When it completes its first orbit around the Sun since its discovery nearly 165 years ago, Neptune will be visible to stargazers in the Philippines this Tuesday.
But the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said stargazers will need binoculars or a telescope to see Neptune at about 1 a.m. of July 12.
“At 1:00 a.m. (of July 12), Neptune and Uranus will be glowing at magnitude +7.8 and +5.8. They will be located 53 and 31 degrees above the east-southeast horizon, and will lie among the stars of the constellation Aquarius, the Water Bearer and Pisces, the Fish, respectively," acting administrator Nathaniel Servando said.
The view will be among the treats awaiting Filipino stargazers for July, weather permitting.
Servando noted that by July 12, Neptune will have completed its first orbit of the Sun since its discovery by German astronomer Johann Galle, on September 23, 1846.
At 2:00 a.m., Jupiter will be easily located at the eastern horizon, shining brilliantly at magnitude -2.3 and will be found among the background stars of the constellation Aries, the Ram.
“Through a modest-size telescope, major atmospheric features such as the two dark equatorial belts will be seen," Servando said.
Also, Jupiter’s four bright moons can be seen as they constantly change their positions as they circle the planet at different rates.
“Innermost Io moves fastest, orbiting the planet once every 1.77 days. Europa, which is in orbital resonance with Io, orbits twice that period (3.55 days), while Ganymede orbits twice Europa’s period (7.15 days). Callisto, the outermost moon, takes 16.7 days to orbit Jupiter," Servando said.
Meanwhile, Venus will appear low in the east northeastern horizon before sunrise in the early part of July.
It will then disappear from the sky view on the second week of the month until late September.
Mars will be observable throughout the month on the east northeastern horizon before sunrise. It will be glowing at magnitude +1.6 and will be located among the background stars of the constellation Taurus, the Bull.
In the evening sky, Saturn and Mercury will be observable in the western horizon before sunset throughout the month.
They will be shining at magnitude +0.9 and +0.3 and will lie among the background stars of the constellation Virgo, the Virgin and Cancer, the Crab, respectively.
With a telescope, one can see Saturn’s disk measure at 17 seconds of an arc across, while the ring systems spans at 39 seconds of an arc across.
“Saturn rings will be inclined at 8 degrees by mid July as viewed to our line of sight. Saturn’s biggest and brightest moon, Titan will also be seen through any telescope. The 8th magnitude satellite orbits Saturn once every 16 days," Servando said.
Summer Triangle
Servando said the famous Summer Triangle of the stars Vega, Deneb and Altair of the constellations Lyra, Aquila and Cygnus, respectively, will be above the eastern horizon.
He also said the bowls of the Big and Small Dipper in Ursa Major and Minor stand high above the northern horizon with the body of the constellation Draco, the Dragon, winding between them.
Also, a horseshoe-shaped grouping of stars of the constellation Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, lies on the north-south meridian with the head of Draco below it.
Scorpio is positioned above the east-south eastern horizon, while the constellations of Centaurus, the Centaur and Crux, the Southern Cross are just above the south direction after sunset.
Meteor shower
Servando said the Southern Delta Aquarids meteor shower will be best observed from July 28 to 31. Its peak date will be before midnight and onward on July 30.
“The showers are part of a complex of radiants in Aquarius, Capricornus and Piscis Austrinus, all of which combine with sporadic and early Perseid activity to provide a nice display of meteors," he said.
Servando said the stream normally produces about five to 10 meteors per hour, with overall activity of about 15 meteors per hour under good sky conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment