July Astronomy Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac

The John J. McCarthy Observatory (2000-2010)

The year 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the beginning of something special: the construction and dedication of the McCarthy Observatory.

Construction activities during the months of May and June focused on the framing and preparation for the delivery of the dome and the exterior facade of the Observatory. With much of the exterior work nearing completion, construction moved inside during the month of July. During the holiday weekend, the framing of the observing deck was well underway (photo top). The concrete telescope pier is isolated from the concrete floor. This was accomplished by leaving a small gap around the pier (using sacrificial material) when the floor was poured. The observing deck was also isolated from the pier, as can be seen in the framing detail above. The separation prevents vibrations from occupants and equipment on the deck, or any connected structure, from being transmitted to the telescope through the pier.

In the photo, the elevator “pit” can be seen to the left of the pier. In front and to the right of the pier is the framing for what would become the curved stairway to the deck. The area underneath the deck would be legendary for its ability to accumulate copious quantities of rarely used equipment, materials and supplies, despite many attempts at housekeeping, and as the future home of the central vacuum system. The photo was taken on July 5th, 2000.

Two overlapping layers of sheathing were installed on the deck frame. The layers provided extra stiffness and support for large groups of visitors.

Monty Robson can be seen working (photo top) on the eastern edge of the deck where the stairs would eventually be constructed.

The photo (left) shows the two different layers and the framing around the concrete pier. The cutout in the deck is where the elevator would be installed.

 

Both photos were taken on July 8th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the photo (above) taken on July 11th, the stairs to the observing desk begin to take shape. By July 25th, (photo below) volunteers were installing an aesthetic birch plywood ring façade that hid the dome track and motor. The steel telescope pier can be seen in the foreground.

 

 

 

 

Parker Moreland’s Recollections

During the year before construction started, members of the design team visited several small New England observatories to get ideas. But Jeff Miskie’s final design included something unique – a circular staircase from ground level to the Observing Deck. Building the staircase was a mild challenge – fabricating and building the handrail for it and the circular edge of the observing deck was a really large under-taking. The photo (top) shows Don Ross shaping the right handrail, made by laminating thin ash lumber and gluing in place on the previously installed uprights, to the exact curvature, in three dimensions! Co-worker Monty Robson can be seen standing at the left rear. The two craftsmen shaped each section of the railing in this manner, then trimmed and finished the seamless result.

The photo (bottom) shows the handrail as it is today, still in excellent condition. Most visitors cannot appreciate the ingenuity needed to craft this aspect of the observatory, much less its intrinsic beauty, since they are surrounded in darkness during their visit, and can only feel the reassuring restraint and guiding of the handrail. In ten years, no one has been injured by a fall in the darkened observing room, thanks to the Robson/Ross handrails.

 

 

A July evening during the summer of 2000 with the Moon appearing over the dome

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commentary: Are We Losing Our Ability to Observe?

I recently enjoyed an unusually warm spring evening at Fenway Park, when a thought came to mind that has implications not only to astronomy but everyday life. I don’t have the opportunity to attend many games in person and it’s always a pleasure to immerse one’s self in the ambiance of a live event. During the fourth inning, an opposing player hit a soft line drive towards right field. The Red Sox’s second baseman caught up to the ball on a dead run and in a leap of desperation, recorded the out; a highlight play for the late night sport shows.

My initial reaction wasn’t one of appreciation as much as “I’d like to see that again.” It was then that I realized that I’ve been conditioned by media such as television where I can have replays on demand, slow-motion analysis, rewind capability, etc. I started wondering if these services / expectations were somehow degrading my observing abilities or promoting a type of observational laziness. I know at home, I often walk away from the televised sporting event knowing that, if something of interest occurs while I’m gone, I can hit the rewind button. Are my powers of concentration lessened by the luxury of not having to pay attention?

I have enjoyed the night sky, with or without optical aid, since childhood. I get as much enjoyment out of watching the Moon rise or tracing the Milky Way across the heavens from a chair on my deck, as I do with my telescopic observations and astrophotography. But, in today’s fast paced world, have I lost the full ability to enjoy the moment or am I subconsciously wishing that I could “rewind” that shooting star, of which I only caught but a glimpse?

In this world of 24-hour, in-your-face entertainment, are our children capable of sitting quietly on a hillside and soaking in their environment without any artificial stimulation?

