MARSHALL'S NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK - July 29th to August 4th

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MARSHALL'S NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK - July 29th to August 4th

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MARSHALL'S NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK - July 29th to August 4th


We are proud to present you with another edition of Marshall's night sky events this week! Welcome, we hope you find something of interest! Let us know in the replies if you did, we would love to hear about it! We have also started a look back at events this week in history, hope you enjoy the new segment.

Let's get started by examining the highlights of the night sky this week, July 29th to August 4th. As usual we will list the highlights and discuss a few. We hope you find this info useful and if you have anything you wish to discuss or add, please hit the "Reply" button below and let us know!

Information is freely gathered from various websites. We would encourage you to download and print your finder charts more specific to your location, the charts/graphics included are for basic guidance only. Many websites like Skymaps.com will allow you to download and print out a free planisphere for each month, the link is here: https://www.skymaps.com/.



EVENTS

29th July
Uranus is 4* south of the Moon at 18:00 UTC.
Moon is 0.1* south of the Pleiades at 22:00 UTC.

30th July
Mars is 5* south of the Moon at 11:00 UTC.

31st July
Jupiter is 5* south of the Moon at 0:00 UTC.
Double shadows on Jupiter (Io & Europa) at 4:54 UTC.
Double shadows and transits on Jupiter (Io & Europa) at 6:31 UTC.

1st August
Double shadows on Jupiter (Io & Europa) at 23:22 UTC.

2nd August

3rd August
Pollux is 1.8* north of the Moon at 0:00 UTC.
Double shadows on Jupiter (Io & Europa) at 17:50 UTC.
Double shadows and transits on Jupiter (Io & Europa) at 19:54 UTC.

4th August
New Moon (lunation 1257) at 11:13 UTC.
Venus 1.1* north of Regulus at 22:00 UTC.



PLANETS

Mercury
In the evening sky all month long, approaching Earth but fading in brightness. It starts the month off at mag. -0.6 and loses a full magnitude by months end.
The best evening apparition in 2024 for southern hemisphere observers.

Venus
Begins to re-emerge into the evening sky all month long, doubling its elongation from the Sun at 7.5* on the 1st to 15* on the 31st.

Mars
Continues its climb on the ecliptic and brighten, passing the border from Aries into Taurus on the 11th. Compare its red hue to nearby Aldebaran and Betelgeuse.

Jupiter
Continues its rise on the Eastern horizon at Sunrise this month and becoming ever more prominent in the morning twilight.

Saturn
Is visible and starting to get higher in the East pre dawn sky.

Uranus
Continues to rise in the morning sky in the constellation of Taurus.

Neptune
Is visible in the overnight and morning hours in the constellation of Pisces.



COMETS



Three 10 mag and brighter comets this week in Ursa Major, Vela and Leo. All three are horizon targets. Do not try to observe till after the Sun is below the horizon. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is brightening as it approaches Perihelion but at risk of breaking up. As described here:

13P/Olbers
Fading Magnitude: 6.9 in Ursa Major. North West at Sunset. Northern hemisphere preferred.
Coma Diameter: 5.0' Tail Length: n/a
RA: 11h 03m 14s +36° 02’ 34”
https://theskylive.com/13p-info (enter your location)

12P/Pons-Brooks
Fading Magnitude: 8.8 in Vela. South West after Sunset. Southern hemisphere only.
Coma Diameter: 4.6' Tail Length: n/a
RA: 10h 08m 43s -44° 47’ 08”
https://theskylive.com/12p-info (enter your location)

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Brightening Magnitude: 9.5 in Leo. Western horizon at Sunset. Challenging target.
Coma Diameter: 1.9' Tail Length: 15.0'
RA: 10h 58m 22s +00° 47’ 11”
https://theskylive.com/c2023a3-info (enter your location)





STARS

Zeta Herculis - An unequal binary pair with a highly eccentric 35 year orbit. Currently at maximum separation. Zeta Herculis is the star at the bottom right of the Hercules keystone asterism. And for a bonus point, can you spot the Minor Planet Pallas passing by to the south of Zeta Herculis? It will be at opposition on the 19th June.

Sirius - Have you ever tried for Sirius B? Sirius A and B are now at their widest apparent separation in their 50-year orbit, 11 arcseconds apart, and will remain so for the next couple years before they start closing up again. If you can block it out of your FOV you might have a shot at open cluster Gaia 1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_1)

T Coronae Borealis - A star system, located 3,000 light-years away from Earth, is predicted to become visible to the unaided eye soon. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity as the nova outburst only occurs about every 80 years. T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946 and astronomers believe it will do so again between February and September 2024. Once in a lifetime event! Plan ahead just in case! Full article here. The TSS TCrB Citizen Science Thread is here.



SPACE LAUNCHES

July 30
Atlas 5 • USSF 51
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-101, will launch the USSF 51 mission for the U.S. Space Force. This mission will launch an undisclosed payload for the military.

July 30/31
Electron • ‘Owl for One, Owl for All’
Launch time: 4:15 a.m. NZST (12:15 p.m. EDT, 1615 UTC on July 30)
Launch site: Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch a StriX synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite on behalf of the Japanese Earth observation company, Synspective. Following the deployment of the satellite, Rocket Lab said the rocket’s kick stage “will perform an advanced mid-mission maneuver… to shield the satellite from the sun and reduce radiation exposure.”

