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Stars In the Sky 07/2010
There will be a total solar eclipse on the 11th in the South Pacific Ocean.
Venus will dominate the western sky after sunset.
Venus, Mars and Saturn will be close together in the western sky after sunset.
Mercury
will not be a great telescope target this month. It will be visible midmonth
low on the horizon just after sunset. It will be at magnitude -0.5 but
fighting in the glare. It dims the rest of the month making it harder
to see. Mercury appears white in color.
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Venus
will be high in the evening sky at dusk all month. It will be shining
very brightly at magnitude -4.3 by the end of the month. Through a telescope
Venus will not change much in appearance. Clouds always obscure its surface.
Venus will appear to be 71% illuminated early in the month. As the month
goes on the percentage illuminated shrinks to 58% as the size of the disk
increases. Venus will appear white in color.
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Mars
will be visible in the south west sky as it grows dark. Mars will shine
at magnitude 1.4 at midmonth. While still relatively bright, through a
backyard telescope Mars will be too small to see any detail. Saturn will
approach to within 2º of Mars at the end of the month. Mars shines
red orange in color.
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Jupiter
will be high in the southern sky before dawn this month. It will be shinning
brightly at magnitude -2.6 so it should be very obviously brighter than
any star in that part of the sky. The best time to observe it would be
a few hours after midnight when it will be very high in the southern sky.
This will be a great time to observe it – when it is big and bright
high in the southern sky. Jupiter shines white in color.
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Saturn
will be in the sky to the southwest in western Virgo as it grows dark.
This would be the time to get a telescope on it – when there is
less atmosphere to look through. Saturn will peak around magnitude 1.1
this month. At the end of the month Mars will be 2º from Saturn.
A very bright Venus will be in the area too. Saturn would appear even
brighter if its ring system were tilted at a steeper angle. This month
they will be 3º from edge on. There are some advantages to having
the rings close to edge on. This is the best time to notice Saturn’s
subtle cloud belts and medicine ball outline. Saturn appears yellowish
in color.
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Uranus
will be in the southern dawn sky near Jupiter. Last month Uranus was ~1º
from Jupiter. This month they move ~3º apart. Uranus will be west of
Jupiter. They should still be a good binocular target. Uranus will be shinning
at magnitude 5.8. This makes it a possible naked eye target from dark skies
and an easy binocular target. Uranus shines pale aquamarine in color. |
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Neptune
will be above Jupiter in Aquarius in the eastern morning sky. It will rise
not long after midnight so sometime after 2AM but before dawn twilight would
be the best time to target it. You will need dark skies and a pair of binoculars
or a telescope to spot it. It will be shinning at magnitude 7.8. Neptune
shines blue in color. |
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Pluto
will be a possible target this month. It was at its “best”,
at opposition, on the 26th of June. This means it will still be at its
biggest and brightest for the year directly south at midnight, in Sagittarius.
This is the best time to try to look for it. Around midnight it will be
as high in the sky as it gets which means that you will be looking through
less atmosphere. Pluto will be at magnitude 14.0. Pluto is always a tough
target. Its current location in Sagittarius means that there will be a
lot of similar magnitude stars making Pluto hard to identify. Near perfect
conditions, dark calm skies, a good starchart and at least an 8”
telescope are needed to see Pluto.
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On July 11 there will be a rare total solar eclipse way out in the southern
Pacific Ocean. It will be a long one, as eclipses go, at over 5 minutes. It
can only be seen from a narrow strip of land. It will hit south of Tahiti, Easter
Island and end up in southern South America.
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