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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    Sky watch July: Jupiter, Hercules and the Summer Triangle

    As July approaches, nights are becoming shorter. This is
    because of the Summer Solstice, which started on June 20.  Although there is less nighttime to sky
    watch, a variety of astronomical happenings are still viewable in July.

    This month, Marina Dunn, the UA Astronomy Club’s outreach
    functionary shares some of the objects she will be on the lookout for as well
    as some of her recommendations for places to sky watch.

    The UA Astronomy Club is an on-campus organization where
    students interested in astronomy and science can connect and work on unique
    projects.

    These are some of the best astronomical views in July:

    -Jupiter, Mars and Saturn will still be highly visible for
    most of the month.

    -The constellations of Lyra, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Hercules,
    Boötes, Pegasus, Draco and Sagittarius will be up in the sky.

    -The Great Globular Star Cluster, also known as M13 will be
    visible in the constellation Hercules.

    -The Summer Triangle, consisting of the stars Vega, Deneband
    Altair will be most prominent. To find the Summer Triangle, look for the bright
    blue star, Vega.

    -The next full moon will be July 19 at 3:57 p.m. This moon
    will be known as the Buck Moon because it marks when deer begin to grow their
    antlers.

    -The spacecraft Juno reached Jupiter on July 4, and began
    its polar orbit around the planet.

    Here are some of the best places to sky watch or learn about
    sky watching in Tucson:

    -Retreating to the foothills or Mount Lemmon: free. Provides
    an escape from light pollution, which can obscure sky watching.

    The
    Sabino Canyon Visitors Center:
    free. Star parties hosted by UA Astronomy
    Club are the first Saturday of every month, beginning again in September.

    The
    Tucson Astronomy Club
    : annual student membership $22. Hosting an Astronomy
    Fundamentals Meeting on July 14 where amateur stargazers can learn about
    astronomy equipment and talk about the constellations of the month. 


    Follow Natalie Robbins on Twitter.


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