St. George — July promises a spectacular display in Southern Utah skies, with clear skies and a waning Moon as planets approach each other, an astronomical direct hit by a gas giant, and the debut of one of the most abundant meteor showers of the year.
July will begin with Jupiter and Mars joining together in the east just before sunrise, and over the coming weeks the two planets will continue to move closer and closer until a side-on conjunction of Mars and Jupiter on August 14.
The celestial phenomenon is explained in a video provided by NASA, which can be viewed at the beginning of this report.
Additionally, on Monday, July 15, a planetary conjunction will appear in the night sky where Uranus will appear to be nestled next to Mars, with Mars positioned about half a degree away from the much more distant blue-green planet. Earth Sky.
To the naked eye, Jupiter’s bright white light stands out in front of the dimmer, noticeably reddish glow of Mars. After July 15, Mars will begin to move away from Uranus in the direction of the Pleiades star cluster, making a planetary straight line towards the gas giant Jupiter.
Two weeks later, on July 30, the waning Moon will once again enter the celestial stage, putting on a spectacular show, as the Pleiades star cluster will be joined by extremely bright Jupiter, Mars and an orange star called Aldebaran, the 14th brightest star in the sky.
The Perseid meteor shower, one of the most vivid meteor showers this year, was first spotted on Wednesday, July 17th and is due to continue for a month into August.
The meteor shower will become increasingly active before reaching its peak on August 11-12, with a steady stream of colorful and particularly fast meteors making this celestial show one of the most popular for observers in the Northern Hemisphere.
Tracing back, the meteors all came from the constellation Perseus, near the infamous “Double Cluster,” a region of two open star clusters clustered together near the dome of the sky. The Perseid meteor shower is said to have originated from the large comet “Swift-Tuttle”.
The radiant point of the Perseids rises late at night in the northeast around 11pm, so this meteor shower is best viewed between midnight and dawn. The moon sets around midnight, so the sky will be dark until sunrise, making it the perfect time for meteor spotting. Space.com reports.
Even better, the highest number of meteors visible at that radial height will occur just before dawn.
Here are some tips for observing the Perseid meteor shower:
- Open skies are essential as these meteors will cross the sky in many different directions and in front of many constellations.
- When searching for meteors, try to face away from the moon.
- For the best views, get as far away from city lights as possible. The best time to watch the meteor shower is between midnight and dawn.
- Allow at least an hour to observe the sky, as it can take up to 20 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness of the night.
- Put away your telescope or binoculars: Using either will reduce the area of sky you can see at once, decreasing your chances of seeing meteors.
- Try to relax your eyes and not look at any one particular spot. Relaxing your eyes will allow you to capture the movement in the sky more quickly, and you’ll likely spot more meteors.
- Be sure to dress appropriately: wear clothing suitable for the cold temperatures at night.
- Bring something comfortable to sit or lie on – a recliner or pad will make watching the night sky much more comfortable.
- Avoid looking at cell phones and other lights, both of which reduce your night vision.
- To find out what time the moon sets each morning, Sunrise sunset calendar.
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