2019-07-01_Australian_Sky_&_Telescope

46 AUSTRALIAN SKY & TELESCOPE July 2019

SUN, MOON & PLANETS by Jonathan Nally

Saturn

shines in

Sagittarius

W

interis nowherewitha

vengeance, often bringing

cold, wet and windy weather

for many of us. But that is compensated

for by the longer hours of darkness that

give us more time for observing and

photographingtheamazingcelestial

sightsofoursouthernwinter,suchas

theMilkyWayspanningtheskyand

theGalacticCentrevirtuallyoverhead.

Wereallyarespoiledforstargazing

opportunitiesat thistimeoftheyear.

Planetwise,though,July 2019 is a bit

ofa mixedbag.StartingwithMercury

(mag.3.8,dia.11.6′′onJuly15),the

innermostplanetwillbevisibleforonly

thefirsthalfofJuly,lowonthewestern

horizonaftersunset.Seeif youcan

spotit closetothethin,two-day-old

crescentMoonaswellasMars,onthe

4th— you’llneeda clearhorizonand

youmighthavetousebinocularsto

seethisgrouping(makesuretheSun

hasset!)Mercurywillreachinferior

conjunction(ie.betweenEarthandthe

Sun)onthe21st,andthereforewillbe

lostinthesolarglarebeforereturning

tooureasternmorningskyat theend

ofthemonth.

Venus(–3.9,9.8′′), too,will

disappearfromourskiesduringJuly.

Verylowintheeastbeforesunriseat

thebeginningofthemonth,theplanet pMars,MercuryandMoonin thewest. pSaturnandJupiterin themorningsky.

willbelosttoviewasit headstoward

superior conjunction (ie. on the other

side of the Sun) on August 14, after

which it will slowly reappear in the

western, evening sky.

Like Mercury, Mars (1.8, 3.6′′) is

verylowinthewestasJulyopens,

slowlydescendingdaybydayasit heads

towardsuperconjunctioninSeptember.

Asmentionedabove,theslender

crescentMoonwillappearjust0.5°

fromMarsonJuly4, verylowabovethe

westernhorizon.

Jupiter(–2 .5,4 4.4′′) wasat

oppositionlastmonth,soit is stillvery

wellplacedforviewing.Alreadyniceand

highabovetheeasternhorizonafter

sunset,thegiantplanetcanbefound

amongthestarsofOphiuchus.Watch

fortheMoonnearbyonthe13thand

14th.CheckoutourMay/June 2019

issuefora fullguidetoobservingJupiter,

itscloudbandsandtheGreatRedSpot.

Saturn(0.1,18.4′′) is themain

attractionthismonth,reaching

oppositiononthe10th.Theringed

world will be unmistakable, riding

high amongst the stars of Sagittarius.

The view through a telescope will

be thrilling, with the planet’s rings

tilted at almost their maximum

angle.Dependingupontheaperture

used,smallscopesshouldshowthe

darkCassiniDivisionwhilelarger

instrumentswillrevealtheEnckeGap

Great viewing as the ringed planet reaches opposition this month.

t This year Saturn’s rings are titled at almost

their maximum amount, offering a great

opportunity for observation. This photo by

Niall MacNeill was taken on August 1 last year;

it shows a group of storm cells just south of

the north polar region.