What's Up in SW FL Skies: July Planets and a Special Guest Planet

Moon Phases July 2024 (EDT)

New 1stQuarter Full 3rd Quarter

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At last, Venus rejoins us as an early evening planet by July 7th. This means in the early evening sky there are two planets visible for the entire rest of July: Mercury and Venus. Try gazing at the western horizon around 8:45 - 8:55 pm. Mercury is not as bright, but it starts the month considerably higher in the sky and a little farther south than Venus, while brilliant Venus starts out in your WNW and gradually moves southward all month long, until by July 31, Mercury is just a degree or so above Venus and still to Venus' left, while Venus is the same few degrees above the horizon, brighter than Mercury and still to its right. Officially, Mercury is at its greatest "eastern elongation" away from the Sun in our sky on July 22 - but that's only 27 degrees from the Sun, because Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and never gets very far from it, from Earth's point of view!

Before dawn (5:45 am, say) Jupiter and Mars are getting closer together throughout July, over in the ESE, and Saturn is nearly 60 degrees above your southern horizon at the start of the month, but about 45 degrees above your WSW horizon by month's end.

On July 15th, Uranus (pronounced YUH-rah-nus) and Mars will be close together in the sky (half a degree apart), within a single field of view with binoculars. If you have never seen this faint blue-green planet, now is a good time to catch sight of it! The planet Uranus was discovered by William Herschel on March 13, 1781.

The Stars of Summer: Summer Triangle

On any evening – from now through fall – you'll be able to spot the famous Summer Triangle, which at our latitude is practically overhead at its highest point of the night. Made of the brightest star in each of three constellations, it's an easy-to-see large triangle in our summer-to-late-fall skies. It’s rising in the eastern sky as the sky darkens on July evenings.

The three bright stars are (from west to east to southernmost): Vega in the constellation Lyra (the Lyre), Deneb in the constellation Cygnus (the Swan), and Altair in the constellation Aquila (the Eagle). Each star will rise a few minutes earlier each day, so the Summer Triangle will start each night just a bit higher in your sky than it was the night before!

Some Meteors, Perhaps?

Like June, July is also a lackluster month for meteors, the next really major shower is the Perseids in August. This month we may see some Southern Delta Aquarids from late July through early August, sort of segue-ing into the Perseids. Remember, the wee hours after midnight are the best time to see most meteor showers, because then you are on the part of Earth facing into our orbit around the Sun, but still with a dark sky: so our local sky picks up bits of space debris like bugs on a windshield. Meteors are a local phenomenon because Earth's atmosphere is a pretty thin layer!

This month on odd-numbered days we are showing Phantom of the Universe: The Search for Dark Matter at 12:15, followed by Europe to the Stars at 2:15. On even-numbered days, we explore Planets in a series of fun missions at 12:15 but then follow University of Colorado scientists to see them measure "Climate Change in Our Backyard" at 2:15! On Sundays at 3:15 we have a Science Sunday extra show, which is chosen in accord with the preferences of the audience.

The whole nature center and planetarium complex is open six days per week, closed Mondays. Hoping to see you soon at the Center!

-- Heather Preston, Planetarium Director