moon will enter the Earth’s shadow and treat sky watchers in Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, and portions of south America to the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st Century. Bummed because you live on North America? No problem! I have been asked by the the Weather Company to help host their live stream of this historic celestial event from their studios in Atlanta, Georgia. We will be providing streams from four different teams in different prime location across the world to see the eclipse. And, you can watch too. All you have to do is to download the Weather Channel mobile application to your phone or other mobile device and watch the best hour of the entire eclipse between 4 and 5 PM EDT! This is the best way to see this eclipse if you live here in the US or anywhere in North America. I will be representing the University of New Hampshire Observatory where I am Director. So, please join us for this live program.