|
The summer months offer numerous treats for those who turn their eyes toward the heavens when darkness falls. In earth’s annual trek around the sun
we are able to look toward the centre of the Milky Way galaxy at night when we are looking in the opposite direction from the sun. From a dark sky area, you should be able to see the cloud of stars flowing overhead from the northeast to southwest. With binoculars you can look into this cloud of stars to see hundreds and even thousands of individual stars – a real feast for the eyes.
On summer evenings the Big Dipper glides directly overhead. If you find the three stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, you will see they form an “arc” rather than a straight line. If you continue to extend the arc across the sky, it will Fbring you to the bright star, Arcturus, almost directly overhead on early July evenings. You can remember this bright star with, “Draw an arc to Arcturus.” Further to the east you should be able to find the summer triangle made from bright Vega, Deneb and Altair. Vega is the brightest star in our summer skies and is second only to Sirius which is visible in winter months. The Milky Way flows through the summer triangle and beyond Altair into the constellation, Sagittarius, the teapot. Along this river of stars you can see numerous star clusters and nebulas with a moderate pair of binoculars and a dark sky.
Look to the western sky shortly after dark for a nice pairing of Mars and Saturn this month. On July 9 these two planets appear to be only a hair apart. Mars will appear reddish while brighter Saturn appears cream color. You can see both the ringed planet and red planet together in a telescope. Little other surface detail can be seen as the planets are viewed through thick blankets of air near the horizon. If you can follow these two planets into August, they will be joined by Venus and Mercury for a unique four planet showing.
On the opposite side of the sky, Jupiter makes its finest showing of the year, rising in the southeast as the sun sets. For those living in the vicinity of an airport, it is easy to assume the bright light, low to the south, is an airplane preparing for landing. The king of planets easily out shines all the stars and other planets. A modest telescope will reveal Jupiter’s four largest moons as well as cloud bands across the centre of the planet. If you have opportunity to view Jupiter from one night to the next, you will notice how quickly its moons shift positions as a result of the massive gravity. In fact Jupiter’s inner moon, Io, travels approximately the same distance around Jupiter as our moon travels around the earth. While our moon takes 27 1/2 days to complete one orbit, Io takes less than two days to travel the same distance. Imagine living on Jupiter and having a full moon one night and a new moon the next night!
Are you interested in learning more about astronomy? One of the best resources available is Terence Dickinson’s NightWatch which offers an easy to read guide to the night sky, to astronomy in general and to equipment. The simple star charts for each season make learning the constellations an easy feat. Terrance also suggests that you consider binoculars even before a telescope for astronomy. And he very graciously but helpfully warns against purchasing a “Department Store Trash Scope.”
Be sure to make good use of the warm summer evenings to stand under our starry canopy and drink in some celestial delights.
|
