For the Northern Hemisphere July 23 - August 22, 2007 Printable date table includes lunar cycle 7/14-8/11. Look Up!
Planetary Treats Glorious
Venus ~ Veiled and Unveiled [Image] Veiled and Unveiled This picture shows two different perspectives of Venus. On the left is a mosaic of images acquired by the Mariner 10 spacecraft on February 5, 1974. The image shows the thick cloud coverage that prevents optical observation of the planet's surface. The surface of Venus remained hidden until 1978 when the Pioneer Venus 1 spacecraft arrived and went into orbit about the planet on December 4th. The spacecraft used radar to map the planet's surface, revealing a new Venus. Later in August of 1990 the Magellan spacecraft arrived at Venus and began its extensive planetary mapping mission. This mission produced radar images up to 300 meters per pixel in resolution. The right image shows a rendering of Venus from the Pioneer Venus and Magellan radar images. Why Is Venus So Bright? Cloud Cover It’s ironic that one reason for the blazing brilliance of Venus is the very cloud cover that prevents us from visually seeing the surface of the planet! The layers of bright clouds that completely enshroud Venus reflect light from the Sun almost like a mirror.
Close Proximity Also, because Venus is the closest planet to Earth, it is the brightest of all planets. It is brighter than all the stars. Venus in the night sky is second in brightness only to our Moon. Orbital Motion Another fascinating aspect of Venus, its orbital motion, creates a difference in apparent disk size and phase illumination. This results in a unique and surprising greater or lesser brilliance. Venus, less illuminated by the Sun, appears more brilliant! When Venus is far from Earth, it lies on the far side of the Sun (Earth-Sun-Venus) and we telescopically see Venus fully illuminated by the Sun. A "Full Venus" is like a Full Moon. Venus is presently moving from a full phase toward a thin crescent phase, as it nears Earth. A thin crescent Venus closer to Earth looks bigger and, therefore, brighter than a small full Venus farther away from Earth. Image During July the illuminated phase of Venus shrinks from 35% to 9% and its disk size increases from 32" (arc seconds) to 51". Venus is closest to Earth, as it reaches inferior conjunction and positions itself between the Earth and Sun (Earth–Venus–Sun). As Venus nears this solar conjunction, it disappears from our view in the glowing embrace of our Sun. Inferior conjunction occurs August 17, 2007 at 9:00pm PDT; 04:00 UT 8/18. Animated
Phases of Venus Compute
the apparent disk size of Venus Venus reached greatest brilliancy July 12 at magnitude –4.7, by the end of July it drops to magnitude –4.5, an imperceptible difference to our eyes! Venus has been giving us a dazzling night sky performance, since the beginning of 2007. Its dances with the Crescent Moon, the Pleiades, Saturn and Regulus have been breathtaking! It’s day sky appearances and evening water glow and land shadows have been a heart’s delight. Venus Switches Horizons I for one will miss our glorious "evening star" as it sinks out of sight in a solar embrace and transforms into a rising "morning star." Cherish the last days of this evening jewel during the first days of August. At this time the planet’s brief appearance is easy to spot 30 minutes after sunset, a mere 2 degrees* above the horizon. Look for our gorgeous morning goddess late August, just before sunrise low on the eastern horizon. As Venus switches horizons during Leo, it appears to halt its forward (eastern) motion and move in a retrograde (western) motion back toward Regulus and Saturn. During Venus retrograde, July 27- September 7, we’ll have plenty of opportunity to mature and purify the heart, while aligning with the sobering Law of the Soul. See Moon Dances for the night sky’s grand finale of Venus, the Crescent Moon, Regulus and Saturn. [Return to Menu at top] See
Saturn in a New Neon Light Neon Saturn
Saturn is swallowed by Sun during Leo! Each day the dim and difficult to see planet is gradually gobbled up by the twilight glow, completely disappearing during the first week of August. Saturn reappears in the morning sky mid-September, just before sunrise low on the eastern horizon. July 31 Saturn is just 4 degrees* below Regulus, 4 degrees* above the western horizon and 6 degrees* to the right of Venus. This is not an easy observation. See Moon Dances for the night sky’s sunset grand finale of the Crescent Moon paired with Saturn ... Venus paired with Regulus. [Return to Menu at top]
Thanks Star Gazer for the following mind expanding statistics that size up the King of the Planets and the Emperor Star.
