The Sky This Week 2003 July 25 – August 1
If you’re up before the Sun, you can catch the waning crescent Moon before dawn over the coming weekend. Luna returns to the evening sky by the end of the week, gracing the evening twilight with a slender crescent. New Moon occurs on the 29th at 2:53 am Eastern Daylight Time. Look for the Moon close to the yellow glimmer of Saturn before dawn on the 26th and 27th, low in the east-northeastern sky between 5:00 and 5:30 am.
You may wish to take advantage of the Moon’s absence and trek out to C.M. Crockett Park on the evening of the 26th for a public star party sponsored by the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club. The park is located near Warrenton, VA in Fauquier County, and it’s far enough out of the urban glare to let you see the magnificent sweep of the summer Milky Way. Members of the club will be there with an array of telescopes, and they will be more than happy to share the secret treasures of the summer nights with all who come. For more information call the park at (540) 788-4867, or go to the Club’s web site at www.novac.com.
Ruddy Mars is making slow but steady progress into the evening sky. Over the weekend the red planet rises at around 10:30, and as August opens he comes up just after 10:00. Mars reaches an important milestone in this year’s apparition on the afternoon of July 30th. At around 6:00 pm he becomes stationary in Right Ascension. In plain English, this means that he halts his eastward progress against the background stars of Aquarius and begins to re-trace his steps to the west. This illusion is due to the Earth catching up to and passing Mars as we circle the Sun on our ìinsideî track. It also opens the prime season for Mars observing. You can’t mistake Mars for anything else in the sky now. He’s bright, he’s pink, and he doesn’t blink.
The best time to see Mars is still before sunrise, and if you make a morning of it you’ll be rewarded by the gradual appearance of another planet, several bright stars, and the Moon. The pre-dawn sky now reveals the first signs of longer nights and autumn days as twilight gathers around the rising Pleiades star cluster and the first stars of the Great Winter Circle. In the middle of this mix is a bright yellowish object that will be framed by the crescent Moon on the mornings of the 26th and 27th. The planet is Saturn, and his return to the morning sky begins another cycle of seasonal change. While I always look forward to observing the ringed planet, though, I’m in no hurry to get rid of Mars quite yet.