A Modest Proposal

The summer is a great time to spend some quality time outside at night. Although night falls late, an investment of a few minutes after sunset can be rewarding and instructive. Mid-July is a great time to become reacquainted with some of the residents of our solar system. For example, on July 15th, a four-day old crescent moon will join Venus, Saturn and Mars in the western sky an hour or so after sunset. With optical aide (large binoculars or small telescope), the asteroid Vesta will also be visible (at magnitude 7.12). Treat yourself, children, family and/or friends to a serene celestial display, and hone those observing skills.

As shown in the image (below), the three planets are grouped within 25° of each other on the 15th. The Sun’s position can be found by drawing a line from Saturn, through Mars and Venus, and extending it below the horizon. The imaginary line, called the ecliptic, is the apparent path of the Sun as it crosses our sky. It is also the path along which you will find most of the objects in our solar system (exceptions include many comets and some minor planets that have highly inclined orbits or retrograde orbits and moving in the opposite direction to the planets).

The crescent moon provides an opportunity to ponder several phenomena. Likely, you will be able to see the unlit portion of the near side of the moon as well as the sunlit crescent. The unlit portion is illuminated by sunlight reflecting off the Earth (hence the name Earthshine). While half the moon is always sunlit, the crescent visible on the 15th is due to the moon’s position in its orbit around the Earth and our vantage point. If you were standing on the Moon, you would see an almost full Earth, as the phases of the Earth and Moon are opposite. Earthshine was first accurately described by Leonardo da Vinci, 500 years ago.

Saturn and Mars are moving closer to the western horizon with each passing day. However, Venus continues to brighten as it moves closer to the Earth. With optical aide, you can watch Venus go through phases just like our moon. Unlike our moon, Venus is at its brightest when it reaches a large, thin crescent (corresponding to its closest approach). A full-phase Venus would occur on the opposite side of the Sun and out of view from Earth.

Vesta is the second most massive object in the asteroid belt (only surpassed by Ceres), but the brightest. The asteroid was officially discovered by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807. Vesta is one of the targets of NASA’s Dawn spacecraft. The spacecraft, which was launched in September 2007, will arrive at Vesta next year (July 2011). It will spend a year in orbit studying this minor planet before moving on to Ceres.
News from Jupiter

 

Amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley of Australia, a veteran observer of Jupiter, is famous for his discovery of an impact site on Jupiter last July (2009). In early May, Mr. Wesley made another startling discovery. As seen in his photos below, the South Equatorial Belt has completely disappeared. Usually, the band, along with its northern companion, can be easily seen with a small telescope. The cloud band is twice as wide as Earth and may be just hiding under a higher layer of clouds. The South Equatorial Belt has faded out before, and its return is as sudden as its disappearance. While Jupiter is rising earlier each evening, it is still best observed after midnight. While you are watching for the cloud belt to reappear, it may be a good time to observe Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The storm is typically embedded in the South Equatorial Belt, but with the belt missing, the Spot may be easier to see against the white clouds.

The 2009 Impact

Mr. Wesley’s discovery in July 2009 of a new impact feature on Jupiter triggered the mobilization of an armada of telescopes, Earth-bound as well as in space. The site was first imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 23rd. In the midst of calibration and testing, after a successful repair mission in May, a team of scientists led by Dr. Heidi Hammel of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, successfully petitioned NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland for emergency access to the telescope’s suite of newly installed and refurbished instruments, including the new Wide Field Camera 3.

The dark scar from the impact was reminiscent of a similar event 15 years earlier when more than 20 fragments from comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter. Newly published findings in the May issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters (A. Sánchez-Lavega, et al, 2010 ApJ 715 L155) suggest that the object that collided with Jupiter in July 2009 was likely an asteroid ½ to 1 kilometer in size. Based upon the properties of the debris cloud, the 2009 object was determined to have entered the Jovian atmosphere in the opposite direction than the Shoemaker-Levy 9 fragments and at a lower angle. The asteroid may have come from the Hilda group; 1,100 or more asteroids that are in orbital resonance with Jupiter.

A 2010 Impact

Amateur astronomers Anthony Wesley of Australia and Christopher Go of the Philippines independently observed another impact event on Jupiter on June 3rd. The impact produced a bright flash, but as yet no visible cloud of debris at the impact site.

Phoenix Rising (Not)Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University

NASA has formally ended its monitoring of the Phoenix landing site for signs that the lander may have survived the winter.

