Astroblog: July 2025


Western evening sky on Friday, August 1 as seen from Adelaide at 20:17 ACST	Western evening sky on Friday, August 1 as seen from Melbourne at 20:57 AEST	Western evening sky on Friday, August 1 as seen from Perth at 18:57 AWST

The Lunar X (also known as the Werner X) and the Lunar V will be visible this Friday as the Moon reaches First Quarter. The Lunar X is a chiaroscuro effect in which strong contrasts of light and shadow create the appearance of a letter 'X' on the rim of the Lunar craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach and a letter V from the rim of the crater Ukert, along with several smaller craters.

The X and V are seen at first quarter, visible on the lunar surface for about 4 hours. However, the Moon is not always above the horizon from a given vantage point when this happens. This month is good for Australian observers, with the Moon moderately high above the horizon in the eastern sates, and quite high on the west coast.

Lunar X occurs on Friday, August 1, 10:57 UT, 20:57 AEST, 20:17 ACST, 18:57 AWST). This is earlier than official first Quarter which occurs at 22:11 ACST.

This is a telescope (and maybe good binoculars) only event. For the west coast the start of the Lunar X occurs with the Moon being 70° above the horizon, central states see it at 53° above the horizon, and for the east coast at 45° above the horizon.

Upcoming Lunar X' s are shown below:

Dates and time Lunar X and V are visible. Typically visible from about 4hours from the starting time, times in colour are daylight saving times.

Date	UT	AEST	ACST	AWST
Feb 5	08:13	21:13	20:43	16:13
Apr 5	12:43	23:43	23:17	20:43
June 3	13:18	23:18	22:30	21:18
Aug 1	10:57	20:57	20:17	18:57
Sep 29	08:46	18:46	18:16	16:46
Nov 27	10:43	21:43	21:15	18:43

Labels: Lunar X, Moon, Occultation, telescope

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:16 pm 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Friday August 1. The Lunar X is visible at this time. Occulation of bright star 2 Scoripii on the 3rd. Mars very close to Beta Virginis as it enters Virgo. Lupi and Nova V572 Velorum are fading but still visible in binoculars. Saturn is rising before midnight.Venus and Jupiter are visible in the morning twilight and are drawing closer. Venus is below bright Aldebaran and close to the stars eta Geminorum on the 3rd.

The First Quarter Moon is Friday August 1. The Moon is at apogee on the 2nd. The Lunar X is visible on the 1st

Date	UT	AEST	ACST	AWST
Aug 1	10:57	20:57	20:17	18:57

North-eastern twilight sky on the morning of Sunday, August 3 as seen from Adelaide at 06:12 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Venus forms a triangle with Aldebaran and Betelgeuse with Jupiter below just above the horizon.

Venus is also very close to the bright star eta Geminorum

The insets are the telescopic views of Venus and Jupiter at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Eastern sky on the evening of Saturday, August 2 as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACST (click to embiggen).

Saturn is rising. The insets show the telescopic view at this time.

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

North-western sky on Sunday, August 3 as seen from Adelaide at 19:03 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mars very close to Beta Virginis and is heading towards the bright star Spica.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

South-western sky on the evening of Saturday, August 2 as seen from Adelaide at 19:02 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V462 Lupi is roughly magnitude 7.7 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Lupus the wolf, above the constellation of Scorpius. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle. Increasing moonlight will make it harder to find.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V462 Lupi page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

The South-western sky on the evening of Saturday, August 2 as seen from Adelaide at 18:58 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V572 Velorum is roughly magnitude 6.7 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Vela the sail, below the Southern Cross and near the eta Carina Nebula. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle. Nova V462 Lupi is near the top of the image.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V572 Velorum page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Western sky on Friday, August 1 as seen from Adelaide at 20:17 ACST The first quarter moon is lowering in the sky and the Lunar X and V are visible in telescopes.

The inset is the appearance of the Lunar X and V at 20:17 ACDST (click to embiggen). Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the times indicated in the table.

Date	UT	AEST	ACST	AWST
Aug 1	10:57	20:57	20:17	18:57

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (see table above).

North-eastern sky on Sunday, August 3 as seen from Adelaide at 19:01 ACST The waxing Moon is about to occult the star 2 Scorpii (circled) and 3 Scorpii soon after. the moon is very obvious in the head of Scorpius.

