Title: July Skywatch Highlights
Location: Hawaiian Islands
Date / Time: July 2009
Comments: Behold our spectacular summer skies! Glorious bands of Milky Way stars illuminate our dark Hawaiian sky with a rich, "milky" haze. As July begins, you'll find SATURN above the Western horizon shortly after sunset. Saturn appears in the constellation Leo, just 15 degree to the upper left of Regulus, Leo's brightest star. It shines just slightly brighter than Regulus, the "heart" of the Lion. At magnitude 1.0, Saturn matches the bright star Spica, in the constellation Virgo, which lies about 40 degrees to the S.W. We will be unable to see Saturn's rings after early July, as the rings tilt edge-on to our line of site from Earth. Brilliant JUPITER rises from the Southeast around 10:15 PM in early July, & by 8:15 PM at months end. The gas giant blazes in Eastern Capricornus, & shines far brighter than any other object in this dim region of the sky. With a small telescope or good binoculars, you can view Jupiter's 4 bright Galilean moons. Galileo first saw them nearly 400 years ago with a 1.5-inch telescope of lower quality than any available today. Early risers can thrill to the sight of VENUS & MARS in the predawn sky. The pair rise in the East at approx. 4AM, & move among the stars of Taurus the Bull, throughout the month. (By this time, Jupiter is low in the S.W.). Hard to miss brilliant Venus, at magnitude MINUS -4.2, clearly the brightest object in the sky (except for the Moon). Mars appears SW of Venus, glowing with a ruddy reddish hue. As for summer constellations, look for the Summer Triangle often called the Navigators Triangle, viewable after sunset, with bright stars Vega (in Lyra the Harp), Altair (in Aquila the Eagle), & Deneb (tail of Cygnus the Swan). Scorpius, the giant scorpion, is easily recognizable, as a "J" or fish-hook shape, (Ka Makau Nui O Maui), in the Southeast at sunset. For a July sky map, visit Bishop Museum Planetarium www.bishopmuseum.org/planetarium (bishopmuseum.org).

Maintained by Roz Reiner - Kauai, Hawaii

 

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