FCUHOMESCHOOLING ASTRONOMY CLASS
Venus and Jupiter gradually move farther apart as they climb higher in the dawn.
Friday, July 20
The Teapot star pattern of
Sagittarius glitters dimly in the south-southeast at nightfall, and it
reaches its highest in the south later in the evening. Hidden in the
rich star fields above it is the magnitude-9.5 asteroid 18 Melpomene,
which you can ferret out with a telescope and the finder chart in the July Sky & Telescope, page 52.
Jupiter and Venus blaze strikingly in the dawn this week, with an
interesting (but much fainter ) starry scene behind them, as shown at
right.
Saturday, July 21
Draco the Dragon arches
his back over the Little Dipper in the north at this time of year. With
your scope, here you can search out the Cat's Eye Nebula, some
interesting double stars and galaxies, and (if your scope is big enough)
a quasar with a look-back time of 8.6 billion years — using Sue
French's "Deep Sky Wonders" column and charts in the July Sky & Telescope, page 56.
Sunday, July 22
Arcturus is the brightest
star high in the west after dark at this time of year. It and Vega,
almost overhead, are the two leading stars of summer. Look off to the
right of Arcturus, in the northwest, to spot the Big Dipper.
Monday, July 23
As twilight begins to fade,
use the Moon in the west-southwest to guide your way to Saturn, Spica,
and Mars glimmering through the dusk (in that order of visibility) as
shown below.
Watch
the Moon wax thicker from night to night as it steps past Mars, Saturn,
and Spica. (These scenes are drawn for the middle of North America.
European observers: move each Moon symbol a quarter of the way toward
the one for the previous date. The Moon is shown three times actual
size.)
Tues. July 24
The waxing Moon this evening forms a quadrangle with Saturn, Spica, and Mars
Wed. July 25
The first-quarter Moon is left of Spica and Saturn this evening, as shown here.
Thurs. July 26
By 10 or 11 p.m. the Great
Square of Pegasus is up in the east, balancing on one corner — an early
warning of the inevitable approach of fall.
Friday, July 27
Look left of the Moon (by a
fist-width at arm's length or more) for orange Antares. Much closer
left of the Moon are the three fainter stars that mark the head of
Scorpius, lined up about vertically.
Saturday, July 28
Fiery Antares shines lower right of the Moon tonight.
source
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance
