Night sky update July 2020

We have some exciting things to look forward to in the night sky for July 2020. In this night sky update, I’ll discuss three comets (LEMMON/NEOWISE/ENCKE), the opposition of Jupiter and Saturn and some exciting deep sky objects to view or photograph. Last but not least, I’ll show five wonderful pictures you shared with me on Instagram by using my hashtag #NSASFO (Night sky AStroFOrum).

Comets

Northern hemisphere

We have two exiting comets that will be visible in July through a (small) telescope or with the help of some binoculars (observed magnitude = 6.4 at the time of writing this blog). The first comet is comet Lemmon C/2019 U6. This comet is currently close to the sun in the constellation Hydra, but will become visible in the second half of July. At this moment the comet at about 125M kilometers from earth. For those who want to view and capture this comet, look towards the west after sunset in the second half of this month. Comet Lemon will be visible in the constellation Virgo and will move to the constellation Bootes in the last week of July.

Comet NEOWISE C/2020 F3 is the second comet to look out for. It is currently about 100M kilometers from earth and will become visible during the second half of July. Look towards the north-west where comet NEOWISE will be visible in the lower part of Ursa Major. Currently, the observed magnitude is 6.8, meaning that you will be able to view this comet with some binoculars or through a small telescope.

Southern hemisphere
For our southern skies, it is exiting to see that Comet Encke 2P is currently in orbit around the sun, which happens every 3.3 years. Right now, the estimated magnitude is at 7.5 but should improve towards the 7th of July when comet Encke will reach its closest distance to earth at just 29M kilometers. Just after sunset look towards the west. The comet will steadily climb higher into the western skies with each passing day in the month of July. It will be located just right of the large constellation hydra.

You can find my tips on how to find and capture comets using a small telescope here.

Planets

Most importantly, both Saturn and Jupiter will reach opposition in July. Opposition relates to the fact that Jupiter and Saturn will be at its closest distance from earth for this year. For Jupiter, opposition occurs on the 13th of July and for Saturn on the 21st of July. Some tips on how to view and capture these awesome planets are:

1. If you have a reflector: Collimate your telescope!
2. Wait until the planets are at their highest point in the night sky to avoid the turbulence in our atmosphere close to the horizon which blurs your view of the planets
3. Try to avoid watching the planets from concrete (sidewalks, streets) on hot days as concrete tiles will absorb heat during the day and radiate this heat during the night, causing turbulence and a blurred view of the planets.
4. Try to avoid capturing Jupiter and Saturn above roofs / buildings for the same reasons mentioned in point 4
5. If you’re new to imaging planets, download and use sharpcap and/or firecapture. These tools are freely available.

Both Jupiter and Saturn will rise in south east and set in the west in the northern hemisphere, and rise in the north-east and set in the west in the southern hemisphere. Venus will appear as a morning star in July. Look towards the east to the constellation Taurus to spot it. And Mars will be rising in the night sky from east to south in the norther n hemisphere and from east to north in the southern hemisphere.

Pretty exciting stuff! let’s move on to some nice deep sky objects you may want to image in July.

Deep sky objects

Southern hemisphere

I’ll do my best but keep in mind I’m a “northy”. The Carina Nebula is visible in the south west evening sky after sunset, it will move close to horizon in the south during the night. The Running Chicken Nebula (no joke) is also close by and will move in the same direction.

The small and large Magellanic cloud are close to the horizon in the southern evening sky, and they will rise during the night towards the south southeast.

The milky way will move from the northeast to the northwest during the night in July. There are several options to capture beautiful nebulae such as the lagoon nebula (M8), the eagle nebula (M16), the trifid nebula (M20) and the Sagittarius Star Cloud (M24) which are all located within this bright part of the milky way.

Northern hemisphere

For the northern hemisphere, the same DSO’s such as the lagoon nebula (M8), eagle nebula (M16), the trifid nebula (M20) and the Sagittarius Star Could (M24) are also visible, but they will be rising in the southeast and travelling towards the southwest during the night in the northern hemisphere.

The constellation Cygnus is moving from the east towards the south during the night, and will be high up in the night sky towards the zenith. This provides astrophotographers with a perfect opportunity to image some flagship nebulae such as the north america (NGC 7000), the pelican nebula (IC5070), the crescent nebula and the eastern (NGC6992) and western veil nebula (NGC6960) which are both part of the Cygnus loop, a supernova remnant of a star that exploded over 7000 years ago. Other famous DSO’s that are a bit east of Cygnus are the elephant’s trunk nebula (IC1396) and the wizard nebula (NGC7380).

Milky way time!

Last but not least, for both hemispheres, the milky way is nicely positioned in the night sky for some awesome wide-field astrophotography pictures. In the northern hemisphere, the milky way rises in the southeast and will move towards the south/southwest during the night. For the southern hemisphere,the milky way will rise in the northeastern sky and move towards the north/northwest during the night. If you have access to some dark skies, just put that DSLR on your tripod or tracker, time to take some beautiful pictures!

#NSASFO

I’m so excited to see you have used my #NSASFO on Instagram in the month of June. I’ve started the #NSASFO project in May, and you already shared over 100 pictures at the time of this blog, that’s awesome! I really hope the beautiful wall of astrophotography pictures will inspire you to keep involved in your astrophotography hobby. Below, I’ve shared five of my favorite pictures in no particular order. Click here to see the whole wall of #NSASFO pictures you shared, thanks!