During the month of May, NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter flew over the Phoenix landing site multiple times, as it had done on three previous occasions this year. Once again, Odyssey did not detect any transmissions from Phoenix.

Images taken from orbit by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that Phoenix may have suffered irreparable damage over the Martian winter. Even if the spacecraft’s electronics survived the intense cold, the buildup of carbon-dioxide ice on the spacecraft during the winter appears to have broken off at least one of its solar panels and damaged the other. This would prevent the spacecraft from recharging its batteries, even if the spacecraft’s circuits could still use the power.

Summer Activities

Summer is a great time to enjoy the night sky. Some suggestions for this summer:

1. Attend a star party. Star parties are gatherings of amateur astronomers where the general public is invited to share the wonders of the night skies with skilled observers and through telescopes of every size and shape. A calendar of dates and locations across the United States is available at www.skyandtelescope.com. Closer to home, the McCarthy Observatory hosts a star party on the second Saturday of each month. Please join us on July 10th and August 14th with your family and friends for a memorable evening under the stars.

2. Take in a meteor shower. With no telescope required, this naked-eye activity can be enjoyed in a lawn chair and a warm blanket. While an occasional meteor can be spotted at anytime, August 12th is the night to catch the Perseids meteor shower. A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through a cloud of debris usually left behind by a comet. Comet Swift-Tuttle is the source of the small grains of dust that create the Perseid shower. As one of the most famous showers, the Perseids meteor shower usually delivers an impressive display. This year, the Moon sets long before the show starts.

3. Find the Apollo landing sites. July marks the anniversaries of two moon landings. Apollo 11 landed on the southwestern shore of the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. Apollo 15 landed in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains on July 30, 1971. The southwestern shore of the Sea of Tranquility is visible 5 days after a New Moon. The Sun rises on the Apennine Mountains around the First Quarter Moon.

 

Sea of Tranquility and Apollo 11 landing site

Apennines Mountains and Apollo 15 landing site

Locate the Summer Milky Way. Our solar system resides in one of the outer arms of a very large, rotating pinwheel of 200-300 billion stars called the Milky Way Galaxy. During the summer, we can see the inner arms of the pinwheel in the direction of the galactic core. Unfortunately, a dark sky is required, as excessive lighting is ruining the natural inky black of the celestial sphere. However, it still can be seen from parts of New Milford, late at night and once the moon has set. If you have never seen the Milky Way:

Locate the Big Dipper (the most prominent asterism in the northern sky). The last two stars in the bowl of the Dipper point to the North Star.
Imagine a line extended from the two Dipper stars, through the North Star and an equal distance beyond. You should now be between the constellations Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia is shaped like a W or Σ and is the starting point for our journey down the Milky Way.
The Milky Way flows from Cassiopeia south to Cygnus (the Swan or Northern Cross). Cygnus can be recognized by its brightest star Deneb (at the tail) and the three bright stars that form the wing.
Continuing south, the bright star Altair provides the next navigation aid, directing us to Sagittarius, an asterism shaped like a teapot. On a dark night, the star clouds of the Milky Way appear like steam from the spout of the teapot. The spout is also in the general direction of the center of our galaxy (26,000 light years away).

From a good observing site, you should see a band of cloudiness through this area of the sky. Through binoculars, the “clouds” can be resolved into bright areas populated by stars and darker areas with few or no stars. The darker patches are regions of gas and dust that obscure our view of the galactic center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunrise and Sunset

Sun               Sunrise       Sunset
July 1st (EDT) 05:23          20:32
July 15th        05:33          20:26
July 31st        05:47          20:12
August 1st      05:48         20:11
August 15th    06:02         19:53
August 31st    06:19         19:29

Summer Nights

Shorter nights are the toll extracted for warmer observing weather. While the celestial show begins late, it doesn’t disappoint. Pluto passes in front of the Sagittarius Star Cloud (Messier 24) in June, making it difficult to pick out the faint world among the crowded field of stars. However, in July, the dwarf planet is positioned in front of a dark cloud of interstellar dust (Barnard 92), located at the northwestern edge of the M24. With the cloud blocking the majority of background stars, Pluto should be much easier to identify. Comet McNaught (C/2009 R1) is expected to become visible in late June in the early morning sky and after sunset in early July. Neptune reaches opposition and its closest distance to Earth in late August. The ice giant will be in sky all night for those who would like to view this distant world. On July 1st, Jupiter rises just before midnight, with the best observing still in the early morning hours. On August 1st, Jupiter rises around 9:17 pm and by the end of August almost 2 hours earlier. Best time for that steady view of the solar system’s largest planet will still be midnight or later, but, as Mr. Wesley knows, Jupiter is a dynamic planet and even less than optimal observing conditions can yield surprises. Jupiter can be found in the constellation Pisces.

