Astronomy / The Sky Report: July 15–August 15

SKY REPORT Looking UP

June 15 - July 20 By Greg Smith

We are now in Mid-Summer sky mode. The three bright stars that make up the Summer triangle are Vega, Deneb and Altair. Vega is in the constellation Lyra (the Harp), Deneb is in the constellation Cygnus (the Swan), and Altair is in Aquila (the Eagle). The Summer Triangle is an asterism, a group of stars that are not a constellation in itself, but make up a recognizable pattern of stars.

The Evening Sky

On July 11th at about 11:30 pm, Saturn rises in the east southeast. By late July, Jupiter will join the pre-midnight hour for rising in the eastern sky. This will leave the evening sky for viewing the summer constellations with very little moonlight for distraction. See above right for Moon phases.

The Morning Sky

Cloudless eastern horizon sky required Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury (the unaided eye planets) are all up 50 minutes before sunrise by July 12th (except Mercury). This is a parade of the four bright planets all in a row in the eastern sky about 90° wide. Saturn starts the parade just before midnight, Jupiter rises about 12:45am, Mars around 1:30am, and finally, Venus around 4am.

Moon Phases:

Full: Wed, July 13th 3rd Quarter: Wed, July 20th New: Thurs, July 28th 1st Quarter: Fri, Aug 5th

End of twilight - when the stars start to come out:

Wed. July 15th, 9:01pm Mon, July 26th, 9:26pm Tues, Aug. 11th , 9:00pm

Mercury is no longer easily visible as it has gone back in its retrograde motion to being very close to the sun as it rises, making it very difficult to see. In addition to the other five visible planets, Neptune is also visible (but only with a telescope) located about 14º southeast of Jupiter in line with Saturn and rises around 11:45pm. It will appear as a small dim bluish star in the telescope’s field of view. The planet Uranus can also be seen (with a telescope only) between Mars and Venus, rising about 2:30am. It is 14º to the left of Mars. Large binoculars might pick up Uranus, but a telescope is the best bet.

Night Sky Spectacle: Andromeda Galaxy(M32)

The large constellation of Pegasus doesn’t fully rise until after 10:45pm. It will be located lower toward the eastern horizon below Cygnus. But its best object is up around 10pm. Pegasus is marked by a diamond-like shape of four stars. The northernmost star (on the left side) is actually the head of the constellation Andromeda. Andromeda looks like the hind legs of Pegasus. The Andromeda Galaxy (M32) is well above the horizon. It can be viewed from a dark sky with the naked eye as a pale smudge; a pair of binoculars will make it a bigger and brighter smudge. A telescope will show that the smudge has an eye shape. You will be seeing only the very center of this galaxy. The bigger the telescope, the more detail can be seen. Go to the second star of the lower “leg” and climb up past the middle dim star in the upper “leg” an equal amount and you will see the smudge of M32. •••

Did China Hear

from ET? By Greg Smith

Benefiting our community library

Did you hear about the claim that China may have picked up a radio signal from somewhere out in the galaxy (although they are not fully endorsing this claim). Virtually all astronomers who work in radio astronomy say it is most likely a signal of Earth origin. A stray reflected signal of an earth-made signal. There are so many satellites now and more coming online weekly, that filtering through all the signal noise is a difficult task. (Thank you, Elon Musk.) But what if all Earth sources are ruled out? Then what? So we caught a stray signal. There is not enough of it to decipher what it says. We would never know what it means. Maybe a stray text of one alien saying to another, “I’ll be late for bowling practice.” But it would be of huge psychological impact. We would know that we are not alone in the universe. What about the Defense Department’s release of the videos of objects that Air Force pilots have chased through the skies? What are those things, anyway? I have friends who have seen black objects moving slowly overhead big enough in the sky to blot out stars. These were amateur astronomers who know the skies and what the difference is between a star and aircraft. They know that a cloud at night has no sharp edges. As the famous astronomer and educator Carl Sagan once said, “If there is nobody out there, then the universe is a lot of wasted space.” At about the time this issue is published, some of its first pictures from the new Columbia City Celebration James Webb Space Telescope will be released to the public. One article I read says there will be data about a nonSaturday ~ August 13 • 8am–3pm solar system planet (exoplanet) orbiting another star. The data will include Handmade Quilt Raffle Queen-size quilt crafted by Cathy Lundberg, our dedicated library A great day of family fun At Columbia City Elementary School information about its atmosphere. Will it be livable for us or will it be poisonous? On July 12th we will find out, so you may already know the answer to this question. Stay tuned for more information in the news. There will more pictures and data coming from the James Webb Space director. field and play area. Telescope in the coming weeks and months. It has enough fuel to last “SHOW AND SHINE” The annual gathering of classic cars, 20 years and will replace the Hubble telescope’s remarkable pictures and data that we have come to love and enjoy. and live rock and roll music by The There is still good news out there to read about. •••

Traditional Strawberry Pancake Breakfast 7 – 10am

Columbia City Community Hall

HUGE Book & DVD Sale Free Book for every child!

KIDS’ ZONE

Lots of fun projects!

• Crafts by Columbia County artisans • Novel Quilters Display based on

The Night Circus and Assassin’s Apprentice

Food by Food profit supports the Elks Freedom Eats Veterans’ Bunker in St. Helens

Decades

• St. Helen’s Art Guild Exhibit • St. Helens Ukulele Band - 1pm • Free pre-schoolers eyesight screening • Community Art Project~ Eyes on Columbia County

All vehicles welcome! Registration Fee $20. Dash Plaques & Awards. Info: Gordon, 503-396-5658; traxworks@yahoo.com

Columbia City ~ Off Oregon Hwy 30 2 miles North of St. Helens on the Columbia River

Longview resident Greg Smith is past president of Friends of Galileo. Meet him and other club members at monthly meetings in Longview. For more info about FOG, visit friendsofgalileo.com.