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Looking Up!

This year’s Nebraska Star Party couldn’t have been timed much better than mid-July. There are several astronomical events that are occurring and will pose a an interesting challenge for beginners and advanced observers alike!

The Solar System takes center stage at NSP5. For starters, Neptune is at opposition and will make a great target for all size scopes. Try it in your binoculars as well! Take a peek at Uranus while your at it. Saturn will arrive at quadrature (90 degrees from the Sun in respect to us on Earth) on July 26th. That means that Saturn will produce maximum shadow. Its rings are also tilted favorably for viewing. Mercury is also visible in the early evening sky, with a slender sliver of our Moon mimicking Mercury’s phase on July 25th.

Speaking of the Moon, take a look at the “vanishing” Moon in the early morning hours on July 22nd. Venus and Mars will be up for viewing as well in the early morning hours. Take the challenge of viewing only 10 degrees or so from the horizon. You might be amazed at the clarity of the Nebraska skies, even near the horizon!

Pluto will offer itself for viewing near Upsilon Ophiuchi. On July 22nd, it will mimic a faint companion to a 13th magnitude star. Finding Pluto, without computer aided scopes, may take a couple of nights. Sketch the field you believe holds this elusive rock. Compare that sketch to your view a night or two later. The one that moves is Pluto.

Jupiter makes its entrance into the sky on the eastern horizon around 11:15 p.m. As soon as Jupiter is up, a telescope or even a steadily mounted pair of binoculars will show several of its four giant moons lined up on either side of it. To get a steady image of Jupiter's cloud belts and bright zones in a telescope, however, wait until Jupiter is high in the sky before dawn. How fortunate for us here at NSP5, because we have the opportunity to observe all of our planets in dark and pristine skies.

Asteroid 3 Juno will be well placed for easy viewing. It will be in the same field as M61 in the evenings of July 23 - 25. Track its movement over those nights with your sketch pad.

Transit times for Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
July 19 - 01:47 a.m. & 9:38 p.m. MST
July 20 - 03:25 a.m. MST
July 21 - 11:16 p.m. MST
July 23 - 05:03 a.m. MST
July 24 - 00:54 a.m. MST

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