Astronomy a Go Go! July Sky Tour
This tool displays the approximate Moon phases for a
given month(images are close approximations). For official phase times and dates
for this month and past months are available from the U.S. Naval
Observatory.
Astronomical Online
Glossary
Download this month's sky map!
Skymaps.com is our favorite monthly
skymap provider. Download either the Northern hemisphere, Equatorial, or
Southern Hemisphere sky map so you can follow along with our viewing
sessions.
Creator: Kym Thalassoudis
Southern Hemisphere Additional Information
As Astronomy a Go Go! finds
its home in the higher Northern latitudes those of you who live south of the
equator will benefit from these two Southern Hemisphere sites: Royal
Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar RASNZ site (absolutely
outstanding) and
Southern Sky Watch.
Planets for July 2009
July Morning Planets
(click images to enlarge)
Beginning of the month
Pre-dawn, July 18th
- Mercury-in superior conjunction on the 14th. If you are on the path
of the Total Solar Eclipse then look for Mercury 9 degrees NE of the Sun. At the
end of the month, Southern viewers can catch Mercury in the early evening. -0.9
mag (1st) to -1.3 mag (21st)
- Venus- still fantastic in the morning pre-dawn sky. Since Venus is
moving towards the North, as the Sun heads South, her placement it spectacular
for N. Hemisphere viewers. On the 14th she will be just 3 degrees from Aldebaran
and the Hyades -4.0 mag (1st) to -3.9 mag (21st)
- Mars- moves into Taurus on the 2nd. Mars, Venus, the waning crescent
Moon, and the Hyades make a lovely cluster on the 18th. Compare Mars, and its
color, to that of Aldebaran. 1.1 (1st) to 1.1 mag (21st)
- Jupiter- will be ~ .5 degree from Neptune on the 13th! Jupiter will
be at opposition on August 14th. -2.7 mag (1st) to -2.7 mag (21st)
- Saturn- strangely faint low in the west after sunset! The combination
of the rings near edge on and the receding gas giant decrease the apparent
magnitude. 1.0 mag (1st) to 1.0 mag (21st)
- Uranus- In Aquarius 5.9 mag (1st) to 5.9 mag (21st)
- Neptune- In Capricorn 8.0 mag (1st) to 7.9 mag (21st)
- Ceresand Eta - Finder chart
from the New Zealand RAS (RASNZ) great charts! Northern Hemisphere observers
this time you get to flip the chart or stand on your head!
Vesta chart
temporarily missing...use this
one until site is corrected
Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus Mid-month
Key Dates for July 2009
Days and Times in UT: (help with
time)
Observations are for 10 pm for Northern Hemisphere and 8pm for the
Southern Hemisphere.
Today's sunrise
and sunset times or plan ahead using the US Naval Observatory
Website
Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website!
Astronomical Highlights - July 2009
| 3 |
- Venus 7 deg S of the Pleiades |
| 4 |
- Earth at Aphelion (farthest from the Sun)(2:00 UT) Sun-Earth distance
1.01668 AU or 152.1 million km |
|
- Antares 0.5 deg S of Moon, check the IOTA website for
occultations information for your area. |
|
- Beginning of intense International Space Station fly-by for N.America see
Science@NASA
and Heavens Above for more information
and flyby times in your area. |
| 6 |
- One month away from the beginning of the Epsilon Aurigae eclipse...see
more below |
| 7 |
- Full Moon (smallest in 2009) Penumbral Lunar eclipse (see links, below, in
the annual section) The Moon just kisses the penumbral shadow, not a good naked
eye candidate. |
|
- Moon at apogee (406232) |
| 10 |
- Mars 5 deg S of Pleiades, Jupiter 4 deg S of the Moon |
| 13 |
- Jupiter 0.6 deg S of Neptune |
| 15 |
- Last Quarter Moon |
| 16-19 |
- Astronomy a Go Go! at the TAS Summer Star Party! |
| 21 |
- Moon at perigee (357463 km) Total Solar Eclipse (July 21-22)(see links,
below, in the annual section) Large tides |
| 22 |
- New Moon (2:35 UT) |
| 24 |
- Astronomy A Go Go! and TAS at the Mt. Rainier Star Party! Paradise Visitor
Center (Friday Night Only) |
