Sky News

Friday, July 29

These evenings, you'll find the Big Dipper
dipping down in the northwestern sky. The
Big Dipper's Pointers, the two stars forming
the end of its bowl, point to Polaris, the
North Star, three fist-widths at arm's
length to the upper right.

Saturday, July 30

Continue the line from the Big Dipper's
Pointers a fist-width beyond Polaris, and
you'll hit something else: the next-closest
fairly bright star to the celestial pole -
3rd-magnitude Errai, or Gamma Cephei.

Sunday, July 31

Face east and look almost straight up at dusk.
The brightest star there is Vega, 25 light-years
away. The brightest to its lower left (by about
2½ fist-widths at arm's length) is Deneb, about
1,500 light-years distant. Farther to Vega's
lower right (about 3½ fists) is Altair, only 17
light-years away. These form the big Summer Triangle.

Monday, August 1

Did you know you can already see Orion at this
time of year? But you'll have to get up early.
As dawn begins to brighten, look for Orion
striding upward low in the east-southeast.
Tomorrow morning, Orion is far to the right
of the waning Moon.

Tuesday, August 2

Although it's still the height of summer, already
a warning sign of fall is appearing in the evening
sky: the Great Square of Pegasus looming up low in
the east. It's balanced on one corner and is somewhat
larger than your fist at arm's length.

Wednesday, August 3

Whenever Vega is highest overhead, as it is late
these evenings, you know that the Teapot pattern
of Sagittarius is also at its highest, low in the south.

Thursday, August 4

New Moon (exact at 11:05 p.m. EDT).

This Week's Planet Roundup

Mercury is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

Venus (magnitude -3.8) shines low in the west in
evening twilight. It sets as twilight ends.

Mars (magnitude -0.5) rises fiery orange in the east
around midnight. By the first light of dawn it shines
in excellent view very high in the southeast.

Jupiter (magnitude -1.8) shines in the west-southwest
during and after twilight, far to the upper left of Venus.

Saturn is buried deep in the glow of dawn.

Uranus and Neptune (magnitudes 5.7 and 7.8, respectively)
are well up in the southeast by midnight.

Pluto (magnitude 14) is highest in the south right after dark.



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