Astroblog

The Full Moon is Wednesday, August 2. This is a perigee ("super") Moon. Saturn is now rising around 8:00 pm local time. On the 3rd the Moon is very close to Saturn. Jupiter is prominent in the morning sky. Venus is prominent in the evening twilight but is rapidly heading towards the horizon. Telescopically Venus rapidly increases in size and its crescent thins. On the 29th, Mercury is very close to the star Regulus. This is an excellent time to catch this fleet planet.

The Full Moon is Wednesday, August 2. This is a perigee ("super") Moon, where the Moon is at its closest to Earth.

Evening sky on Thursday, August 3 as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 ACST, Saturn is above the eastern horizon close to the Moon. The inset is the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time. 

 Morning sky on Saturday, July 29 as seen from Adelaide at 05:46 ACST, (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Jupiter is above the horizon near the Hyades and Pleiades. The inset is the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time. 

    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise). 

Evening sky on Friday, July 21 as seen from Adelaide at 18:29 ACST, 60 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Venus is sinking towards the horizon. Mercury and the bright star Regulus are at their closest with Mars above. The insets are the telescopic view of Venus and Mercury at this time.

Labels: weekly sky

The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, July 26.  Saturn is now rising around 8:30 pm local time. Jupiter is prominent in the morning sky. Venus is prominent from the evening twilight to early evening. Telescopically Venus rapidly increases in size and its crescent thins. On the 20th the thin crescent Moon forms an attractive pattern with Mercury Venus, Mars and the star Regulus. on the 21st the moon is close to Mars making a nice lineup with the bright planets. On the 26th, Mercury,Venus and the star Regulus make a triangle. From the 27th to 28th Venus and Mercury are close.

The First Quarter Moon is Wednesday, July 26.

Evening sky on Saturday, July 22 as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACST, Saturn is well above the eastern horizon. The inset is the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time. 

Morning sky on Saturday, July 22 as seen from Adelaide at 05:49 ACST, (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Jupiter is above the horizon near the Hyades and Pleiades. The inset is the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time. 

    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

Evening sky on Friday, July 21 as seen from Adelaide at 18:24 ACST, 60 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Venus, Mars and the bright star Regulus are roughly equidistant wit Mercury below. The Moon forms a line with the bright planets. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Labels: weekly sky

The New Moon is Tuesday, July 18.  Saturn is now rising around 8:30 pm local time. Jupiter is prominent in the morning sky. Venus is prominent from the evening twilight to early evening. On the 15^th Venus, the bright star Regulus and Mars make an attractive line up with Venus and Mars almost equidistant from Regulus. Venus is at its closest to Regulus on on the 18th. On the 19th Mercury is near the thin crescent Moon.

The New Moon is Tuesday, July 18. The Moon is at apogee, when it is furthest from the Earth, on the 20th. 

Evening sky on Saturday, July 15 as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACST, Saturn is well above the eastern horizon. The inset is the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.

Morning sky on Saturday, July 15 as seen from Adelaide at 05:52 ACST, (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Jupiter is above the horizon near the Hyades and Pleiades with the Moon close by. The inset is the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time. 

    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

Evening sky on Saturday, July 15 as seen from Adelaide at 18:55 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Venus, Mars and the bright star Regulus are roughly equidistant. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Labels: weekly sky

Morning sky on Wednesday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 05:53 ACST, (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Jupiter is above the horizon near the Hyades and Pleiades with the Moon close by. The inset is the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time. 

    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

The July edition of Southern Skywatch is now up.  

The planetary action is now returning to the evening skies, Venus and Mars remain prominent and bright in the evening skies. Mercury returns to the evening twilight later in the month and will offer good viewing opportunities. Saturn climbs higher in the late evening sky, while Jupiter dominates the morning sky. 

