Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th July 2023
Lately I've been encouraging everyone to look towards the west just as it's getting dark to see Venus and Mars. Well how about giving our old friends, the gas giants Saturn and Jupiter, a chance? Unfortunately this does mean either a late night or early morning though!
If you look towards the south east around 2am on Friday 7th, Saturn will be sat just above an 81%-lit waning Gibbous Moon. If at the same time you look further east, Jupiter will have just risen above the horizon.
If you prefer slightly more sociable hours, there is still chance to catch a glimpse of a very bright Venus setting towards the west just as it's getting dark.
Remember that the whole month of July is also a good opportunity to observe Noctilucent clouds for up to a couple of hours after sunset. These "night-shining" clouds are caused by sunlight reflecting off layers of ice crystals in the upper atmosphere and are notoriously difficult to predict.
There are three good opportunities to spot the International Space Station next week. Monday 3rd at 3.45am, Wednesday 5th at 3.44am and Thursday 6th at 2.56am. In all three cases, the ISS will appear towards the west and spend around 7 minutes passing almost directly overhead before disappearing to the east.
If you have never observed the ISS before, it appears to look like a star that is eerily moving quickly against the background sky. The space station is actually travelling at an incredible 7.5km/s or approximately 17,500mph. It has to travel that fast to remain in orbit and not fall back to Earth!
Screenshots courtesy of Stellarium
Copyright Adrian Dening and Radio Ninesprings 2023
www.starsoversomerset.com
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