JULY
OBSERVING
MOON:
New Moon occurs July 14 at 8:04 a.m. EDT (12:04 UT). Full Moon July 30
PLANETS:
Nearby planets--- Venus, Jupiter (near Antares) and Saturn can be found in the evening sky this month. Note: July 1 Saturn and Venus will be 0.8 degrees apart at 9:00 PM; Venus is at its greatest brilliancy July12.
Outer Planets --- Neptune at 2.9 magnitude is in the constellation Capricornus (near Delta Capricorni). Pluto (the “no-longer-planet”) at magnitude 14 is in the constellation Sagittarius. Uranus is in the southeastern part of the constellation Aquarius.
DEEP SKY:
The brightest stars this month are Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquila high overhead to form the Summer Triangle. In the same region you can find the constellations Cygnus the Swan and Aquila the Eagle.
Nebula
Dumbbell Nebula (M27) --- This planetary nebula, also known as NGC 6853, is in the constellation Vulpecula with an apparent magnitude of 7.6 and apparent size of 8x6 arcminutes making it possible to observe with binoculars but more clearly with a telescope. A telescope no less than10 inches (250mm) will reveal its central star. M27 is 2.7 light years in size at a distance of 1150 light years. It can be located just 3 degrees north of Gamma Sagittae in the neighboring constellation.
Other nebulae in the night sky are the Blinking Planetary (NGC 6826), the North American Nebula (NGC 7000) and M57 (in the constellation Lyra). The bright nebulas M16, M17, M20 and M8 are near by M24 Star Cloud. Other Messier Objects abound in and around the constellation Sagittarius, also.
Clusters
Hercules Cluster (M13) --- This Northern Hemisphere favorite globular cluster, also known as NGC 6205 is in the constellation Hercules. On a dark night one can see M13 as a faint smudge of light with the naked eye using averted vision. This object becomes breathtaking to view with a 10 inch (250mm) or larger telescope. M13 has an apparent magnitude of 5.9 and apparent size of 15 arcminutes. Its actual size is 100 light years across with a distance of 24,000 light years.
Other favorite clusters in the night sky are M15 and The Coathanger both of which are possible to see with binoculars. Also, M5, M11 the Wild Duck Cluster (between the constellations Aquila and Scutum in the Scutum Star Cloud) with nearby M26, M4 (near Antares in the constellation Scorpius), M15 (near the constellation Pegasus) and M22.
Star Cloud
M24 Star Cloud --- This star cloud is in the constellation Sagittarius. It is also known as the Sagittarius Star Cloud. This vast patch of stars forms part of a spiral arm of the Milky Way. This star cloud itself contains an 11th magnitude open star cluster NGC 6603. You will need at least a 6 to 8 inch (150-200mm) telescope to see NGC 6603. The M24 Star Cloud has an apparent magnitude of 4.6 with an apparent size of 90 arcminutes. M24’s actual size is 260 light years with a distance of 10,000 light years.
Ref6/13/07
