The nugget., July 04, 2018, Page 9, Image 9

Wednesday, July 4, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Stars over Sisters
By Grace Maiden and
Nancy Montecinos
Besides the usual fire-
works used on July 4 to cel-
ebrate our country’s indepen-
dence, July 2018 skies will be
lit up by a parade of all five
naked-eye planets in the eve-
ning sky — highlighted by a
close approach of Mars.
Early in the month, atten-
tion should first be given to
the planet Mercury hovering
low in the western sky. On
July 12 the smallest orb in
the solar system will be at its
greatest eastern elongation,
placing it a full 26 degrees
from the sun. Throughout
the remainder of the month,
Mercury gradually sinks
back toward the sun, making
it harder to see.
Up and to the left of
Mercury is Venus, the bright-
est planet in the sky. Only the
sun and moon shine brighter.
Its orbit brings earth’s twin
(at least by size) closer than
any other planet. Venus sim-
ply can’t be missed. It spends
the month among the stars of
Leo.
Progressing eastward
across the sky brings into
view another bright planet,
the largest in the solar system
in fact. Jupiter has more mass
than all the other planets
combined. Almost any back-
yard telescope will reveal
the planet’s bands and its
four Galilean moons. Mighty
Jupiter spends the month in
Libra.
Next up is Saturn, which
for most observers is the
crown jewel of the solar
system. When atmospheric
turbulence is at a minimum,
a view of its ring system
through a telescope is beyond
compare. Saturn resides in
Sagittarius.
But the main feature in our
celestial tour of the planets
takes place in the neighboring
constellation of Capricornus.
On July 27 Mars and the earth
will be at opposition, mean-
ing that Mars and the sun will
be at opposite parts of the sky
relative to the earth. This geo-
metric configuration will also
bring Mars closer to the earth
than it has been in 15 years.
The distance between the two
planets will actually be clos-
est (35.8 million miles) four
days after opposition.
During late July the red-
dish hue of Mars will be the
brightest light in the sky,
except for the moon and
Venus. Unfortunately, the
light of a full moon on July 27
will tend to inhibit the ability
to see Mars at its brightest.
Better views will come early
in August. The next chance
to see a Mars opposition this
good won’t come around
again until the year 2035. So
don’t miss this opportunity.
The full moon on July 27
was known as the Buck moon
by early Native Americans.
This was due to the male
deer beginning to grow its
antlers around that time of
year. On this same night a
total lunar eclipse will occur
in which the Moon will pass
entirely through the Earth’s
shadow, causing it to slowly
get darker and change to a
rusty red color. It will be seen
in most of Europe, Africa,
western and central Asia, the
Indian Ocean and Western
Australia, but not in our part
of the world.
Of course, there are
many summertime constel-
lations to locate. Some of
these include Ursa Major
(AKA Big Dipper), Hercules,
Ophiuchus, Sagittarius,
Scorpius, Lyra, Cygnus,
Aquila, and more! Also,
if you are able to spot the
three bright stars Deneb (in
Cygnus), Vega (in Lyra), and
Altair (in Aquila), then you
are looking at the Summer
Triangle.
Somewhat
more chal-
lenging are
the many
fine deep-sky
objects scat-
tered across
the summer
sky. Some of
the brightest
of these include
open star clusters
M11 in Scutum,
and M6 and M7 in
Scorpius, globular clus-
ters M13 in Hercules and M22
in Sagittarius, and M8, a stellar birth-
ing region, also in Sagittarius. Pick a
clear, moonless night away from the
lights of town. For best results, use a
pair of binoculars.
These are just a few of the many
spectacular things in the sky you
could witness for yourself during
July. So get out there with a couple
of blankets and see what you can find
while watching the night sky.
PHOTO COURTESY ESA AND
MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR
SOLAR SYSTEM RESEARCH
The opposition of
Mars and the earth
on July 27 will bring
the two planets closer
together than they’ve
been in 15 years.
H APPY B IRTHDAY
A MERICA !
D ESIGNERS & B UILDERS of D ISTINCTION
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