| 28 |
- First Quarter (22:00 UT) |
| 29 |
- Peak of the S. delta Aquarid meteor shower |
| 31 |
- Antares 0.5 deg S of Moon, check the IOTA website for
occultations information for your area. |
Date information courtesy of: RASC Observer's Handbook, Skymaps.com,
Astronomical Calendar 2009, CalSky, Skymaps.com. sunrise and sunset times
for your home*
Comparative lengths of
day and night
Great Amateur Activity
For those in the high Northern Hemisphere, Capella, the "she goat" in
Aurigae, is circumpolar. At my 47 deg North, Capella disappears behind the
treeline, and into the light polluted horizon, but she pops up in a few hours
and is easy to find. Also easy to find are "The Kids" the small, long, triangle
of stars just to the Southwest of Capella. However, this summer one of those
kids, Epsilon Aurigae, usually the brightest of the trio, will drop in
brightness....for about two years. Epsilon Aurigae, or Almaaz, is an eclipsing
binary and beginning in Aug it will be eclipsed by its invisible companion for
714 days! Brightest of the three "Kids" Epsilon Aurigae will dim from 3.0 mag to
about half of its brightness, a little trick it performs every 27.1 years.
Epsilon Aurigae has some definite quirks and more eyes are needed to help
scientist figure out what Epsilon Aurigae's invisible partner really is! To find
out more visit:
Not as many
objects as wait for the summer Milkyway to rise into better view later this
summer, but much of what there is to see can be accomplished with binoculars.
(This is, in fact, my favorite time of the year for bino viewing.) Our quarry
will consist of six globular clusters and one very bright galaxy. Small scope
and bino heaven.
- M3
- This globular cluster in Canes Venatici is one of the brightest objects in
the sky. In binoculars this object is definitely not star like, but more of a
bright, small snowball easy to see. Small telescopes will begin to resolve M3
into individual stars. The hardest part of this object is locating it in a
portion of sky that contains few bright landmarks.
- M53
- Another globular cluster in Canes Venatici. While not quite as big or bright
as M3 it is still an obvious binocular object. Resolvable in small telescopes,
it as easy object to find sharing the same low power telescope field as fifth
magnitude Alpha Coma Berenices.
- M5
- A big, bright globular cluster located in Serpens Caput. M5 is as nice as M3
but lies near a fifth magnitude naked eye star (5 Serpentis) making it an easy
object to find.
- M68
- An eighth magnitude globular cluster in Hydra, M68 is a difficult binocular
object for Northern observers. It appears as a faint fuzz spot in binoculars,
you may need to use averted vision or large binoculars to find this one.
Appearing as a round fuzzy patch in a 8" telescope, you will need a much larger
aperature to really resolve it.
- M83
- A face on spiral in Hydra. M83 is fairly easy in binoculars as a faint,
fuzzy patch of light. In a telescope look for a large patch of light with a
bright center.
- M4
- A big bright globular in Scorpius, easily located near Antares. This is an
easy binocular object appearing as a round snowball. Partially resolvable in a
telescope, the trade mark of this globular is a line of bright stars crossing
the center.
- M80
- This is the smallest and faintest globular cluster this month. Located in
Scopius, M80 is a very tough binocular object appearing as a faint star with
slight fuzziness around the edges. This is confirmed with a telescope, M80 has a
bright central condensation in the middle of faint fuzz. It is one of the
Messier objects that even through a medium telescope still looks like a comet.
From the Tony
Cecce, Corning, NY - Twelve Month Tour of The Messier Catalog
Comets for July 2009
More comet
information at
Seiichi
Yoshida's comet website. Also checkout Gary Kronk's
comet and meteor pages
Skyhound Comet pages
Historical and Current Events
...Did you know?