These two links will delight you with more visual comparisons. Sizes of Planets and Stars ~ Interactive Planet Size Comparison Jupiter and Antares are a dazzling duo in the southern sky. Compare Jupiter’s steady and brilliant yellowish glow with the twinkling reddish gleam of Antares below the planet. This pair is spectacular from sunset until they sink below the southwestern horizon at 2:15am in the beginning of Leo and at 1:00am by its end. They are at their highest just after sunset.
Red is a good color for Antares, for it happens to be the fiery heart star of Scorpius the cosmic Scorpion. Can you spot the j-shaped constellation? Jupiter above Antares lies at the foot of Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer our "13th constellation." The planet transits this constellation for most of 2007. Jupiter halts its westward retrograde motion through Ophiuchus August 6, afterwards it can be seen moving eastward toward the stinger of Scorpius. Mark your calendar! July 23-26, Monday-Thursday, the waxing Gibbous Moon is a visual delight in the vicinity of Jupiter and Antares. Click Moon Dances for a star map and reflections. If you miss this performance, there is an encore August 19-22, Sunday-Wednesday. You may even want to try spotting Jupiter in the day sky very near the Moon August 21. After 4:30pm look east for the First Quarter Moon, use binoculars to search for Jupiter 5 degrees above the Moon (about half a fist at arm’s length.) Clear skies! Fun to View Jupiter In a dark clear sky Jupiter’s four largest moons, discovered by Galileo in 1610, can be seen with binoculars! They look like small stars around the planet and can be very entertaining, frequently changing formation. Got binoculars?
Hmmm … How many moons does Jupiter have? … 63 to date! 47 of these have been recently discovered, 1975-2004, and are less than 10 kilometres in diameter. Some of these have not been named! See the position of the four Galilean Moons for any specified date or time with the following link. Jupiter’s
Moons Telescopic details on Jupiter change by the hour thanks to the planet's complete rotation in only 10 hours. Some can detect feature changes in just 15 minutes. Jupiter’s
a Fun Planet to Watch Jupiter Observing Guide ~ Transit Times of Jupiter's Great Red Spot [Return to Menu at top] Mars ~ A Sea of Sand ~ Are the Rovers Drowning? Larger Image ~ True Color Image Dazzling Dunes The panoramic camera aboard Opportunity, NASA’s Martian rover, took the above false color image of the Endurance Crater’s dazzling dunes in August 2004. Sinuous tendrils of sand less than 1 meter (3.3 feet) high extend from the main dune field on the crater floor. The dune crests have accumulated more dust than the flanks of the dunes and the flat surfaces between them. The "blue" tint on the flat surfaces compared to the dune flanks results from the presence of the hematite-containing spherules ("blueberries") that accumulate on the flat surfaces.
Opportunity visited this impact crater for six months from May-December, 2004. The rover explored the rocks surrounding the dune field. It never headed down into the dunes.
See Exploration by Opportunity to learn more about the rover’s adventures in the crater and the valuable "wet history" scientists acquired from this mission. Devil
Dust Severe dust storms stretching all around the Red Planet are jeopardizing NASA’s Twin Rovers. Opportunity experiencing the brunt of the dust storm has lost 99% of direct sunlight! Spirit in a less severe storm location is conserving battery power by limiting its activities. These storms have been growing and raging since the last week of June 2007. It only took about a week for the devil dust to encircle the planet!