The inset is the telescopic appearance of the moon ad 2 Scorpii as it is covered. This is at 19:01 ACST, ~19:55 AEST for the eastern states and Perth does not see the start of the occultation.

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

Whole sky on Saturday, August 2 as seen from Adelaide at 18:47 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Mars is in the north-west.

Bright Canopus is brushing the horizon and Scorpius climbs towards the Zenith.

The Southern Cross is sinking in the Southern sky. The moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming harder to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is lost in the evening twilight.

Venus is lowering in the morning twilight. Venus forms a triangle with Aldebaran and Betelgeuse with Jupiter below just above the horizon.

Mars is lowering in the evening sky and Mars is very close to Beta Virginis as it enters Virgo.

Jupiter climbs in the morning twilight below Venus.

Saturn is lowering in the morning sky and is rising before midnight.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 5:42 pm 0 comments

The New Moon is Friday July 25. Mercury is lost in the twilight. Mars is lowering in the early evening sky as it moves through Leo. The crescent moon is near Mars on the 28th. Nova V462 Lupi and Nova V572 Velorum are fading but still visible in binoculars, a double nova is rare event. Saturn is rising before midnight.Venus and Jupiter are visible in the morning twilight. Venus is below bright Aldebaran. The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks on the evening 29th/ morning 30th.

The New Moon is Friday July 25.

North-eastern twilight sky on the morning of Saturday, July 26 as seen from Adelaide at 06:17 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Venus forms a triangle with Aldebaran and Betelgeuse with Jupiter below just above the horizon.

Venus is close to Zeta Tau, the tip of on of the bulls "horns"

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

South-eastern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 26 as seen from Adelaide at 18:58 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V462 Lupi is roughly magnitude 7 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Lupus the wolf, above the constellation of Scorpius. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V462 Lupi page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Eastern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 28 as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACST (click to embiggen).

Saturn is rising. The insets show the telescopic view at this time.

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

The Southern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 26 as seen from Adelaide at 18:58 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V572 Velorum is roughly magnitude 6 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Vela the sail, below the Southern Cross and near the eta Carina Nebula. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V572 Velorum page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Northern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 ACST (click to embiggen)

If you look to the North just before midnight, you will see a prominent bright orange star, Arcturus, if you look northeast you will see a dainty circlet of stars. Corona Borealis, the northern crown. The blaze star T CrB is located on the right-hand side to the circlet, where the line of stars turns down, there are no other bright stars in the region, so when it erupts it will be easily visible. Viewing tips at my T CrB post. TCrB can potentially go Nova any time between now and August 2025.

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

North-western sky on Monday, July 28 as seen from Adelaide at 18:59 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mars is drawing away from the bright star Regulus and is close to the crescent Moon.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Evening sky looking North from Adelaide at 2:30 am local time on July 30th in South Australia. The starburst marks the radiant (the point where the meteors appear to originate from) of the Southern Delta Aquariids. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

for more details see my Southern Delta Aquariids page.

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

Whole sky on Saturday, July 26 as seen from Adelaide at 18:47 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Mars is in the north-west.

Bright Canopus is brushing the horizon and Scorpius climbs towards the Zenith.

The Southern Cross is rising in the Southern sky. The moon is new and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming easy to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is lost in the evening twilight.

Venus is lowering in the morning twilight. It is below Saturn. Venus forms a triangle with Aldebaran and Betelgeuse with Jupiter below just above the horizon.

Mars is lowering in the evening sky and drawing way from the bright star Regulus. it is close to the crescent Moon on the 28th,

Jupiter returns to the morning twilight below Venus.

Saturn is lowering in the morning sky and is rising before midnight.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 2:14 pm 0 comments


Evening sky looking east from Adelaide at 11 pm local time in South Australia on the 29th. The starburst marks the radiant (the point where the meteors appear to originate from) of the Southern Delta Aquariids. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).	Evening sky looking North from Adelaide at 2:30 am local time on July 30th in South Australia. The starburst marks the radiant (the point where the meteors appear to originate from) of the Southern Delta Aquariids. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen).

