| Observatory |
What's Up...
Some observing hilights
to look forward to...
The following tips on current and upcoming astronomical events
have been assembled for our Okanagan region by Dave Gamble
with the objective of giving OC RASC members a heads-up on
special personal astro-experiences to look forward to.
Sat. July 4 – If you’re game and have a low southern horizon, there’ll be a chance to see Mars very low in the eastern sky as morning is beginning to brighten the horizon around 4am. Binoculars will definitely help.
Mon. July 6 - If this turns out to be a particularly hot day, a bit of consolation might be drawn from the thought that Earth is at aphelion, the farthest point in its orbit from the Sun, so it could be worse. But not much… our luminary is only about 3.4% more distant than it was at perihelion in chilly January.
Tues. July 7 – Another early morning challenge will be available in the pre-dawn eastern sky this morning. Around 3am the neatly divided Last Quarter Moon will be seen in the company of Saturn to her lower left. If your telescope is handy you’ll be able to add a view of the tiny blue disk of Neptune to the scene! The outer ice giant will be found about the same distance away, but located near the ‘4 o’clock’ direction.
Tues. July 7 – Now it’s getting toward evening, and the sky has another treat for us. After sunset, if you have a low western horizon, you’ll be able to see Venus in Evening Star mode, quite close to Regulus at the bottom of the reverse question mark asterism. As you can see, Leo is getting closer to bidding us farewell until next spring’s performance.
Thurs. July 9 – This evening Venus will improve on the scene we enjoyed just two days ago, since she is now just two moon widths above Regulus! Binoculars will be of help in spotting alpha Leo.
Sat. July 11 – Those up before daybreak this morning will have an interesting eastern sky to enjoy. The thin waning crescent Luna will be seen low in the eastern sky with Mars poised just to her lower right. If you can add a telescope to the experience, the pair will help you to have a look at Uranus. The inner ice giant planet will be about the same distance from the Moon as Mars, however the tiny pale green disk will make an equilateral triangle with the other two from a location off to Mars’ upper right.
Tues. July 14 – This is New Moon night as our celestial neighbour dials it back to zero to begin a new cycle across the sky. The real significance however is that this means that this is the middle of the current dark sky period. This is not saying much at this time of the year, but a couple of hours of dark sky is a couple of hours of dark sky enabling observers and imagers to go deep for faint fuzzies and summer sky splendors whether at the eyepiece or with a telescope and camera.
Thurs. July 16 – Luna’s waxing crescent will pay another close visit to a star this evening, in this instance getting even with Venus for her close encounter with Regulus in Leo on the 9th. Here, ‘close’ will mean Regulus will be only about two moon widths away from the crescent!
Fri. July 17 – Just to patch things up, this evening Luna’s thin three day old crescent will pay a respectful visit to the Evening Star. Venus will shine just to Luna’s right, low over the western horizon as twilight deepens.
Tues. July 21 – This is First Quarter Moon night. Luna is in the lower sweep of the ecliptic and will be marking the occasion from deep in the southwestern sky, taking an oblique view of how summer is progressing in the Okanagan. And though it happened 56 years ago yesterday, it gives pause that this was the occasion when a human being stepped out onto the lunar surface for the first time!
Fri. July 24 – If we were thinking that Luna was playing hard to get low in the western sky, tonight will really underline it! Our companion is now at the nadir of the ecliptic, if we can use the expression, barely peaking over a low southern horizon. Helping to make the best of things, she’ll be very close to mighty Antares which is always interesting, given that we know at home 550 light years away, this rascal is a red supergiant star, one of the largest visible to the naked eye!
Wed. July 29 - The Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower will peak in the early morning hours tomorrow morning. This is not one of the more prominent showers, and this year Luna, being at at Full Moon phase, will be a total spoil sport. Just to rub it in, she’ll also be parked very near the radiant point. Also affected will be the nearby Alpha Capricornid shower which occurs at the same time. This is another modest shower, however it can also include slow moving fireballs, so there might be a lucky chance to see one of those. For the record, the respective radiant points are right next door to each other, the Delta Aquarids branching out from just above Fomalhaut and the Alpha Capricornids from just to the upper right in Capricornus.