Astronomical and Historical Events

July
1st History: 100 inch mirror for the Hooker Telescope arrives on Mt. Wilson (1917)
1st History: discovery of Asteroid 6 Hebe by Karl Hencke (1847)
2nd History: launch of European Space Agency’s Giotto spacecraft to Comet Halley (1985)
3rd History: launch of the ill-fated Nozomi spacecraft to Mars by Japan (1998)
4th Last Quarter Moon
4th Asteroid 29 Amphitrite at Opposition (9.4 Magnitude)
4th History: impact of Comet Tempel 1 by Deep Impact’s impactor (2005)
4th History: landing on Mars by the Pathfinder spacecraft (1997)
4th History: Chinese astronomers record a "guest star" (supernova) in the constellation Taurus; visible for 23 days and 653 nights (1054); the remnant (Crab Nebula) later catalogued by Charles Messier as Messier 1 or M1
5th Distant flyby of Saturn’s moons Calypso, Enceladus and Daphnis by the Cassini spacecraft
6th Earth at Aphelion, furthest distance from the Sun (1.017 AU)
6th History: discovery of Jupiter’s moon Lysithea by Seth Nicholson (1938)
6th History: Isaac Newton’s “Principia” published (1687)
7th Flyby of Saturn’s largest moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft
7th History: launch of the Mars Exploration Rover B (Opportunity) (2003)
9th History: closest pass of Jupiter’s cloud tops by the Voyager 2 spacecraft (1979)
10th Second Saturday Stars – Open House at the McCarthy Observatory
10th Moon at Perigee (closest distance to Earth)
10th Flyby of Asteroid 21 Lutetia by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. Rosetta is the first mission to attempt to orbit a comet and deliver a lander to its surface. It is expected to arrive at its destination (Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko) in May 2014. Six months later, it will release a lander to the comet’s nucleus.
10th History: Alvan Graham Clark born, optician and telescope maker (1832)
11th New Moon
11th Total Solar Eclipse (path of totality crosses South Pacific, with landfall on the Cook Islands and Easter Island before ending just prior to reaching southern Chile and Argentina)
11th History: launch of the Soviet Gamma Observatory (1990)
11th History: Skylab re-enters into the Earth's atmosphere (1979)
12th History: launch of Soviet Mars orbiter Phobos 2 (1988)
13th Moon at Perigee (closest distance to Earth)
13th History: Soviet Union launches Luna 15, a lunar lander and sample return mission, in an attempt to upstage Apollo 11; crashed during landing (1969)
13th History: Langley Research Center's birthday (1917)
14th History: flyby and first close-up view of Mars by the Mariner 4 spacecraft (1965)
16th History: over twenty fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collide with Jupiter between July 16th and the 22nd (1994); the comet had been discovered a year earlier by astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker and David Levy
16th History: launch of Badr-A, first Pakistan satellite (1990)
16th History: launch of Apollo 11, with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, first manned lunar landing (1969)
16th History: first launch of a Proton rocket by the Soviet Union (1965)
16th History: first photo of a star other than our Sun (Vega) by Harvard University (1850)
17th History: docking (and crew handshake) of an Apollo spacecraft with astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and “Deke” Stayton with a Soyuz spacecraft with cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valeri Kubasov (the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP)) (1975)
18th First Quarter Moon
18th History: launch of Gemini X, with astronauts John Young and Michael Collins (1966)
18th History: launch of Soviet Zond 3 spacecraft; first successful flyby of Moon; transmitted photographs that included the far side (1965)
18th History: launch of Rohini 1, India’s first satellite (1980)
18th History: Allan Sandage born, astronomer specializing in observational cosmology (1926)
20th History: Gus Grissom’s Mercury capsule (Liberty Bell 7) retrieved from the Atlantic Ocean floor at a depth of 15,000 feet, 38 years after it had sunk after splashdown (1999)
20th History: Apollo 11 lands on Moon at 4:17 pm EDT (1969); first step onto the lunar surface at 10:56 pm
20th History: Viking 1 lands on Mars (1976)
20th History: discovery of Jupiter’s moon Callirrhoe (2000)
21st History: launch of the Soviet Mars mission Mars 4 (1973)
21st History: launch of Mercury-Redstone 4 with astronaut Virgil (Gus) Grissom; second suborbital flight by the United States (1961)
21st History: discovery of Jupiter’s moon Sinope by Seth Nicholson (1914)
22nd History: landing of Soviet spacecraft Venera 8 on Venus (1972)
23rd History: launch of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory (1999); first mission commanded by a woman, Eileen Collins
23rd History: discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp by Alan Hale and Tom Bopp (1995)
24th History: first rocket launch from Cape Canaveral (Bumper/V-2 rocket) in 1950
25th Full Moon (sometimes called the Full Buck, Thunder or Hay Moon)
25th Distant flyby of Saturn’s moons Prometheus and Atlas by the Cassini spacecraft
25th History: Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first women to walk in space (1984)
25th History: launch of Soviet Mars orbiter Mars 5 (1973)
26th History: launch of Syncom 2, first geosynchronous satellite (1963)
26th History: launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-114) “Return to Flight," 907 days after the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia (2005)
26th History: launch of Apollo 15 with astronauts David Scott, James Irwin and Alfred Worden; fourth lunar landing (1971)
28th Moon at Apogee (furthest distance from Earth)
28th History: launch of Ranger 7; Moon impact mission (1964)
28th History: launch of Skylab-3 astronauts Alan Bean, Jack Lousma and Owen Garriott (1973)
29th Meteor Shower - South Delta-Aquarids (peak)
29th History: Deep Space 1 flyby of Asteroid Braille (1999)
30th History: the Cassini spacecraft arrives at Saturn after a seven year journey (2004)
30th History: Apollo 15 lands on Moon at 6:16 pm EDT (1971)
30th History: Galileo observes Saturn's Rings (1610)
30th History: discovery of Jupiter’s moon Carme by Seth Nicholson (1938)
31st History: impact of the Lunar Prospector (1999)
31st History: flyby of Mars by Mariner 6 (1969)

