July 2022 – What’s Up!

Week of 25th July

  • Astronomical twilight ends at 00:22 BST at the beginning of the week and at 23:47 BST by the end of the week
  • The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks at the end of this week on Friday night. The shower’s ZHR is around 20 meteors per hour. This week’s dark skies will be favourable for spotting meteors. The radiant is close to the star Skat, Delta Aquarii, which is low to our southeastern horizon. The shower is caused by debris left by comet P/2008 Y12 (SOHO)
  • With little moonlight this week, it is an ideal time to observe double stars. Two interesting targets are in the Summer Triangle: Albireo, the beak of Cygnus the Swan, is an easily split beautiful indigo and gold double, while Epsilon Lyrae is a fascinating and more challenging multiple star system consisting of two double stars, hence its popular name the Double Double
  • The Moon is New on Thursday
  • The Sun currently has seven active regions: AR 3057, 3059, 3060, 3062, 3063, 3064 & 3065. The sunspot number is 96
  • There are visible evening ISS passes this week as follows:
    Monday: 22:17, W to SE, max 52° & 23:54, WSW to SW, max 14°
    Tuesday: 23:06, W to SSW, max 21°
    Wednesday: 22:17, W to SSE, max 29°
    Friday: 22:17, WSW to S, max 15°

Week of 18th July

  • Astronomical Darkness returns on the 21st July when astronomical twilight ends at 00:59 BST, with darkness lasting for 29 minutes. By the end of the week astronomical twilight ends at 00:29 BST and astronomical darkness will last for about an hour and a half
  • On Wednesday, the dwarf planet Pluto reaches opposition. It is in the constellation of Sagittarius and lies about 13° above the southern horizon. It is very faint at only magnitude +14, making photography the best method of observation
  • Saturn (mag +0.5) is visible in our evening sky, rising at 22:15 BST and lying about 15° above the southeastern horizon around midnight
  • The Moon is Last Quarter on Wednesday
  • The Sun currently has seven active regions: AR 3053, 3055, 3056, 3057, 3058, 3059 & 3060. The sunspot number is 153
  • There are visible evening ISS passes this week as follows:
    Monday: 23:06, W to E, max 84°
    Tuesday: 22:17, W to E, max 89° & 23:54, W to ESE, max 78°
    Wednesday: 23:06, W to E, max 89°
    Thursday: 22:17, W to E, max 85° & 23:54, W to S, max 50°
    Friday: 23:06, W to ESE, max 65°
    Saturday: 22:17, W to ESE, max 80° & 23:54, W to SW, max 27°
    Sunday: 23:05, W to SSE, max 38°

Week of 11th July

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July
  • On Wednesday, the Moon will reach its Full phase shortly after passing perigee, making it a ‘supermoon’, the popular term for a Full Moon when the Moon is at a closer point to Earth in its elliptical orbit. Whilst the Moon will appear slightly larger and slightly brighter than normal, the difference is barely perceptible. What will be noticeable are the spring tides that will be particularly high for a few days around the Full Moon.
  • The Moon is Full on Wednesday – the Buck Moon
  • The Sun currently has five active regions: AR 3046, 3051, 3052, 3053 & 3055. The sunspot number is 89
  • There are visible evening ISS passes this week as follows:
    Monday: 22:20, SSE to ESE, max 11° & 23:54, SW to E, max 43°
    Tuesday: 23:06, SW to E, max 31°
    Wednesday: 22:18, SSW to E, max 22° & 23:54, WSW to E, max 71°
    Thursday: 23:06, WSW to E, max 55°
    Friday: 22:18, SW to E, max 41° & 23:54, W to E, max 88°
    Saturday: 23:06, WSW to E, max 83°
    Sunday: 22:17, WSW to E, max 69° & 23:54, W to E, max 85°

Week of 4th July

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July
  • The Earth reaches aphelion on Monday, the furthest point from the Sun in its annual orbit at a distance of 1.0167 AU. The elliptical orbit of the Earth sees a 3% variance over the year, but despite the Sun being at its smallest in the sky and Earth receiving the lowest amount of radiation, the difference is imperceptible to most of us
  • Saturn (magnitude +0.5) is now an evening object, rising at 23:15 BST on Monday. Jupiter (-2.5) and Mars (+0.4) are not too far behind, both visible in the southeast soon after midnight
  • The Moon is First Quarter on Thursday
  • The Sun currently has four active regions: AR 3040, 3046, 3047 & 3048. The sunspot number is 57
  • There are visible evening ISS passes this week as follows:
    Saturday: 23:59, ESE to E, max 17°
    Sunday: 23:11, ESE to E, max 12°
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