Heavens above! July is the perfect month to enjoy the night sky



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Updated

July 18, 2018 15:37:17

Reframing and Looking Up

Key Points:

  • The longest lunar eclipse of a century will be July 28 in the morning
  • At the end of the month Mars Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible at the same time

This is the message of the Tasmanian astronomer Martin George, as July presents an exciting moment to enjoy the night. Those who have the courage to put on a coat and walk away from the lights of the city will be offered an assortment of planets, stars and satellites – as well as the longest lunar eclipse of the century July 28 morning. [19659010"It'sawonderfulmomenttoadmiretheNocturnalCircusinforcelevelthatescanqplanetsintheeyearevisibleatthesametime"saidMeorge

"When I say planets to the naked eye, I mean the planets known to the ancients, the ones you can see without Optical Aid – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. "

From left to right, or from west to east, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars are stretched across the sky.

"Mars looks particularly bright right now, and by the end of the month, it will be closest to us since 2003," George said. I do not know what planet or star you are looking at, he suggested using smartphone apps that act as a GPS for the night sky.

"Even if you do not have it, it's easy to pick at least three planets because they're a lot brighter than the stars."

Historic Lunar Eclipse on the way

The morning of July 28, the Moon will pass into the shadow of the Earth, creating a total eclipse.

"It's going to be the longest total lunar eclipse for the next 105 years," said Mr. George of the Queen Victoria Launceston Museum and Art Gallery

The partial eclipse will begin at 4:24 am (AEST) before arriving at the whole around 5:30 in the morning.

"It is then that the Moon enters the Earth's shadow in space and completely in the shadow," he said.

It will remain eclipsed until almost sunrise.

Unlike a solar eclipse, lunar eclipses can be observed at the naked eye.

"It's never dangerous to watch the moon," says George. "It's exciting to watch it with a pair of binoculars."

Appreciating the Milky Way

M. George said that the moon rising later in the evening this month, it will create perfect conditions to fully appreciate the Milky Way.

"If you can get out of the city's bad lights, it's even better. For the best view of the Milky Way, you must be in the suburbs or in the countryside

" We are really happy here in the Southern Hemisphere because we have the best view of the Milky Way.

"In the Northern Hemisphere, they can see it, but they do not see the most exciting part.

" It's during these months of 39, winter and early spring we have this fantastic view "

Keep your eyes open for satellites and meteors

There are thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth and they can often be spotted in the night sky.

"The best time is from the end of twilight, because that's the moment when satellites have the sun shining on them and we do not do it (19659009) "There are indeed thousands up there, but they must be in the right place at the right time."

"Some of them are actually fragments of rockets that are still orbiting the Earth, some are dead satellites and there are some that have been there since the 1960s that still revolve around us.

"It's amazing to see everything we put out there, and there's also a lot of space waste out there. Mr. George said that from time to time, space debris was reborn in the atmosphere and was burning

"Most of the objects you see in the sky that we call shooting stars are not stars, they are meteors ".

He said that most were not bigger than the size of a small fingernail.

It is possible to see five or six in a h.

"If you want to see meteors, you can see a lot, especially on nights when the moon is not out," he said

Topics:

astronomy, space,

exploration of space,

science and technology,

Earth Science,

human interest,

Hobart-7000,

Australia

Published

July 18, 2018 14:30:50

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