Observing Notes
These sightings are for the middle of the month. There will be slight variations throughout the month.
Planets
|
Rises |
Sets |
Mag. |
Comment |
| Mercury |
0350 |
2225 |
-1.0 |
|
| Venus |
0550 |
2225 |
-3.58 |
|
| Mars |
|
2318 |
1.89 |
in Leo to the west |
| Jupiter |
2124 |
|
-2.29 |
in Sagittarius |
| Saturn |
|
2330 |
1.3 |
in Leo to the west |
| Uranus |
2324 |
1051 |
5.97 |
moving into Aquarius from Pisces |
| Neptune |
2328 |
0759 |
7.85 |
in Capricornus |
Comets
There are no observable comets this month.
Meteors
There are several sets worth looking for this month although they don't all peak in July. Look towards the appropriate constellation for the radiant.
| Shower |
Period |
Peak |
ZHR |
| Capricornids |
Jul 10th - Aug 15th |
July 25th |
|
| Delta Aquarids |
July 15th - Aug 25th |
July 29th |
|
| Piscis Australids |
Jul 15th - Aug 20th |
July 31st |
|
| Iota Aquarids |
Jul 15th - Aug 25th |
August 6th |
|
| Perseids |
Jul 23rd - Aug 20th |
August 12th |
|
| Alpha Capricornids |
Jul 15th - Aug 25th |
August 2nd |
|
Stars
Antares in
Scorpio. Low down in the south at 1030. Magnitude 1.05. Distance 603 light years.
Vega in
Lyra. Magnitude 0.0. Distance 25.3 light years
Altair in Aquila. Magnitude 0.75. Distance 16.8 light years
Nebulae
The
Lagoon nebula (
M8) with a magnitude of 5.8 and the
Trifid nebula (
M20) with a magnitude of 8.6, both of which are in
Sagittarius.
Eagle nebula (
M16) is close by. Note that the Lagoon nebula also contains a star cluster which makes it an interesting object. Under good seeing conditions it is a naked eye object, but greater detail of course will be seen with binoculars or a small telescope.
Clusters
The sky is rich in clusters this month and a few of the popular ones are:
M10, magnitude
6.6 in
Ophiuchus,
M12 at magnitude
6.6 in
Ophiuchus and
M14 also in
Ophiuchus.
These globulars are observable with binoculars and greater detail can be picked out with telescope apertures of 50mm or more.
M55 in Sagittarius has a magnitude of
7. It is low down in the south and crosses the meridian at 0110 hours approximately.
An open cluster to observe is
M11,called the
Wild Duck cluster. It has a magnitude of
5.8 and can be seen with binoculars.
Galaxies
Few observable galaxies this month although you can try the
Sculptor galaxy which has a magnitude of
7.1 and crosses the meridian at 0617 hours.
Asteroids
Look for Vesta in Cetus at magnitude 7.22. It rises at 0109 hours and crosses the meridian at 0752 hours. Pallas is in Eridanus at magnitude 9. It rises at 0323 hours.
