Several months ago, the European Space Agency launched a new space telescope from French Guiana. Called the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the first images were shared online July 12. There is great excitement over what this telescope will reveal over the coming years. With telescopes like the Hubble and now JWST in space, away from all the light and dust and cloud pollution there has been a plethora of information about the early universe. The revelations from Hubble have astonished scientists and the rest of us who want to know more about what is “out there” and we can expect even more mind-boggling revelations in the future.
For the backyard sky watchers, we are usually challenged by trees, street lights, and those glaring soffit lights from the neighbors modernizing their home’s outdoor facade. Driving out to the Resaca de la Palma site is even becoming less advantageous as the area is also developing with bright lights glaring up into the sky. We are losing so much.
However, from 8-11 p.m. Friday, July 22, the South Texas Astronomical Society is hosting a star party at the Christina V. Torres Memorial Observatory at Resaca de la Palma. The observatory will be open with opportunities for you to learn more about the CTMO, to star gaze, hear star stories, and generally learn more about dark skies and local astronomy activities. Be sure to bring mosquito repellent. The park charges a $4 fee but it is worth it, I assure you. Dr. Mario Diaz will be the featured speaker for the event and he is the prime mover for the CTMO and its outreach to the area.
The summer sky has lovely easy-to-identify constellations to discover. Scorpius, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, the Summer Triangle, Ursa Major/Big Dipper, Boötes, mysterious names that you will be introduced to at the CTMO session. The moon will be in its last quarter phase so there will be less moonlight and thus better star-gazing, comparatively speaking. Bring the family out and share the excitement of exploring after dark. We may even be able to glimpse Comet Pan STARRS as a bonus.
You may have been up early and enjoyed the parade of planets visible in their arc along the ecliptic. Jupiter is within the constellation Cetus all month, well up in the sky by midnight now, and farther south in the predawn view. Saturn will be found by midnight as well, in the constellation Capricornus. The glorious rings are tilted just under 13 degrees to our line of sight. As Earth moves along the ecliptic towards autumn this apparent tilt will increase to delight most Saturn observers. Mercury is out of sight now because of its closeness to the sun. Watch for it to emerge by the 25th at sunset. Venus, that show-off, is near the V of Taurus, the Bull.
There is also an opportunity to glimpse the flash of light from a meteor streaking across your field of view as the Delta Aquarids and the Perseids are both scheduled for the latter part of the month. Faint, and not prolific, but fun to glimpse-and surprises do occur. Somehow, the constancy of the regularity of the stars and planets in our sky is comforting in the midst of all the changes we have been coping with during the past few years, at least it is for me.
So KLU and DO let some stars get in your eyes.
