Stargazers can witness various astronomical phenomena in the skies in the month of July. These include planets dominating the morning skies, the “dog star, and the “Teapot”.
Here is the list of cosmic objects one can spot in the July sky.
Planets Dominating The Morning Skies
Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are the planets which dominate the morning skies in July. Venus can also be seen in the morning skies, but the visibility is low. This is because the “morning star” appears low in the east in July. One can spot Venus in the morning skies if they have a clear view toward the horizon.
These planets, which are spread out across the morning sky, are accompanied by bright stars namely, Capella, Aldebaran, and Fomalhaut. One can see the half-full, last-quarter Moon between Mars and Jupiter on July 20. A half-full, last-quarter Moon is half-illuminated. It is also known as the third-quarter Moon, because the natural satellite of Earth is three-quarters of the way through its orbital cycle, as measured from one new Moon to the next.
On July 21, stargazers can spot the Moon sitting right next to the Red Planet, NASA said on its website.
Dog Star: Brightest Star In The Night Sky
In the Northern Hemisphere, the days of July are referred to as the “dog days of summer”. This is a phrase dating back to ancient times and is linked with the brightest star in the sky, Sirius.
The Sun lies in the same part of the sky as Sirius at the peak of summer. Ancient Greeks and Romans associated Sirius with the dog-shaped constellation Canis major. To date, we associate Sirius with Canis major. Sirius is the most prominent star of Canis major, and is sometimes referred to as the “dog star”. Sirius is also known as the Alpha Canis Majoris.
Sirius means “the scorcher” in ancient Greek. During summer, the blazing bright star’s proximity in the sky added to the Sun’s heat at the peak of summer. This made July extremely hot and oppressive, Greeks and Romans believed. Therefore, they called this hot time of the year the “dog days”.
Centre Of Milky Way Galaxy
Today, the only star close enough to affect the temperatures on Earth is the Sun, and the Northern Hemisphere being tilted toward the Sun in July causes us to experience the heat in July. Due to this, the Northern Hemisphere witnesses longer days during this time of the year and more direct sunlight. This leads to warmer weather compared to the Southern Hemisphere, where the situation is reversed. In July, the Southern Hemisphere is right in the middle of winter.
People can look southward on July nights after sunset to witness a sky teeming with bright stars. When one looks in that direction this time of the year, they face the centre of the Milky Way, all night. There are quite a number of bright stars southward in the sky on July nights. These include the constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius.
The Teapot
One can fully enjoy the Milky Way core under dark skies. The Milky Way can be seen densely packed with stars and dark clouds of dust and gas. Our galaxy dazzles at this time of the year, and as soon as the skies become completely dark, the Milky way becomes visible toward the south. Even if one is under urban skies too bright to observe the Milky way core, they can pinpoint the location of the galaxy in the sky using a group of stars in Sagittarius known as the Teapot.
According to NASA, the Teapot is a well-known asterism or pattern of stars. Once a person is familiar with the Teapot, it is hard not to see a teapot in the sky. It is easy to spot, similar to Scorpius nearby. The Milky Way’s core lies just right of the stars of the Teapot’s “spout”.
The Teapot, over the course of the night, appears to tilt as though its spout is pouring out a cosmic “cuppa”. The Milky Way appears as a plume of steam rising from the spout under dark skies. Therefore, one may either get a chance to enjoy the Milky Way in July, or can find the galaxy’s core with the help of the Teapot.
Aphelion
The Earth will reach its aphelion, the point on its orbit farthest from the Sun, on July 4 at 7:10 UTC (12:40 pm IST).
The Buck Moon or Thunder Moon
On July 13-14, people on Earth will witness a full Moon which is a supermoon. At 18:38 UTC on July 13 (12:08 am on July 14), the Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be completely illuminated.
A Supermoon is a full Moon that occurs when the Moon is at the perigee, the point closest to Earth in its orbit. Therefore, a Supermoon appears slightly brighter and larger than a normal full Moon.
Early native American tribes called this full Moon the Buck Moon because the male buck deer would begin to grow their new antlers at this time of the year.
The Moon is also referred to as the Thunder Moon and the Hay Moon. The supermoon to occur in July is the second of the three supermoons for 2022. Since the Moon will be near its closest approach to Earth, it will appear slightly larger and brighter than usual.
New Moon
On July 28, at 17:55 UTC (11:25 IST), the New Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. Since there is no moonlight to interfere with the visibility of cosmic objects, this is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters. The Milky Way, dog star, and the Teapot may be clearly visible on the new Moon night.
Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower
The Delta Aquarids Meteor shower peaks this year on the night of July 28 and morning of July 29. This is an average shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak, and is produced by debris left behind by the comets Marsden and Kracht.
The Delta Aquarids Meteor shower runs annually from July 12 to August 23. Since the new Moon results in dark skies, and both the Delta Aquarids Meteor shower and the new Moon will occur in July this year, it implies that 2022 is a great year for the shower.
One can obtain the best view of the Delta Aquarids Meteor shower from a dark location after midnight. The Delta Aquarids, which can appear anywhere in the sky, will radiate from the constellation Aquarius.