The Southern Delta-Aquariids meteor shower runs from from 12 July to 23rd August, peaking on Saturday night/ Sunday morning July the 29th-30th this year. The number of meteors you will see depends on how high the radiant is above the horizon, and how dark your sky is. This shower is fairly faint, with the highest rate of around a meteor every 4 minutes (more detail below).

The ZHR for Southern Delta Aquariids is 25 meteors per hour. The figure ZHR is zenithal hourly rate. This is the number of meteors that a single observer would see per hour if the shower's "point of origin", or radiant, were at the zenith and the sky were dark enough for 6.5-magnitude stars to be visible to the naked eye.

In practice, you will never see this many meteors as the radiant will be some distance below the zenith. Also, unless you are out deep in the countryside, the darkness will be less than ideal. As well, moonlight will significantly reduce rates. This year the waxing crescent Moon sets before radiant rise, so won't interfere. How many are you likely to see in reality? I discuss this further down, lets talk about when to see them first.

At 11 pm, face east, and look around 4 hand spans above the horizon. The brightest object above above the horizon is Saturn. The radiant is another 6 spans above Saturn. This meteor shower should be visible from 10.00 pm until dawn. The best rates will be at 2:30 am on the evenings/mornings of the 29/30th and 30th/31st.

At 2:30 am people in the suburbs should see a meteor around once every 10 minutes, and in the country about once every 4 minutes at 2:30 am in the mornings of the 29th and 30th.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

When looking, be sure to let your eyes adjust for at least 5 minutes so your eyes can be properly adapted to the dark. Don't look directly at the radiant site, because the meteors will often start their "burn" some distance from it, but around a hand-span up or to the side. Be patient, although you should see an average of a meteor every six to four minutes, a whole stretch of time can go by without a meteor, then a whole bunch turn up one after the other.

Make yourself comfortable, choose an observing site that has little to obstruct the eastern horizon, have a comfortable chair to sit in (a banana lounger is best), or blankets and pillows. Rug up against the cold. A hot Thermos of something to drink and plenty of mosquito protection will complete your observing preparations. As well as meteors, keep an eye out for satellites (see Heavens Above for predictions from your site).

The sky will also be particularly beautiful, with the Milky Way stretching over the sky and constellation of Scorpius in the west and Saturn gracing the eastern-northern sky.

Use the NASA meteor shower flux estimator for an estimate of what the shower will be like from your location (you may need to enter your longitude and latitude, surprisingly, while Adelaide and Brisbane are hard-wired in, Sydney and Melbourne are not).

Unfortunately, both Chrome and Firefox have changed their security settings to prevent plugins from running, and the flux estimator only runs under Internet Explorer or the Internet Explorer tab under Edge, now.

You need to choose 5 Southern Delta Aquariids and remember to set the date to 29-30 July or 30-31 July 2025'

Guides for taking meteor photos are here and here.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Labels: Meteors, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 8:15 pm 0 comments

The Last Quarter Moon is Friday July 18. Mercury is sinking the evening twilight. Mars is lowering in the early evening sky as it moves through Leo. Nova V462 Lupi and Nova V572 Velorum are visible in binoculars, a double nova is rare event. Saturn is rising before midnight.Venus and Jupiter are visible in the morning twilight. Venus is below bright Aldebaran.The crescent Moon is near Venus on the 22nd, the Jupiter on the 23rd. Look for the constellation Corona Borealis in the late evening, the blaze star T Coronae Borealis (TCrB) may go Nova eventually.

The Last Quarter Moon is Friday July 18.The moon is at perigee, when it is closest to the Earth, on the 20th.

North-eastern twilight sky on the morning of Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 06:24 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Venus is below Uranus and Aldebaran with the crescent Moon nearby and Jupiter just above the horizon.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

South-eastern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 18:54 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V462 Lupi is roughly magnitude 5.9 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Lupus the wolf, above the constellation of Scorpius. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V462 Lupi page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Eastern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 23:30 ACST (click to embiggen).

Saturn is rising. The insets show the telescopic view at this time.