How long will the devil dust pose a threat? No one knows for sure. In 2001 a similar extraordinary storm enveloped the whole planet for three months! BTW: Opportunity’s July 28 approval to enter Victoria Crater was rescinded July 3. It remains perched at Duck Bay on the crater’s rim. Mars Exploration Rover Mission Dust Storm Season Mars at perihelion on June 4 marked the beginning of the Red Planet’s dust storm season. As sun-warmed air moves, it creates a wind that picks up dust. Small dust clouds can expand and cover the whole planet! Dust storms can also be caused by adjacent warm and cold surfaces. The south polar cap of Mars along with its current close proximity to the Sun probably instigated the current Mars’ storm. Devil dust, now in the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet had its beginnings in the heavily cratered southern highlands.
Don’t Breathe Moon or Martian Dust! Note: NASA's new arctic mission to Mars, the Phoenix Mission, successfully launched Saturday, August 4, 2:26am PDT; 09:26 UT. The Phoenix Lander (not a rover) is heading on its nine month journey to the North Pole of Mars. There it will dig just beneath the surface soil, gather up water ice and put it into a set of experiments aboard the lander to determine its chemistry. What is in the ice? Does it provide conditions favorable to life in the present or past? Mark Your Calendar! The Perseid performance begins Sunday, August 12, 9:00pm-10:00pm. At this time long, slow, colorful meteors called earthgrazers begin to appear low on the eastern horizon. Though these may be the most beautiful meteors they are infrequent, only a few per hour. As the radiant rises, the number of shooting stars increases. By 2:00am Monday, August 13, expect dozens per hour and by dawn at the Perseid peak about a meteor a minute! Note: More meteors are seen in a dark sky away from city lights. Full Meteor Report Make sure to look for the sparkling Pleiades and red Mars. Can you locate red Aldebaran and red Betelgeuse below Mars? Look for three in a row with a red glow! Reflections This meteor shower radiating from our hero Perseus flying past our spiritual warrior Mars and nearby enlightening Pleiades and Aldebaran occurs on a New Moon Night, when Venus conjoins Saturn in the glowing embrace of our Sun, under the auspisces of Regulus, the heart star of Leo the Lion and regulator of the evolutionary energies of Sirius. Messenger of the gods Mercury conjoins the New Moon and mystical Neptune is at opposition, close to Earth and out all night long. Wowsers! Fight the good fight of the soul anchoring a wise, sobering and illuminating love for all. Mars a morning planet rises in the southeast at 1:15am in the beginning of Leo and by its end at 12:30am. The ruddy glow of the Red Planet is easy to spot now. Look for the rubescent planet near the sparkling Pleiades as Leo begins and near red Aldebaran as Leo ends. Watch the planet grow redder, brighter and bigger as its distance from Earth decreases over the next few months. Mid-August the planet lies at a distance of 116 million miles from Earth and by December18 Mars is at its closest, a distance of only 55 million miles. The Red Planet reaches opposition and peak brightness December 24. Mark your calendar! August 6-7 Mars and the waning Crescent Moon visit the 7 Sisters. Can you see 3 in Row with a Red Glow? Click Moon Dances for a star map and reflections. [Return to Menu at top] Mercury sinks toward the eastern horizon as Leo begins, making it difficult to observe this fleeting messenger of the gods. By August 2 the planet lies very near the rising Sun (Star Map) and by August 8 it is lost in the glare of our central luminary. Elusive Mercury reaches superior conjunction August 15. [Return to Menu at top] The
Planets
Celestial Delights Sirius
Reappears in the East Just before Sunrise [Image] Sirius Reappears briefly in the morning sky August 7 for observers in the Pacific Time Zone. This brightest star in the heavens has been in the embrace of the Sun for 74 days, hidden from our view. Sirius can be seen rising around 5:45am PDT very low on the southeastern horizon. This marks the ending of the Dog Days. Dog
Days In celebration of our evolutionary link to Sirius and in preparation for becoming the Shining Ones on Earth, I offer this excerpt from the Invocation of Osiris.
Way
up there, Verse from: NASA
I'd
like to know your thoughts about The Night Sky and Printable date table includes lunar cycle 7/14-8/11. |
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