Fireworks aren’t the only reason to look skyward this month.
This month’s challenge for beginners: the Summer Triangle and the Northern Cross. The asterism called the Summer Triangle consists of three bright stars (Deneb, Vega, and Altair) from three different constellations, with Vega being the brightest and northernmost of the three. Deneb, which is in the tail of the constellation Cygnus the Swan, also forms the top of an asterism known as the Northern Cross. The long axis of the cross represents the body of the celestial bird and the shorter axis part of its wings.
This month’s astrophotography challenge: As mentioned above, Deneb forms the top of the Northern Cross. Anchoring the opposite end of the long axis of the cross is one of the most beautiful double stars in our sky — Albireo. The striking difference in color between the two stars will be readily apparent through a telescope.
For a more difficult photographic challenge, the Ring Nebula is found south of the star Vega (the brightest Summer Triangle star). It appears as a little smoke ring in smaller telescopes, but more advanced astrophotographers can tease out its beautiful color. The Ring is an example of a Planetary Nebula, an erroneous historical name for the shroud of dying, low-mass stars.
Sky highlights this month:
- July 4. Earth at
Aphelion
Because the Earth’s orbit is slightly elliptical, its distance from the Sun varies through the year by an almost imperceptible 3%. This year, the farthest the Earth will be from the Sun falls on the Fourth of July.
- July 6. First Quarter Moon. This is a great phase in which to photograph craters along the line between the light and dark halves of the Moon’s face — the so-called terminator line.
- July 13. Full Moon. This so-called Super Moon will be the largest Full Moon of 2022 due to the proximity of the Moon on that date (the Moon’s orbit is elliptical). It was nicknamed the Buck Moon by some Native American tribes.
- July 15/16. There will be a conjunction of the Moon and Saturn in the early morning hours.
- July 21. The conjunction of the Moon and Mars should be a pretty sight in the early morning hours of the 21st.
- July 28. New Moon. As always, this is the best time of the month to travel to a dark area and go hunting for some faint Deep Sky Objects.
- July 28/29. Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. This is just an average meteor shower, but falling on a New Moon means that it will be at its best (without moonlight to wash out the meteor streaks). It is best seen after midnight in dark skies.
I hope that everyone is enjoying their summer and finding some time for stargazing. If you happen to be traveling to less light-polluted areas, be sure to download a stargazing app (or bring a star map) and maybe take some binoculars along. (Don’t forget the bug spray!) You might be surprised at how many of the beautiful gems and jewels of our celestial neighborhood are awaiting your discovery…