The forecast for this upcoming week calls for mostly cloudy days and nights. That’s not to say all hope is lost. After all, last week’s forecast looked similar but had a handful of surprise clear nights.
One phenomenon that is affecting stargazing are the wildfires out west. These fires pump smoke and other particulates into the atmosphere that make our skies very hazy and it is difficult to see the stars and deep-sky objects clearly. The nighttime temperatures hover in the mid- to upper-sixties.
Sunset this week is very similar to last week and the week before, around 9 PM.
This week be on the lookout for a Moon-Venus-Mars conjunction, the new moon, a Venus-Mars conjunction, a “summer” double star, and a deep-sky nebula made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope.
On Sunday just after sunset, look above the western horizon to spot the young waxing crescent moon near Venus and Mars. A pair of binoculars or a telescope will also help with this observation. You will only be able to make out a sliver of light from the moon and Mars will appear a red color while Venus appears brilliantly white.
The evening sky, just after sunset, on Sunday. (Assuming it’s clear, of course.)
A Moon-Mercury conjunction occurred during the waning crescent phase on Thursday morning, while a few days later the Moon-Venus-Mars conjunction occurs during the waxing crescent phase. The phase between the waning crescent and waxing crescent is the new moon, which occurs on Friday evening. The new moon will not be visible since it appears so close to the sun.
There are many iconic constellations and deep-sky objects that are characteristic of the summer skies. One great example of this is the double star of Albireo. If you are familiar with constellations, this star system sits at the head of Cygnus the Swan. Through binoculars or a telescope, you will notice a bright red star right next to a bright blue star. This object makes a great and relatively easy astrophotography target for beginners given how relatively easily it can be spotted and the bright vivid colors.
The name “alberio” means “The Beak” in old Arabic. This lovely double star is the beak of the swan.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been orbiting Earth and doing science since 1990 producing some of the most famous and colorful images of space. One of the most iconic photos is of the inner section of Messier Object 16 a.k.a. The Eagle Nebula. The inner part is known as The Pillars of Creation. This is a region of hydrogen gas that provides the fuel for the creation of young stars. This object is located in the SSE skies above the constellation of Sagittarius. It can only be seen, unfortunately, with a telescope and camera with long-exposure capabilities. Below is an image I have taken of The Pillars of Creation and one that Hubble has taken (note the quality difference between a several-hundred-dollar telescope and several-billion-dollar telescope). The red color in my image is due to the strong hydrogen alpha light emission that is primarily found in the red part of the visible spectrum. For some context, the different elements of a star emit different wavelengths of light due to how the electrons in each element can release energy in specific quantized ways (Google “star spectral lines” for more information on this). Hubble’s image looks orange due to false color mapping. It uses different filters for different wavelengths of light. So the orange light is mostly hydrogen alpha (red) light whereas blues and yellows are light emitted by doubly ionized oxygen and Sulfur II respectively.
“The Pillars of Creation” as taken by an amateur on the ground, and the Hubble Space Telescope.
Hopefully, Ohio can catch a lucky break like we did last week with the clouds. If you find a chance to go stargazing or do astrophotography, bring bug spray, a comfortable chair to recline in, and prepare for everything to get wet as the dew begins to condense after sunset. This week be on the lookout for the conjunctions between the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Mercury, young waxing and waning crescents, Albireo the double star, and The Eagle Nebula.
Clear Skies!