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

The Southern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 18:54 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V572 Velorum is roughly magnitude 5.9 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Vela the sail, below the Southern Cross and near the eta Carina Nebula. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V572 Velorum page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Northern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 ACST (click to embiggen)

If you look to the North just before midnight, you will see a prominent bright orange star, Arcturus, if you look northeast you will see a dainty circlet of stars. Corona Borealis, the northern crown. The blaze star T CrB is located on the right-hand side to the circlet, where the line of stars turns down, there are no other bright stars in the region, so when it erupts it will be easily visible. Viewing tips at my T CrB post. TCrB can potentially go Nova any time between now and August 2025.

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

North-western sky on Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 18:54 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mars is drawing away from the bright star Regulus.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

North-western sky on Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 18:24 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mercury is sinking into the twilight.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Whole sky on Saturday, July 19 as seen from Adelaide at 18:54 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Mars is in the north-west.

Bright Sirius has set and Scorpius climbs towards the Zenith.

The Southern Cross is rising in the Southern sky. The moon is waning and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming easier to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury lowers in the evening twilight.

Venus is high in the morning twilight. It is below Saturn. Venus is also below Uranus and Aldebaran with the crescent Moon nearby and Jupiter just above the horizon.

Mars is lowering in the evening sky and drawing way from the bright star Regulus.

Jupiter returns to the morning twilight below Venus.

Saturn is high in the morning sky and is rising before midnight.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 6:57 pm 0 comments

The Full Moon is Friday July 11. Mercury is sinking the evening twilight. Mars is lowering in the early evening sky as it moves through Leo. Nova V462 Lupi and Nova V572 Velorum are visible in binoculars, a double nova is rare event. Saturn and Venus are visible in the morning twilight. Saturn is near the Moon on the 16th. Venus passes between Aldebaran and the Pleiades. Look for the constellation Corona Borealis in the late evening, the blaze star T Coronae Borealis (TCrB) may go Nova eventually.

The Full Moon is Friday July 11.

North-eastern twilight sky on the morning of Saturday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 06:20 ACST (60 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Venus is below Uranus and is between Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster.

The inset show the binocular view of Venus and Uranus, Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes before sunrise).

Eastern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 18:50 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V462 Lupi is roughly magnitude 5.9 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Lupus the wolf, above the constellation of Scorpius. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V462 Lupi page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Eastern sky on the evening of Wednesday, July 16 as seen from Adelaide at 23:30 ACST (click to embiggen).

Saturn is rising with the waning Moon below it. the insets show the binocular view d Saturn at this time with Neptune close by, and the telescopic view.

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

The Southern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 18:50 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V572 Velorum is roughly magnitude 5.9 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Vela the sail, below the Southern Cross and near the eta Carina Nebula. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V572 Velorum page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Northern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 21:00 ACST (click to embiggen)

If you look to the North just before midnight, you will see a prominent bright orange star, Arcturus, if you look northeast you will see a dainty circlet of stars. Corona Borealis, the northern crown. The blaze star T CrB is located on the right-hand side to the circlet, where the line of stars turns down, there are no other bright stars in the region, so when it erupts it will be easily visible. Viewing tips at my T CrB post. TCrB can potentially go Nova any time between now and August 2025.

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

North-western sky on Saturday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 18:50 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mars is drawing away from the bright star Regulus.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

North-western sky on Saturday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 18:20 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mercury is sinking into the twilight

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Whole sky on Saturday, July 5 as seen from Adelaide at 18:47 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Mars is in the north-west.

Bright Sirius has set and Scorpius climbs towards the Zenith.

The Southern Cross is rising in the Southern sky. The moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming harder to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury lowers in the evening twilight.

Venus is high in the morning twilight. It is below Saturn. Venus is below to Uranus and is between Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster.

Mars is lowering in the evening sky and drawing way from the bright star Regulus.

Jupiter is lost in the twilight.

Saturn is high in the morning sky and is rising before midnight. It is close to the waning Moon on the 16th

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:29 pm 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday July 3. Earth is at aphelion ,when it is furthest from Earth, on the 4th. Mercury is rising the evening twilight and is highest on the 4th. Mercury is close to the Beehive cluster on the 3rd. Mars is lowering in the early evening sky as it moves through Leo moving away from the bright star Regulus. Nova V462 Lupi is visible in binoculars in the evening and is joined by Nova V572 Velorum, a rare event. Saturn and Venus are visible in the morning twilight. Venus is close to Uranus between the 3rd and 6th. Look for the constellation Corona Borealis before midnight, the blaze star T Coronae Borealis (TCrB) may go Nova eventually.