Mark has developed his own website
so let's all trot on over and see the pages of wonderful history he has for us
this month!
Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat
or write us a
favorable review in iTunes of Podcast Pickle or iPodder!
Music Scottish Guitar
Quartet -"Romance Within You"
Black
Lab- "See the Sun"
Anne
Farnsworth- "Saturday Morning"
Earth's major motions for 2009
| Perihelion |
|
Jan 4 15(UT) |
| First Cross Quarter Day |
|
Feb 2-6 |
| Equinox |
|
Mar 20 11:44(UT) |
| Second Cross Quarter Day |
|
May 4-7 |
| Solstice |
|
June 21 05:45(UT) |
| Aphelion |
|
July 4 02h (UT) |
| Third Cross Quarter Day |
|
Aug 5-8 |
| Equinox |
|
Sept 22 21:18(UT) |
| Fourth Cross Quarter Day |
|
Nov 5-8 |
| Solstice |
|
Dec 21 17:47(UT) |
Planet Positions for 2009
| 2009 |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Venus |
Sgr |
Cap |
Aqr |
Psc |
Tau |
Gem |
Cnc |
Vir |
Vir |
Sco |
Sgr |
Cap |
| Mars |
Sgr |
Cap |
Aqr |
Psc |
Psc |
Ari |
Tau |
Tau |
Gem |
Cnc |
Cnc |
Leo |
| Jupiter |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
Cap |
| Saturn |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Leo |
Vir |
Vir |
Vir |
Vir |
Interesting Planet Pairing for 2009
- December 31, 2008 - Jupiter and Mercury - After sunset a
little more than one degree apart in Sagittarius. Pull out the binos and
telescopes because Mercury will be a mere 15 arcminutes from the globular
cluster M75. All three will be together in one field of view in most home
binoculars.
- January 22nd - Venus and Uranus - After sunset 1.3 degrees
apart a few days later on the 29th they are joined by a waxing crescent moon.
- February 23rd - Jupiter, Mars and Mercury - In the early
morning sky just before sunrise the trio are in a space about 2 degrees wide.
Binoculars will be helpful but beware the quickly rising Sun. The Moon, almost
invisible, will be between Mars and the Sun.
- March 23rd - Mars, Moon, Neptune, and Jupiter - Makes a nice
line-up in the morning sky with Neptune just off the tip of the waning crescent
moon.
- April 21st - Venus, Mars, Uranus, waning crescent Moon, Neptune
and Jupiter - all in the pre-dawn sky together. First the right triangle of
Venus, Mars, and Uranus followed by the waning crescent Moon and then finally by
Neptune and Jupiter. Mars will be a faint 1.41 mag so binoculars will be
helpful. The next day, possible occultation of Venus by the Moon. Check the IOTA
website for occultations in your area.
- May 25th - Jupiter and Neptune - Jupiter is less than 1/2
degree South of Neptune in the morning sky. If you have ever had problems
finding Neptune this would be a good time to try, between now and June.
- June 19th - Venus and Mars - In the pre-dawn sky just south of
a waning crescent Moon. Closer to the Sun is Mercury and the Pleiades.
- August 17th - Saturn and Mercury - Very close to the Sun low
in the evening sky. Much better view for Southern viewers.
- September 3rd UT 4:43 - Jupiter hides its Galilean moons. Not
until 2019 will all of Jupiter's Galilean moons orbit in such a way.
- September 4th - Saturn - Not exactly a pairing but the Earth
will cross the plane of the rings from south to north making the rings invisible
- October 16th - Mercury, Venus, and Saturn - All lined up in
the pre-dawn sky close to the horizon. A faint waning crescent is just south of
the trio.
