Backyard Stargazer for July 2018
By Francis Parnell
The Red Planet Mars is a dazzling beacon in late July!
Francis Parnell, the Backyard Stargazer of Darlington
Just before dawn on the 1st, look southwest to see the waning gibbous Moon and rusty red Mars 6-degrees apart before sunrise.
Dog Days begin on the 3rd and lasts until August 11th. Named by the Greeks 3,000 years ago for “Sirius”, the Dog Star, it’s the 40 days of the year they believed dogs went mad because of the oppressive heat and humidity. In SC, we know exactly how they felt.
At 1 p.m. on the 6th, Earth is at Aphelion, 94,507,803 miles from the Sun; 3-million miles farther away than we were at Perihelion on January 3rd.
At dusk on the 9th, look west to find Venus less than 1-degree upper right of Regulus, the brightest star in LEO. Mercury is 15-degrees lower right of Venus.
Mercury reaches Greatest Elongation of 26-degrees east of the Sun on the 11th. On the 14th, the thin waxing crescent Moon is less than 2-degrees above Mercury. On the 15th, the waxing crescent is less than 2-degrees lower right of Venus. Great binocular views!
With the two Super Moons earlier this year, on the 27th it’s a Full Mini-Moon! At Apogee, 252,523 miles away, it’s the farthest and smallest Full Moon of the year. Will it appear smaller? At moonrise we’ll have to watch and see!
Rising at sunset on the 27th, and visible all night, brilliant Red Mars is at opposition, 36,252,764 miles (3.2 light-minutes) away. Due to the elliptical orbits of both Earth and Mars, the closest approach to Earth is on the 31st. It hasn’t been this close, or this bright, since the exceptional opposition of August 2003, and will not get this close again until September 2035.
FAST FACT: With a diameter of 12.4-miles, a Neutron star is so small and dense that a teaspoonful weighs 2-trillion pounds.
Dark skies for us all, and “Keep looking up!”
Francis Parnell of Darlington has been an amateur astronomer for nearly 50 years. He was on the staff and helped out at the Francis Marion University Observatory from 1982 until 2006 by showing visitors “what’s out there.” With the help of a friend, Mr. Ernest Lowry, he built his own telescope in 1986.