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday July 3.

North-eastern twilight sky on the morning of Saturday, July 5 as seen from Adelaide at 05:54 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Venus is close to Uranus and forms triangle with Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster.

The inset show the binocular view of Venus and Uranus at this time.

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

Eastern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 5 as seen from Adelaide at 18:47 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V462 Lupi is roughly magnitude 5.9 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Lupus the wolf, above the constellation of Scorpius. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with circle.

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V462 Lupi page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

The Southern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 5 as seen from Adelaide at 18:47 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Nova V572 Velorum is roughly magnitude 5.9 and is visible in binoculars in the constellation of Vela the sail, below the Souhen Cross and near the eta Carina Nebula. The inset is the approximate binocular view. The nova is marked with Marker 1 (until I can set up the location in Stellarium).

For printable charts and viewing guides see my Nova V572 Velorum page.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Northern sky on the evening of Saturday, July 5 as seen from Adelaide at 22:00 ACST (click to embiggen)

If you look to the North just before midnight, you will see a prominent bright orange star, Arcturus, if you look northeast you will see a dainty circlet of stars. Corona Borealis, the northern crown. The blaze star T CrB is located on the right-hand side to the circlet, where the line of stars turns down, there are no other bright stars in the region, so when it erupts it will be easily visible. Viewing tips at my T CrB post. After some brief excitement last week (false alarm) TCrB can potentially go Nova any time between now and August 2025.

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

North-western sky on Saturday, July 5 as seen from Adelaide at 18:47 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mars is drawing away from the bright star Regulus.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

North-western sky on Thursday, July 3 as seen from Adelaide at 18:46 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen). Mercury is climbing higher into the twilight and is near the beehive cluster.

The inset is the binocular view of Mercury and the cluster at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Whole sky on Saturday, July 5 as seen from Adelaide at 18:47 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Mars is in the north-west.

Bright Sirius is on the north-west horizon as Scorpius climbs higher in the east.

The Southern Cross is rising in the Southern sky. The moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming harder to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury climbs higher in the evening twilight and is near the Beehive cluster on the 3rd.

Venus is high in the morning twilight. It is below Saturn. Venus is close to Uranus and forms triangle with Aldebaran and the Pleiades cluster.

Mars is lowering in the evening sky and drawing way from the bright star Regulus.

Jupiter is lost in the twilight.

Saturn is high in the morning sky and is rising around midnight.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:22 am 0 comments


Printable black and white chart of the eastern evening sky at 18:42 ACST (90 minutes after sunset) as seen from Adelaide, showing the location of Nova V462 Lupi. Similar views will be seen from elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen and print)	Printable black and white chart suitable for use with binoculars of the area around Nova V462 Lupi. The circle is the approximate field of view of 10x50 binoculars. The nova is roughly a binocular field from the bright stars beta and delta Lupi, Click to embiggen and print

south-eastern evening sky at 18:42 ACST (90 minutes after sunset) as seen from Adelaide, showing the location of Nova V462 Lupi (circle marker). Similar views will be seen from elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset). Click to embiggen	Chart suitable for use with binoculars of the area around Nova V462 Lupi (circle marker).The nova is roughly a binocular field from the bright stars beta and delta Lupi, Click to embiggen.

Nova V426 Lupi faint (around magnitude 5.7, at the unaided eye threshold) but still holding its (faint) brightness and is currently around magnitude 5.9. It may be glimpsed by those with good visual acuity under dark sky conditions. However, it is best with binoculars or a small telescope. It is well placed for southern hemisphere observers and visible from the early evening on. The bright stars beta and delta Lupi are clear guideposts to the nova. It is joined in the Southern sky by nova V572 Velorum.

The nova is likely to fade over the coming days, and it is worthwhile following it as it does so. You may want to keep a record of its magnitude over this time.


My image of V462 Lupi taken on 28 June, 19:01 ACST, samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra ƒ/3.4 2s 18.6 mm ISO3200 (5xZoom). Compare to charts above	My image of V462 Lupi labelled