August

1st Meteor Shower - Alpha Capricornids (peak)
1st History: Maria Mitchell born, first woman to be elected as an astronomer to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1818)
1st History: discovery of Martian meteorite (shergottite class) SAU 051 in Oman (2000)
3rd Last Quarter Moon
3rd History: launch of the MESSENGER spacecraft to Mercury (2004)
4th History: launch of the Phoenix spacecraft to Mars (polar lander) (2007)
5th History: flyby of Mars by the Mariner 7 spacecraft (1969)
5th History: birthday of astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930)
6th Meteor Shower - Southern Iota Aquarids (peak)
6th Annual Stellafane Star Party, Springfield, Vermont (through the 7th)
6th History: launch of Vostok 2 and cosmonaut Gherman Titov; 2nd man in Space (1961)
6th History: Chinese astronomers first observe supernova in Cassiopeia; remained visible for more than 6 months (1181)
6th Comet 2P/Encke perihelion (closest approach to the Sun at 0.336 AU); first periodic comet discovered after Halley's Comet and the comet with the shortest known period (3.3 years) and smallest orbit
6th Asteroid 25143 Itokawa closest approach to Earth (0.568 AU); Apollo asteroid (a class of asteroids that cross the Earth’s orbit) and Mars-crosser, first asteroid targeted for a sample return mission (by the Hayabusa spacecraft which visited Itokawa in 2005)
7th Mercury at its greatest eastern elongation (the angle between the Sun and the planet as viewed from Earth) at 27°
7th History: announcement of possible microfossils found in Martian meteorite ALH84001 (1996)
7th History: Viking 2 arrives at Mars (1976)
8th History: launch of Pioneer Venus 2 (1978)
8th History: launch of Genesis spacecraft, solar particle sample return mission (2001)
8th History: launch of the Soviet Zond 7 moon probe (1969)
9th New Moon
10th History: launch of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to Mars (2005)
10th History: the Magellan spacecraft enters orbit around Venus; radar mapped 98% of the planet over the next two years (1990)
11th Distant flyby of Saturn’s moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft
11th History: Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Deimos (1877)
12th Perseids Meteor Shower (peak)
12th Kuiper Belt Object 2004 PG115 closest approach to Earth (35.910 AU)
12th History: launch of Echo 1, the first experimental communications satellite (1960)
13th Flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus by the Cassini spacecraft
13th Distant flyby of Saturn’s moons Dione, Calypso and Epimetheus by the Cassini spacecraft
13th History: discovery of Mars’ south polar cap by Christiaan Huygens (1642)
13th History: discovery of Mira, Omicron Ceti by David Fabricius (1596)
14th Distant flyby of Saturn’s moons Atlas, Pandora, Daphnis, Janus, Pan and Tethys by the Cassini spacecraft
14th Second Saturday Stars – Open House at the McCarthy Observatory
16th First Quarter Moon
17th History: launch of Pioneer 7 (1966)
17th History: launch of Venera 7; Soviet Venus lander (1970)
17th History: Asaph Hall discovers Martian moon Phobos (1877)
18th History: launch of Suisei; Japan’s Comet Halley mission (1985)
19th Neptune at Opposition (rising opposite the setting Sun and visible all night)
19th History: launch of Soviet Sputnik 5 spacecraft with dogs Belka and Strelka (1960)