July
Falcon 9 • ASBM
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, consisting of two satellites owned by Space Norway. The Falcon 9 will launch the two Northrop Grumman-built satellites into a highly elliptical orbit that lingers over the Arctic region. The satellites carry communications payloads for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Space Force, and Inmarsat.

August
Falcon 9 • WorldView Legion 3 & 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.

August
Falcon 9 • Transporter-11
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch dozens of satellites to a sun-synchronous orbit on the company’s 11th such rideshare mission. Among the payloads are the European Space Agency’s Arctic Weather Satellite, UK-based Surrey Satellites’ Tyche satellite for the UK Space Command, Japan-based iQPS’ QPS-SAR No. 8 satellite and U.S.-based Planet Labs’ Tanager-1 satellite. Delayed from July 10.




INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

We highly recommend using "Spot the Station" from NASA to find out when the International Space station will be passing over your location. This is a fun object to see flying high above, try using binoculars here, lots of fun!

For the HAM radio enthusiasts among you, please keep a eye on the ARISS website for upcoming contacts or SSTV broadcasts for when the International Space Station is within range. There are several HAMS on board the ISS, they should have a busy radio schedule coming up. AMSAT are another great resource in this regard.

This video is from the ISS live feed on YouTube. Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.






THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

29th July
66 years ago, in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA) is signed into a law by President Eisenhower.
52 years ago, in 1972, DOS-2, intended to be Salyut-2, is launched, but fails to reach orbit when the second stage of its Proton-K rocket fails.
25 years ago, in 1999, Deep Space 1 flies within 17 miles of asteroid 9969 Braille.

30th July
108 years ago, in 1916, 951 Gaspra, an S-type asteroid orbiting close to the inner edge of the asteroid belt, is discovered by the Russian astronomer G. N. Neujmin.
86 years ago, in 1938, Seth Barnes Nicholson discovers one of Jupiter's moons, Carme.
59 years ago, in 1965, after 10 launches and no failures, the Saturn I is retired.
59 years ago, in 1965, AS-105 (SA-10), is successfully launched, carrying the fifth and final 'boilerplate' version of the Apollo spacecraft, and the third and final Pegasus micrometeroid detection satellite.
53 years ago, in 1971, Apollo 15 lands on the moon.
53 years ago, in 1971, the moon rover is driven on the moon for the first time.
7 years ago, in 2017, Interstellar Technologies, a Japanese private rocket spacelaunch company, launches their first rocket, MOMO-1, but it fails soon after launch.


31st July
60 years ago, in 1964, Ranger 7 sends back 4,316 pictures before crashing into the lunar surface.
55 years ago, in 1969, Mariner 6 makes its closest approach to Mars.
53 years ago, in 1971, the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is used for the first time on the Moon.
32 years ago, in 1992, on board shuttle Atlantis (STS-46), Franco Malerba becomes the first Italian citizen to visit space.
32 years ago, in 1992, on board shuttle Atlantis (STS-46), Claude Nicollier becomes the first Swiss citizen to visit space.
25 years ago, in 1999, after a successful mission, NASA's Lunar Prospector is deliberately crashed near the south lunar pole.
16 years ago, in 2008, the Phoenix lander directly samples water ice in the Martian soil.
5 years ago, in 2019, the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill, Ontario, is made a National Historic Site of Canada.

1st August
238 years ago, in 1786, Caroline Herschel discovers her first comet, Comet C/1786 P1 (Herschel).
57 years ago, in 1967, the Lunar Orbiter 5 probe, the last of the Lunar Orbiter series, is launched.
53 years ago, in 1971, Apollo 15 mission commander David R. Scott discovers the Genesis Rock.
49 years ago, in 1975, communications with Alouette 2 are terminated after 10 years.

2nd August
891 years ago, in 1133, King Henry's Eclipse occurs over England, with totality lasting for over four minutes, and coinciding with the death of King Henry I.
33 years ago, in 1991, aboard the shuttle Atlantis (STS-43), Shannon Lucid becomes the first woman to go to space three times.
32 years ago, in 1992, ESA's European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA), a 4.5 tonne satellite with 15 experiments, is deployed by Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-46).
19 years ago, in 2005, Messenger flies by Earth for a gravity assist on the way to Mercury.


3rd August
2455 years ago, in -431, the oldest European record of a verifiable solar eclipse (annular) is given by the Greek historian Thucydides.
428 years ago, in 1596, David Fabricius discovers the first known periodic variable star, Mira, in the constellation of Cetus.
20 years ago, in 2004, Messenger is launched to Mercury.


4th August
55 years ago, in 1969, approaching Mars, Mariner 7 takes the first photograph of Mars' moon Phobos from space.
53 years ago, in 1971, the Apollo 15 Particles and Fields Subsatellite (PFS-1) is launched from the scientific instrument module of the Service Module.
33 years ago, in 1991, aboard the shuttle Atlantis (STS-43), Shannon Lucid and James Adamson send the first e-mail from space.
17 years ago, in 2007, the Phoenix Mars Mission is launched.


And that is it for the upcoming week. We hope you can all get out and do some observing, sketching and imaging.

Clear skies!

The TSS Team.
The Sky Searchers Astronomy Forum. The friendliest, most engaging and inclusive astronomy forum.

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Re: MARSHALL'S NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK - July 29th to August 4th

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Post by helicon »

Good stuff...!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 37.5446° N
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