Kiss the Sky Tonight -- Month of July 2018
This colorful image, taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, shows the mayhem at the heart of the Lagoon Nebula (M8, NGC 6523), a vast stellar nursery located 4000 light-years away. At the center of the photo, a monster young star 200,000 times brighter than our Sun, is unleashing blistering radiation and torrential stellar winds (streams of subatomic particles) that push dust away in curtain-like sheets, carving out a landscape of ridges, cavities, and mountains of gas and dust. The giant star, called Herschel 36, is bursting out of its natal cocoon and has blasted holes in the bubble-shaped cloud, allowing astronomers to study this action-packed stellar breeding ground. The observations were taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 between Feb. 12 and Feb. 18, 2018. (Credits: NASA and the Office of Public Outreach - STScI). (Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and STScI)
Welcome to the night sky report for July 2018 -- Your guide to the constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and celestial events that are observable during the month. On July 27th, Mars reaches its long-awaited opposition and is visible all night. Look for its south polar cap and dark features that shift as the planet rotates. This month you will also spot constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius, globular cluster M4, and the annual Delta Aquarid meteor shower. The night sky is truly a celestial showcase. Get outside and explore its wonders from your own backyard.
Venus hangs in the west at dusk with eye-catching brilliance. On the 15th, it lies right above the slender crescent moon. Venus’s own moon-like phase is visible through a backyard telescope.
Saturn and Jupiter dominate the southern sky at sunset. A modest telescope reveals the rings of Saturn and the prominent cloud bands of Jupiter.
On July 27, Mars reaches its long-awaited opposition. During opposition (which occurs about every two years) Mars lies opposite the Sun in our sky, rises at sunset, and is visible all night. During opposition, the disk of Mars appears larger than usual in telescopes and offers the best view of its features -- the south polar cap this year and dark features that shift as the planet rotates. With Mars nearing its closest approach to the Sun, this year’s opposition will be the most favorable since 2003.
The summer night sky is filled with a treasure chest of bright jewels. Scorpius is a striking constellation -- one of the few that distinctly resembles the object after which it was named. The Scorpion is easy to trace in the sky. Its head, curved tail, and venomous stinger are prominent. At the Scorpion’s heart lies a reddish star. Its color closely resembles that of Mars. The planet was known to the Greeks as Ares. Ancient Greek stargazers, contemplating these two crimson objects, named the star Antares, which means “rival of Ares.”
A prominent and lovely globular cluster in small telescopes, M4 (NGC 6121) lies just to the right of Antares in Scorpius. Globular clusters are collections of hundreds of thousands of closely packed and gravitationally bound stars.
The center of our galaxy lies in the direction of the great constellation Sagittarius, the Archer. This area of the sky overflows with stars, globular star clusters, and bright and dark nebulae. Look for Sagittarius by finding the group of stars commonly known as the Teapot. The handle, top, and spout are easy to find. Under dark skies, the Milky Way seems to rise out of the Teapot’s spout. Many deep-sky targets reside in this area of the summer night sky.
A quick glance with binoculars reveals some spectacular objects. The Lagoon Nebula’s (M8, NGC 6523) gas and dust is brilliantly illuminated by the energy of the hot, young stars inside it. In the three-lobed Trifid Nebula (M20, NGC 6514), dark dust lanes appear etched against the radiance of glowing gas. The Omega Nebula (M17, NGC 6618) glows brightly but we cannot see its hottest stars, embedded deep inside. Infrared telescopes, peering through the gas and dust, can detect them. M22 (NGC 6656), one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky, is visible to the naked eye. It is a relatively nearby globular cluster, only about 10,000 light-years distant.
On July 13, portions of Australia and Antarctica will be treated to a partial solar eclipse as the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. Two weeks later, on the 27th, Europe, Asia, and Africa will witness a total lunar eclipse when the Moon slips into Earth’s shadow
If you are in the U.S., you will be able to view the annual Delta Aquarid meteor shower, which peaks on the night of July 27 to 28. Up to about 20 meteors per hour streak from the constellation of Aquarius. This year, the full moon sitting close by will wash out the fainter meteors, but the brightest should still be visible.
The night sky is always a celestial showcase. Explore its wonders from your own backyard.
The following Deep Sky Objects are found in constellations that peak during the month. Some can be viewed with a small telescope, but the majority will require a moderate to large telescope. The following is adapted from my personal viewing list: "The Guy Pirro 777 Best and Brightest Deep Sky Objects."