19th History: discovery of S Andromedae (SN 1885A), supernova in the Andromeda Galaxy and the first discovered outside the Milky Way Galaxy; discovered by Irish amateur astronomer Isaac Ward in Belfast on the 19th and independently the following day by Ernst Hartwig at Dorpat (Tartu) Observatory in Estonia (1885)
19th History: birthday of Orville Wright (1871)
19th History: John Flamsteed born; English astronomer known for his accurate astronomical observations and first Astronomer Royal (1646)
20th Venus at its greatest eastern elongation (the angle between the Sun and the planet as viewed from Earth) at 46°
20th History: launch of Mars orbiter/lander Viking 1 (1975)
20th History: launch of Voyager 2 to the outer planets (1977)
21st Kuiper Belt Object 2007 OR10 closest approach to Earth (85.142 AU)
21st History: launch of Gemini V with astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad (1965)
25th Meteor Shower - Northern Iota Aquarids (peak)
24th Full Moon (sometimes called Sturgeon, Green Corn or Grain Moon); most distant and therefore smallest full moon of the year
25th Moon at Apogee (furthest distance from Earth)
25th History: flyby of Neptune by the Voyager 2 spacecraft (1989)
25th History: launch of the Spitzer Space Telescope (2003)
26th History: flyby of the planet Saturn by the Voyager 2 spacecraft (1981)
28th History: flyby of the asteroids Ida and Dactyl by the Galileo spacecraft (1993)
28th History: discovery of Saturn’s moon Enceladus by William Herschel (1789)
29th History: discovery of a bright nova in the constellation Cygnus (Nova Cygni 1975); visible to the unaided eye for about a week (1975)
30th History: discovery of first Kuiper Belt object (1992 QB1) by David Jewitt and Jane Luu
30th History: launch of Japanese satellite Yohkoh (Sunbeam) to observe phenomena taking place on the Sun (1991)
30th History: launch of STS-8 and astronaut Guy Bluford; first African-American in space and first night launch and landing by a shuttle (1983)
30th Comet 2P/Encke closest approach to Earth (1.114 AU); see August 6th entry on Encke for additional information
31st Asteroid 1566 Icarus closest approach to Earth (0.602 AU); Apollo asteroid (a class of asteroids that cross the Earth’s orbit) with one of the fastest rotations and an orbit that extends inside Mercury

Latest News

Come and see the Scale Solar System spread throughout New Milford! Start with the Sun at the Observatory and go from there. Walk at 15.5 inches per second and get to earth at the scale speed of light! (~8 minutes)

References on Distances

The apparent width of the Moon (and Sun) is approximately one-half a degree (½°), the width of your little finger at arm’s length; three fingers is approximately five degrees (5°)
1 astronomical unit (AU) is the distance from the Sun to the Earth or approximately 92,955,778 million miles

1 light year (ly) is the distance light travels (at 186,282.7 miles per second) in one year or approximately 5,878,616,356,498 trillion miles or 63,241 AU or 3.26 parallax seconds (parsec)

International Space Station/Space Shuttle/Iridium Satellites

Visit www.heavens-above.com for the times of visibility and detailed star charts for viewing the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle and the bright flares from Iridium satellites.

Solar Activity

For the latest on what’s happening on the Sun and the current forecast for flares and aurora, check out www.spaceweather.com.

[right-click on calendar to download a bigger image.]