What's Up Above? July Stargazing
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July’s arrival tells us to fully step fully into summer. Not tentatively or with hesitation, the month of July demands our participation. Get outside, inhale a deep breath of fullness. This sensation of “full” abounds all around us. A month full of growth, full of thickness, and full of rich sensations for all of our senses to enjoy. Does this call to mind a summer day? On the contrary, this describes a July summer night.
This fullness awaits you every night in July. The biggest fullness is the Milky Way. Last month, the Milky Way began its flanking march low on the eastern horizon, sweeping across from the north, to the east and then turning and fading in the south. Now it flows majestically as the centerpiece of any clear July night. It’s an arc of light, a river of life and passage, the core of our galaxy the Milky Way, a bejeweled background of light and dark, depth and detail.
Don’t miss a moment to look up; with curiosity, wonder, and amazement to experience the universe on a comfortable summer night. I guarantee that you will wake up happier the next morning. Yes, there is plenty of fullness for you this month. There is the rise of Scorpius, a Full Buck Moon, multiple overlapping meteor showers, and Saturn standing still.
Now, is the time for you to come home to the cosmos. Let our journey begin.
The Rise of Scorpius, The full month of July
Scorpius, The slayer of Orion, emerges in fullness this month to dominate the southern end of the Milky Way. Few constellations represent their name better than Scorpius. This is what is called an asterism. Oh, it’s okay if you call it Scorpio. The Earth’s orbit and tilt is what allows us to partake in this constellation that calls the Southern celestial hemisphere home most of the year.
As an ancient constellation, Scorpius is noted in script, which predates Ptolemy’s identifying it in the 2nd century as one of the 48 “original'' constellations (today, there are 88 constellations). For the Polynesian cultures of the southern hemisphere Scorpius is “the brooded swan” (Javanese), and the “Big Fish Hook of Maui” (Hawaiian). The Greeks mythologies involving Scorpius are many and varied. The short story is Artemis (goddess of wildlife) sent the scorpion to slay Orion. This was because Orion, the Hunter, boasted to her and her mother that he could kill any wild beast on Earth. Angered by this, Artemis and Leto sent a scorpion to kill Orion. A battle ensued and the melee caught the attention of Zeus who ended it by placing each of them on opposite sides of the heavens. To this day the scorpion still chases Orion, but never catches him since it is only after Orion sets in the western night sky in late spring that Scorpius rises in the southeastern night sky in early summer.
Scorpius is easy to find. Look due south any time of the night, or you can just follow the Milky Way across the sky from the north to the southern horizon. Look just above the horizon to find the constellation. As night progresses Scorpius will “tip” to the west (left) revealing the entire asterism; head, body, stinger, and barb.
Saturn Goes In Reverse, July 26
Well, not really in reverse. But, it looks like Saturn is going backwards. Our 6th planet from the Sun, the Roman god of abundance, time, and wealth is having a change of heart. So, what’s behind this shifting of directions? Not to be alarmed. It’s retrograde motion.
First, more about the solar system’s planetary motion. Long-term, our planets with the exception of Venus and Uranus, move in a west to east slow drift. Yet, nightly, the motion appears to be east to west. In fact, everything in the sky appears to move east to west. The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west; the Moon rises in the east and sets in the west; and the planets do the same, the stars do the same. And confusingly, this is due to the Earth’s west to east rotation; which is just like the Sun and most of the planets.
Since the Earth is closer to the Sun than Saturn, it revolves around the Sun faster. Earth completes one revolution of the Sun in 365 Earth days; Saturn completes one trip around the Sun in 10,759 Earth days (29.5 years). Earth, traveling in its faster orbit, approximately every 378 days it overtakes Saturn. When that happens, to us viewing from Earth, it seems as if Saturn slows down, stops, and then drifts westward against the background stars.
It’s the same phenomenon you experience when you pass a car traveling the same direction on the highway. It’s a moment when the other car appears to move backward, against the distant landscape, despite the reality that both cars are moving forward.
When we say a planet is in "retrograde" from Earth's perspective, we're talking about its apparent motion against the background stars, not a reversal of its actual orbit or spin.
Saturn never goes in reverse. Never actually turns around or changes the direction. Rather, this gas giant simply puts on its direction and moves to the passing lane to pass the slower-moving outer planets, all cruising along our great solar system highway. Saturn’s retrograde period usually lasts for approximately 135 – 145 days. After that, it’s time for the ruler of Rome’s mythical Golden Age, to get a move on, and put it in drive.
A Subtle Sneaky Peekaboo Meteor Shower. The Piscis Austrinid, July 29
Though subdued with fewer meteors when compared to other meteor showers, the Piscis Austrinids offers a calmer meteor gazing experience. This is because the Piscis Austrinids rise over the south southeastern horizon well after midnight and never gain much altitude. The path of the shower’s radiant point is almost a perfect arc; about half of a circle. The image above shows the shower’s radiant point at 21 degrees above the southern horizon. That’s about two fists widths. Close your fist, put your pinky on the horizon and then place your other closed fist on top of the other, and you’ll be at the approximate altitude of the point where you want to look for the meteors.