- December 24th - Jupiter and Neptune - Just after sunset
Jupiter and Neptune sit side-by-side just north of delta Capricornus and east of
the "42,44,45 Cap Wall"
Phases of the Moon 2009
(click to enlarge)
Universal Time
NEW MOON FIRST QUARTER FULL MOON LAST QUARTER
d h m d h m d h m d h m
JAN. 4 11 56 JAN. 11 3 27 JAN. 18 2 46
JAN. 26 7 55 FEB. 2 23 13 FEB. 9 14 49 FEB. 16 21 37
FEB. 25 1 35 MAR. 4 7 46 MAR. 11 2 38 MAR. 18 17 47
MAR. 26 16 06 APR. 2 14 34 APR. 9 14 56 APR. 17 13 36
APR. 25 3 23 MAY 1 20 44 MAY 9 4 01 MAY 17 7 26
MAY 24 12 11 MAY 31 3 22 JUNE 7 18 12 JUNE 15 22 15
JUNE 22 19 35 JUNE 29 11 28 JULY 7 9 21 JULY 15 9 53
JULY 22 2 35 JULY 28 22 00 AUG. 6 0 55 AUG. 13 18 55
AUG. 20 10 02 AUG. 27 11 42 SEPT. 4 16 03 SEPT. 12 2 16
SEPT. 18 18 44 SEPT. 26 4 50 OCT. 4 6 10 OCT. 11 8 56
OCT. 18 5 33 OCT. 26 0 42 NOV. 2 19 14 NOV. 9 15 56
NOV. 16 19 14 NOV. 24 21 39 DEC. 2 7 30 DEC. 9 0 13
DEC. 16 12 02 DEC. 24 17 36 DEC. 31 19 13
Eclipses for 2009
January 26 - Annular Solar Eclipse ( see map,
times, and animation!): The first
solar eclipse of 2009 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in western
Capricornus. An annular eclipse will be visible from a wide track that traverses
the Indian Ocean and western Indonesia. A partial eclipse will be seen within
the much larger path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes the southern
third of Africa, Madagascar, Australia except Tasmania, southeast India,
Southeast Asia and Indonesia.
February 09 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times): The first lunar eclipse of 2009 is one of four such events during
the year. The first three eclipses are penumbral while the last (on Dec. 31) is
partial. The Feb 09 event is the deepest penumbral eclipse of the year with a
penumbral magnitude of 0.899. It will be easily visible to the naked eye as a
dusky shading in the northern half of the Moon. The times of the major phases
are listed below.
July 07 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times.): July's penumbral eclipse is only of academic interest since the
magnitude is just 0.156. Although the Moon will be above the horizon from most
of Canada, the eclipse is so minor as to be completely invisible to the naked
eye.
July 21-22 - Total Solar Eclipse ( see map,
times, and animation!): To make up
for the anemic lunar eclipse earlier in the month, a major total eclipse of the
Sun occurs two weeks later. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow extends across
India, China, a handful of Japanese islands and the South Pacific Ocean (Espenak
and Anderson, 2008). A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of
the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and
the Pacific Ocean.
August 05-06 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times): A shallow penumbral eclipse occurs 15 days after the total solar
eclipse. Since its magnitude is only 0.402, it will not be visible to the naked
eye.
December 31 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse ( see map,
times): The last eclipse of 2009 occurs on New Year's Eve. This minor
partial lunar eclipse takes place in Gemini, and is visible primarily from the
Eastern Hemisphere (Figure 8). Greatest eclipse takes place at 19:23 UT when the
eclipse magnitude will reach 0.0763.
Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse
Homepage, Eclipses
Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)
| Shower |
Activity Period |
Maximum |
Radiant |
Velocity |
r |
ZHR |
Class |
Moon |
| |
|
Date |
S. L. |
R.A. |
Dec. |
km/s |
|
|
|
|
| Antihelion Source (ANT) |
Dec 14-Sep 07 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
30 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
- |
| Quadrantids (QUA) |
Dec 26-Jan 13 |
Jan 03 |
283°16 |
15:20 |
+49° |
42 |
2.1 |
120 |
I |
6 |
| Alpha Centaurids (ACE) |
Jan 28-Feb 21 |
Feb 07 |
319°2 |
14:00 |
-59° |
56 |
2.0 |
5 |
II |
12 |
| Delta Leonids (DLE) |
Feb 15-Mar 10 |
Feb 25 |
336° |
11:12 |
+16° |
23 |
3.0 |
2 |
II |
0 |
| Gamma Normids (GNO) |
Feb 25-Mar 22 |
Mar 13 |
353° |
16:36 |
-51° |
56 |
2.4 |
4 |
II |
16 |
| Lyrids (LYR) |
Apr 16-Apr 27 |
Apr 23 |
033° |
18:12 |
+33° |
46 |
2.1 |
18 |
I |
27 |
| Pi Puppids (PPU) |
Apr 15-Apr 28 |
Apr 23 |
033°5 |
07:20 |
-45° |
18 |
2.0 |
var |
III |
27 |
| Eta Aquarids (ETA) |
Apr 27-May 23 |
May 07 |
047° |
22:36 |
-01° |
68 |
2.4 |
60 |
I |
12 |
| Eta Lyrids (ELY) |
May 06-May 14 |
May 10 |
050° |
19:22 |
+43° |
43 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
15 |
| June Bootids (JBO) |
Jun 22-Jul 02 |
Jun 27 |
095°7 |
14:56 |
+48° |
18 |
2.2 |
var |
III |
5 |
| Piscis Austrinids (PAU) |
Jul 15-Aug 10 |
Jul 28 |
125° |
22:44 |
-30° |
35 |
3.2 |
5 |
II |
7 |
| Alpha Capricornids (CAP) |
Jul 12-Aug 08 |
Jul 28 |
125° |
20:20 |
-10° |
24 |
2.5 |
4 |
II |
7 |
| Delta Aquarids (SDA) |
Jul 21-Aug 30 |
Jul 30 |
127° |
22:42 |
-17° |
43 |
3.2 |
20 |
I |
9 |
| Perseids (PER) |
Jul 13-Aug 26 |
Aug 12 |
140° |
03:12 |
+58° |
59 |
2.6 |
100 |
I |
20 |
| Kappa Cygnids (KCG) |
Aug 03-Aug 25 |
Aug 17 |
145° |
19:04 |
+59° |
25 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
25 |
| Alpha Aurigids (AUR) |
Aug 28-Sep 03 |
Sep 01 |
158°6 |
06:06 |
+39° |
65 |
2.6 |
7 |
II |
11 |
| September Perseids (SPR) |
Sep 06-Sep 13 |
Sep 10 |
168° |
03:12 |
+40° |
65 |
2.9 |
5 |
II |
19 |
| Delta Aurigids (DAU) |
Sep 18-Oct 10 |
Sep 29 |
186° |
05:52 |
+49° |
64 |
2.9 |
2 |
II |
13 |
| Draconids (GIA) |
Oct 06-Oct 10 |
Oct 08 |
195°4 |
17:28 |
+54° |
20 |
2.6 |
var |
III |
18 |
| Southern Taurids (STA) |
Sep 18-Nov 26 |
Oct 11 |
198° |
02:18 |
+09° |
29 |
2.3 |
5 |
II |
21 |
| Epsilon Geminids (EGE) |
Oct 18-Oct 21 |
Oct 20 |
207° |
06:48 |
+28° |
71 |
3.0 |
2 |
II |
2 |
| Orionids (ORI) |
Sep 28-Nov 10 |
Oct 21 |
208° |
06:22 |
+16° |
68 |
2.5 |
23 |
I |
3 |
| Leo Minorids (LMI) |
Oct 17-Oct 27 |
Oct 23 |
209° |
10:40 |
+37° |
61 |
2.7 |
2 |
II |
4 |
| Northern Taurids (NTA) |
Oct 20-Nov 29 |
Nov 13 |
231° |
03:52 |
+22° |
29 |
2.3 |
5 |
II |
25 |
| Leonids (LEO) |
Nov 07-Nov 28 |
Nov 18 |
236° |
10:16 |
+22° |
71 |
2.5 |
var |
III |
1 |
| Alpha Monocerotids (AMO) |
Nov 15-Nov 25 |
Nov 21 |
239°32 |
07:48 |
+01° |
65 |
2.4 |
var |
III |
4 |
| Dec Phoenicids (PHO) |
Nov 28-Dec 09 |
Dec 06 |
254°25 |
01:12 |
-53° |
18 |
2.8 |
var |
III |
18 |
| Puppid/Velids (PUP) |
Dec 01-Dec 15 |
Dec 07 |
255° |
08:12 |
-45° |
40 |
2.9 |
10 |
I |
19 |
| Monocerotids (MON) |
Dec 06-Dec 20 |
Dec 07 |
255° |
06:32 |
+09° |
41 |
3.0 |
2 |
II |
10 |
| Sigma Hydrids (HYD) |
Nov 22-Dec 23 |
Dec 09 |
257° |
08:24 |
+03° |
60 |
3.0 |
3 |
II |
21 |
| Geminids (GEM) |
Dec 05-Dec 19 |
