The Night Sky

Welcome To A Month Of Warm Summer Stargazing

This is the perfect time of the year, since the nights are so short, to look out perhaps for a few daytime atmospheric anomalies in our beautiful summer skies. You could be lucky enough to spot some 'Sundogs', 'Sun Halos', 'Upper Tangent Arcs' and so much more. Read on to find out more about these amazing sights. If you are further north in the country, or perhaps making a trip to the UK, the beautiful phenomenon of 'Noctilucent Clouds' will continue to be visible, and the most prominent summer constellations become very easy to observe after midnight.

Using your sky app to help with locating each constellation you will be able to find the brightest star in 'Auriga'. Capella can be seen rising on the northern horizon after dark. 'Cassiopeia' and 'Persius' will be easier to find as they reach a more

ByClaire Wardlaw

Claire Wardlaw, originally from Edinburgh, lives in the Charente with her husband. Since their move nearly 6 years ago, Claire has become passionate about astronomy prominent north easterly position each night. You may also be able to spot, with the naked eye, our closest neighbour 'The Andromeda Galaxy'.

Using binoculars or a small telescope this will be a beautiful sight

Using binoculars or a small telescope this will be a beautiful sight. This is the best time of the year to observe 'Scorpius' and of course 'The Summer Triangle' sits high and proud towards the south with the three stars of Vega, Lyra, and Altair pointing the way to many other constellations.

The Moon Phases and Observing tips for July

The Full Moon - 3rd just after midday

Last Quarter Phase - 10th at around 2:50pm

New Moon Phase - 17th at 7:30 pm

First Quarter Phase - 25th around 11pm

This month you will be able to look out for two close encounters with the Moon. First up on the 12th, from around 3am onwards, a thin waning 29% crescent Moon can be found close to the planet Jupiter as they rise in the east and journey across the skies. With 7 x 50 binoculars it will be possible to observe both objects together as they are only a few degrees apart. On the 13th of the month, again in the early hours of the morning, 'The Pleiades' (a stunning cluster of stars) will be seen close to the crescent Moon as they seem to rise together on the eastern horizon.

Planet activity this month

Mercury - the planet is low in the westnorthwest now so is best observed as the night eventually arrives.

Venus - which is showing a thin phase now will be best viewed during the start of the month.

Mars - for the first week in July you will find Mars close to Venus as they set just after sunset.

Jupiter - returning to our night skies as the month progresses and best observed in the last week.

Saturn - again an 'improving' morning planet and best observed at the end of the month.

Uranus and Neptune may be found with good binoculars or a small telescope. Search in the morning hours before daylight and towards the end of the month.

Image of the MonthNoctilucent Clouds

These delicate and at times elusive cloud formations are active during the month of July and for a few months afterwards. The further north you travel the more chance you will have to spot these wispy white clouds. Look towards the north after the sun has set throughout the month. The paler sunlight at that time will light up the upper atmosphere where these clouds are found.

Summertime Atmospheric Anomalies

Sun Dogs or 'Parhelia' appear when cirrus clouds are present near the Sun. The Sun's light is diffracted to form ice crystals which results in two beautiful bright and colourful patches , 22 degrees or more on either side of the Sun. They do look to me like tiny rainbows. (Moon Dogs are a much rarer phenomenon forming around a near-full or full Moon.)

The 'International Astronomical Union' is set to recognize 62 additional moons of Saturn, giving the ringed giant 145 moons — eclipsing Jupiter’s total of 95. Observing all of these Moons would not be possible from here on Earth, but we can, with a large enough telescope, spot a few of them! Even binoculars will reveal the four largest Moons in orbit around Jupiter.

we can begin to see the effects of the constant volcanic eruptions which occur on the surface. Our view from here, in orbit around the Moon Io, clearly shows us the largest of over 400 separate volcanoes which is named 'Loki'. We will not get too close as we must avoid the violent activity which is chucking out sulphuric gas and forming an amazing, but dangerous, atmosphere all around this world. You will also be able to see many lava flows all over the surface. The lake of lava you can now see below our craft is known as Loki Patera, resembling a shield form. It may look very inviting but with geysers and at times 2000 degree temperatures we will keep a safe distance within our spacecraft, take some holiday snaps, and continue on our journey….

Meteor Showers in JulyThe Capricornids & The Southern Aquariids

Noctilucent Clouds - or Night Shining Clouds - when viewed from space are named Polar Mesospheric Clouds, or PMCs!