As the name suggests, Austrinid is derived from Australia, as this is primarily a southern hemisphere meteor shower, and only visible to us in the northern hemisphere in the low-moderate to lower latitudes for a short period of time. That said, this meteor shower can produce long-lasting brilliant streaks. The Piscis Austrinids are active from July 15th through August 10th, peaking late, late in the night of the 28th spilling over into the wee hours of the 29th.
Here’s a meteor show perfect for the night owls among us. For those of us who relish being under the celestial dome at the darkest hours this meteor shower is made for them. Specifically, the shower rises above the east southeast horizon after 10:30pm. The radiant point of the shower at that time then (that point in the night sky where the meteors emanate from) aims directly at Earth around 5am. You can expect the zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) to be around 5 meteors per hour. That’s subtle for sure. Realistically, expect 1 to 3 meteors per hour.
The Full Buck Moon, July 29
July’s Full Moon is called the Full Buck Moon. What the heck is a Full Buck Moon? The name Buck Moon refers to the time of year when the antlers of male deer are in full-growth mode, and losing felt, the indigenous, colonial American and European traditions tell us. For the Ojibwe nation it is the Blueberry Moon, for the Oneida nation it is the String Bean Moon, and for the Catawba it is the Thunderstorm Moon. All of these reflect seasonal events in different cultures.
In the movement of celestial objects, this month’s Full Moon is around 232,500 miles from Earth, pretty close to average. At the same time, the separation between the Moon and the Sun, compared to the separation between the Earth and the Sun is negligible in scale but impressive when visualized. The Moon is nearly twice as far away from the Sun as it is from the Earth. Or, that night the Moon will be approximately 407 times farther from the Sun than then it is from Earth.
Don’t be lulled by familiarity, just because the Moon dominates the night sky once a month, as our faithful travel companion, it travels alongside us the entire journey as we make our year-long revolution around our home star, the Sun. And sometimes, like now, it can get pretty far from home
The Moon will rise above the eastern horizon at 8:15pm that night in full radiance with the Sun setting over the western horizon at 8:30pm. While the Buck Moon rises, it will look orange or golden because the Moon’s reflected light is passing through the thickest, most dense, part of our atmosphere. It will appear unusually large, larger than usual, due to the Moon Illusion. The illusion that the Moon appears larger when it is close to the horizon. This happens because of the way our brain interprets distance and size. Although it seems enormous near the horizon, its actual angular size changes very little.
Dueling Meteor Showers - Alpha Capricornid and Delta Aquarids, Peaking July 30th
Do you remember the movie Deliverance? Dueling banjos, can they be akin to dueling meteor showers? Maybe it’s not as far-fetched as you think. Want to increase your chances of catching a meteor streaking across our night sky? Then, mark the nights between the 28th through the 30th on your calendar now because both the Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower and the Alpha Capricornid meteor shower reach their peak. Oh, did I mention that the showers start when the Sun goes down? Anticipate never a dull moment.
The lesser known Delta Aquarids is the first of the summer’s annual meteor showers. It starts on July 18, and will reach its peak on the 30th. On that night, it’s estimated you’ll see 25 meteors per hour; under dark cloudless skies. Set appropriate expectations and anticipate 10 – 15 meteors an hour. Why is that? Because the 29th was the Full Moon. Still, 10 - 15 meteors per hour isn’t bad at all. Be ready for some nocturnal entertainment beginning around 10pm, when the shower’s radiant point will rise above the east-southeast horizon with the constellation Aquarius.
Next, from our location 40 degrees north, the Alpha Capricornid meteor shower is visible all night. This shower radiates from July 3rd through August 15th. To find the shower, look to the southeastern horizon after sunset, when the skies have darkened. The radiant point for this shower will be just to the left (southwest) of the radiant point of the Delta Aquarids. Ah, now you get it; just like our dueling banjos, our duel meteor showers are sitting side-by-side, mimicking one another. Again, set appropriate expectations, and don’t be disappointed if you only see 2 -5 meteors per hour.
You may have heard it. There is a clear and resounding “twang” in our duet; in fact all late July meteor showers. (The Piscis Austrinids meteor shower is happening the same night.) The sound is our solar system’s streetlight, the Moon, is turned up to maximum illumination, er, volume. Ouch. That’s a buzz kill. It’s a dissent note that will wash out the moderate to faint meteors. On the other hand, the Moon makes it easy for you to find the showers’ radiant point. It’s just to the left and down from the Moon, one fist width. (Come on now, work with me. I’m trying to make the best of a bleak situation.)
Anyway, don’t let a little moonlight keep you inside. Get out, and keep your head up. You’ll see plenty of flares, bombs, fireballs, and streaks to fill your soul.
Truly, the word “full” is an apt one to describe stargazing in July. The full grandness of the Milky Way is on full display; the full clarity and prominence of the Scorpius constellation dominating the southern horizon’s night skyline; a full Buck Moon, and the full-on late month triple meteor showers. All of this is full speed ahead and double-barreling towards you. So, get into stargazing this July. Gather your posse, find a dark location, and give your eyes at least 20-minutes to adjust to the darkness, bring binoculars, and settle in for the “full” pleasure and joy of a wonderful summer night sky.
Clear skies to you.