Constellation: Aquila
NGC 6709 Open Cluster P1
NGC 6724 Open Cluster P205
NGC 6735 Open Cluster P206
NGC 6738 Open Cluster P18
NGC 6741 Planetary Nebula P207 Phantom Streak Nebula
NGC 6755 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H19-7
NGC 6756 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H62-7
NGC 6760 Globular Cluster P19
NGC 6781 Planetary Nebula Herschel 400 H743-3
NGC 6790 Planetary Nebula P208
NGC 6803 Planetary Nebula P209
NGC 6840 Open Cluster P124
NGC 6843 Open Cluster P125
Constellation: Lyra
NGC 6720 Planetary Nebula M57 Ring Nebula
NGC 6779 Globular Cluster M56
NGC 6791 Open Cluster P162
Constellation: Sagittarius
IC 4684 Diffuse Nebula P182
IC 4725 Open Cluster M25
IC 4776 Planetary Nebula P183
NGC 6440 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H150-1
NGC 6445 Planetary Nebula Herschel 400 H586-2 Little Gem Nebula
NGC 6469 Open Cluster P184
NGC 6494 Open Cluster M23
NGC 6507 Open Cluster P185
NGC 6514 Diffuse Nebula M20, Herschel 400 H41-1 Trifid Nebula
NGC 6520 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H7-7
NGC 6522 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H49-1
NGC 6523 Diffuse Nebula M8 Lagoon Nebula
NGC 6528 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H200-2
NGC 6530 Open Cluster P49
NGC 6531 Open Cluster M21
NGC 6540 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H198-2
NGC 6544 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H197-2
NGC 6546 Open Cluster P106
NGC 6553 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H12-4
NGC 6558 Globular Cluster P107
NGC 6561 Open Cluster P186
NGC 6563 Planetary Nebula P187
NGC 6565 Planetary Nebula P248
NGC 6567 Planetary Nebula P188
NGC 6568 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H30-7
NGC 6569 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H201-2
NGC 6583 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H31-7
NGC 6590 Open Cluster P50
NGC 6603 Open Cluster M24 Sagittarius Star Cloud
NGC 6613 Open Cluster M18
NGC 6618 Open Cluster M17 Omega Nebula
NGC 6624 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H50-1
NGC 6626 Globular Cluster M28
NGC 6629 Planetary Nebula Herschel 400 H204-2
NGC 6637 Globular Cluster M69
NGC 6638 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H51-1
NGC 6642 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H205-2
NGC 6645 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H23-6
NGC 6647 Open Cluster P108
NGC 6652 Globular Cluster P31
NGC 6656 Globular Cluster M22
NGC 6681 Globular Cluster M70
NGC 6715 Globular Cluster M54 Sagitarius Dwarf Galaxy
NGC 6716 Open Cluster P109
NGC 6717 Globular Cluster P110
NGC 6723 Globular Cluster P52
NGC 6809 Globular Cluster M55
NGC 6818 Planetary Nebula Herschel 400 H51-4
NGC 6822 Galaxy C57 Barnard’s Galaxy
NGC 6864 Globular Cluster M75
Constellation: Scorpius
NGC 6093 Globular Cluster M80
NGC 6121 Globular Cluster M4
NGC 6124 Open Cluster C75
NGC 6139 Globular Cluster P53
NGC 6144 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H10-6
NGC 6153 Planetary Nebula P189
NGC 6178 Open Cluster P111
NGC 6192 Open Cluster P190
NGC 6216 Open Cluster P210
NGC 6231 Open Cluster C76
NGC 6242 Open Cluster P54
NGC 6249 Open Cluster P191
NGC 6259 Open Cluster P112
NGC 6268 Open Cluster P192
NGC 6281 Open Cluster P55
NGC 6302 Planetary Nebula C69 Butterfly Nebula
NGC 6318 Open Cluster P249
NGC 6322 Open Cluster P56
NGC 6374 Open Cluster P193
NGC 6383 Open Cluster P57
NGC 6388 Globular Cluster P58
NGC 6396 Open Cluster P194
NGC 6400 Open Cluster P195
NGC 6404 Open Cluster P250
NGC 6405 Open Cluster M6 Butterfly Cluster
NGC 6416 Open Cluster P59
NGC 6425 Open Cluster P113
NGC 6441 Globular Cluster P114
NGC 6451 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H13-6
NGC 6453 Globular Cluster P115
NGC 6475 Open Cluster M7 Ptolemy’s Cluster
NGC 6496 Globular Cluster P60
Constellation: Scutum
NGC 6625 Open Cluster P196
NGC 6631 Open Cluster P251
NGC 6649 Open Cluster P197
NGC 6664 Open Cluster Herschel 400 H12-8
NGC 6694 Open Cluster M26
NGC 6704 Open Cluster P198
NGC 6705 Open Cluster M11 Wild Duck Cluster
NGC 6712 Globular Cluster Herschel 400 H47-1
Constellation: Serpens Cauda
IC 1276 Globular Cluster P118
IC 4756 Open Cluster P62
NGC 6535 Globular Cluster P199
NGC 6539 Globular Cluster P119
NGC 6604 Open Cluster P63
NGC 6611 Open Cluster M16 Eagle Nebular Cluster
For more information:
Northern Latitudes:
http://hubblesite.org/videos/tonights_sky
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZrT_ppDGiT__fI3yjD4t7dI
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/skyreport
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/skyreport/whats-new
http://outreach.as.utexas.edu/public/skywatch.html
http://griffithobservatory.org/sky/skyreport.html
http://www.beckstromobservatory.com/whats-up-in-tonights-sky-2/
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/
http://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/physicsoutreach/engagement/the-sky-tonight/
http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/learn/astro/nightsky/maps
Equitorial Latitudes:
http://www.caribbeanastronomy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=30&Itemid=51
Southern Latitudes:
https://www.stardome.org.nz/astronomy/star-charts/
Astromart News Archives:
https://www.astromart.com/news/search?category_id=3&q=.
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