Noctilucent clouds are composed of tiny crystals of water ice up to 100 nm (nanometre) in diameter and exist at a height of about 76 to 85 km (249,000 to 279,000 ft), higher than any other clouds in Earth's atmosphere. So beautiful.

Sun Halos can be seen at times in the summer and will form a circle around the Sun and will pass through these two Sundogs.

Upper Tangent Arcs Tangent arcs are sometimes seen on the outside of the 22° halo. These arcs touch the circular halo at its highest or lowest points (upper tangent arc and lower tangent arc, respectively). These arcs have a form that varies with the angular elevation of the light source i.e. the Sun.

It is crucial when observing these atmospheric phenomena close to the Sun that you take great care and never look directly at the Sun.

Virtual Space Journey No. 4. The Volcanic world Of Io - 43.7 lightminutes from Earth

The largest of the four Galilean Moons orbiting Jupiter is called Io. These four moons were discovered by Galileo during the seventeenth century. As our virtual spacecraft arrives at this amazing world

The Capricornids are active from the 3rd of July and into August. The peak of activity will occur on the 30th when the maximum number of meteors could be only around 5 per hour. Looking towards the southern horizon, the constellation of Capricornus is located low and to the left. This is where these meteors will seem to emanate from. Fireballs are often produced from this shower. The other shower for this month, and the more active one, is the Southern Aquariids. These are active from the 12th to late August and the peak date will be the 30th. The maximum hourly rate can be around 25 per hour. With a bright Moon present during these dates, observing will be a wee bit of a challenge... but, I think, going outside and gazing up at the night sky is always such a grand thing to do, particularly on a warm summer night. We look forward again this month to the amazing spectacle that is 'The Perseid Meteor shower'. Although it will be active from the 17th of July, its peak of activity will be in August.

Well hello there! How are you doing? Keeping healthy and busy I hope. July, eh? It really is true that time seems to go faster as you get older. What it’ll be like when I hit 35 is quite a worry. Did anyone watch the coronation? I didn’t. Without wishing to come across as a bit of a know it all, I knew what was going to happen at the end so thought it a bit of a waste of my time. It was also a Saturday and I needed to go shopping. But, if men in frocks and big hats are your thing, I’m sure it was spectacular. I felt sorry for the demonstrators who were chastised for demonstrating on the day of the coronation. When else were they supposed to do it? Coronations don’t come around very often. Still, I’m sure it was a nice day out and lots of people can say ‘I was there’, even though they were actually at a street party in Morecambe.

Like Charles has, I hope that you’ve had a good start to the summer. By the time you read this, the Ashes will be in full ‘swing’ (little cricket joke there!) and many of us will be glued to Test Match Special (TMS). Or maybe you won’t because you don’t think you have access to it? Well, it’s your lucky day, because you can get radio channels through your satellite TV box. Nearly every satellite receiver offers both TV and radio channels. Of course, your dish needs to be aligned to Astra 28.2° (or Astra 2 as it’s also known) for that is where you’ll find Radio 5 Live Sport and TMS.

It would seem that some people are still catching up to the BBC going HD only. If you have an old style, non-HD satellite receiver, all you need to do is upgrade to a new high-definition one. Nothing else should need doing.

For those just entering the world of Freesat, remember that when it asks for a postcode, it is wanting a UK one for the regional BBC One. Do not put in your French code postal. Freesat is not the same as Freeview. Do not buy a Freeview box for UK TV reception. I’m trying to let this go, but….

Please remember that I no longer cover the same areas as I used to. See my advert for details. I cover a 90 mins radius of 79240. Google Maps will help you with this.

BUILDING / MULTI SERVICE

Hill Top Tiling

● Weekly United Kingdom � France � Spain

● United Kingdom - Kent & Home Counties

● Storage La Souterraine / Canterbury / Lincolnshire

● Very competitive rates

● Fully Insured

● 20+ years’ experience tow-bars fitted

Replacement tyres & balancing

Family run business based in France which prides itself on a personal professional service. 7 tonne truck to and from the UK and Europe, we also have a box trailer for larger loads. Our highly experienced staff provide a door to door service with packing and dry secure storage We arrange customs clearance for export and import to and from the UK. We are a professional furniture removal company NOT a man and a van. Phil and Jean Evans (+33) 05 55 34 19 46 Mobile (+33) 06 80 75 87 14 exterior valeting • Pre-Controle Technique check • Top quality tyres (within 48 hrs) • Parts available same day or in 24hrs - less common cars 3-day delivery

Interior