July 1-7; Venus is closest to Mars on the 1st and remains within 4° for the first week of July. July 3; Full Moon. July 5; Moon at perigee. July 6-7; the waning moon near Saturn in the late evening. July 9-12; Venus 1° from the bright star Regulus, being closest on the 10th. July 10; Last Quarter Moon. July 12; the waning Moon close to Jupiter. July 15, Venus, Regulus and Mars make an attractive lineup. July 17; New Moon. July 18, Venus is at its closest to Regulus, when it is 3.5° away. July 20; apogee Moon. July 21; A nice line-up of Venus, Regulus, Mars and the crescent Moon with Mercury below. July 26; First Quarter Moon. July 28-28; Mercury is very close the Regulus (less than a finger-width). July 30; Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower.

Mercury returns to the evening sky mid-month and is (just) visible in the nautical twilight from around the 15th. On the 19th Mercury is near the thin crescent Moon. On the 27th and 28th Mercury passes below Venus. From the 28th to 29th Mercury is very close to Regulus..

  Venus begins to sink in the evening sky this month but remains visible after astronomical twilight for most of the month. Venus also increases in brilliance and reaches its greatest brilliance on the 8th. When it is a clear crescent being one quarter illuminated. Although it fades slightly after this as its crescent thins and increases in size. it will remain bright for the rest of the month (what’s -4.5 to -4.2) between friends.   Venus is a clear crescent shape in telescopes as it’s apparent size increases.
Venus has been coming close to Mars through June, is closest to Mars on the 1st, when it is 3° 33' away. Venus remains within 4° for the first week of July.

Venus has two notable close encounters this month:
On the 15th Venus, regulus and mars make an attractive line up with Venus and mars almost equidistant from Regulus. Venus is within 5° of Regulus from the 8th to the 26th with the closest approach on the 18th, when it is 3.5° away. On the 21st there is a nice line-up of Venus, Regulus, Mars and the crescent Moon with Mercury below.

Earth is at aphelion, when it is furthest from the Sun on the 7th.

Mars although well past opposition, is still easily visible It passes through Leo. On the 1st, and Venus are at their closest. Mars remains within 4° of Venus for the first week of July, while coming closer to Regulus. From the 9th to 12th Mars is around 1° from Regulus, being closest on the 10th.

On the 15th Venus, Regulus and Mars make an attractive line up with Venus and Mars almost equidistant from Regulus. On the 21st there is a nice line-up of Venus, Regulus, Mars and the crescent Moon with Mercury below.  Mars is only 3 degrees from the moon at this time.

Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky; it is now high enough for telescopic observation. On the 12th Jupiter will be 3 degrees from the waning crescent moon.

Saturn continues to climb higher in the evening skies ahead of opposition next month, it is high enough to view comfortably in the late evening, although it remains in the early morning skies. On the 7th, Saturn is near to the waning moon in the late evening skies.

Labels: southern skywatch

The Last Quarter Moon is Monday, July 10. The Earth is at aphelion, when it is furthest from the Sun on the 7th. Saturn is now rising around just before 9 pm local time and is close to the Moon on the 6th and 7th. Jupiter is prominent in the morning sky and is close to the waning Moon on the 12th. Venus is prominent from the evening twilight to early evening. Venus is at its greatest brilliance on the 8th. Venus and Mars are both coming close to the bright star Regulus. From the 9th to 12th Mars is around 1° from Regulus, being closest on the 10th.

The Last Quarter Moon is Monday, July 10. The Earth is at aphelion, when it is furthest from the Sun on the 7th.

Evening sky on Friday, July 7 as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACST, Saturn is above the eastern horizon with the Moon below. The inset is the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

   

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.

Morning sky on Wednesday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 05:53 ACST, (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Jupiter is above the horizon near the Hyades and Pleiades with the Moon close by. The inset is the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time. 

    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

Evening sky on Monday, July 10 as seen from Adelaide at 18:49 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Mars and the bright star Regulus are at their closest. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Labels: weekly sky