Dec 14 |
262°2 |
07:36 |
+32° |
35 |
2.6 |
120 |
I |
26 |
| Coma Berenicids (COM) |
Dec 10-Jan 25 |
Dec 19 |
268° |
11:40 |
+25° |
64 |
3.0 |
5 |
II |
3 |
| Ursids (URS) |
Dec 16-Dec 25 |
Dec 22 |
270°7 |
14:34 |
+75° |
32 |
3.0 |
10 |
I |
5 |
Information and Table Template Courtesy The American Meteor Society, International Meteor Organization, and Meteors Online.
Shower: named for the constellation or closest star within a
constellation where the radiant is located at maximum activity.
Activity Period: the dates when the ZHR (Zenith Hourly Rates) are
equal to or greater than one.
Maximum: the date on which the maximum activity is expected to occur.
S.L.: the equivalent solar longitude of the date of maximum
activity. Solar longitude is measured in degrees (0-359) with 0 occurring at the
exact moment of the spring equinox, 90 at the summer solstice, 180 at the
autumnal equinox, and 270 at the winter solstice.
Radiant: the area in the sky where shower meteors seem to appear from.
This position is given in right ascension (celestial longitude) and
declination (celestial latitude).
Velocity: the velocity at which shower meteors strike the Earth's
atmosphere. The velocity depends on the angle meteoroids (meteors in space)
intersect the Earth. Meteoroids orbiting in the opposite direction of the Earth
and striking the atmosphere head-on are much faster than those orbiting in the
same direction as the Earth. This velocity is measured in kilometers per second.
r: The Population Index, An estimate of the ratio of the number
of meteors in subsequent magnitude classes. Simply stated: the lower the "r"
value, the resulting overall mean magnitude of each shower will be brighter. "r"
usually ranges from 2.0 (bright) to 3.5 (faint).
ZHR: Zenith Hourly Rate, the average maximum number of shower
meteors visible per hour if the radiant is located exactly overhead and the
limiting magnitude equals +6.5. Actual counts rarely reach this figure as the
zenith angle of the radiant is usually less and the limiting magnitude is
usually lower. ZHR is a useful tool when comparing the actual observed rates
between individual observers as it sets observing conditions for all to the same
standards.
Class: A scale developed by Robert Lunsford to group meteor showers by
their intensity:
Class I: the strongest annual showers with ZHR's normally ten or
better.
Class II: reliable minor showers with ZHR's normally three or better.
Class III: showers with widely variable rates. They may be strong one
year and totally inactive the next.
Class IV: weak minor showers with ZHR's rarely exceeding three. The
study of these showers is best left to experienced observers who use plotting
and angular velocity estimates to determine shower association. Observers with
less experience are urged to limit their shower associations to showers with a
rating of I to III. These showers are also good targets for video and
photographic work.
Moon: the age of the moon in days where 0 is new, 7 is first quarter,
14 is full, and 21 is last quarter. Meteor activity is best seen in the absence
of moonlight so showers reaching maximum activity when the moon is less than 10
days old or more than 25 are much more favorably observed than those situated
closer to the full moon.
Information from the "Observer's Handbook 2009" RASC
