By Neill Simmons
The highlight of July occurs on the 16th and 17th when the new crescent Moon appears to be next to the brilliant planet Venus. Look west at twilight after sundown. This sight will last for only about two hours before both celestial bodies disappear under the horizon. Also watch Venus get brighter each night during the month of July.
Many, many years ago, Venus was similar to Earth; but today, it is an inferno with daytime temperatures of 878 degrees Fahrenheit! Venus has the most volcanos of any planet in our Solar System with more than1600 currently active. In the near future, NASA plans two new missions to Venus that will combine orbiter and descent probes. The orbiter will study Venus’s clouds and then drop a three-foot wide probe through the crushing, sulfuric acid-filled atmosphere all the way to the surface to determine if Venus once had an ocean.
The July full Moon occurs on the 29th and 30th. The July moon is traditionally called the Buck Moon because male deer also know as bucks grow their new antlers during this time of summer. The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite. It sits roughly 238,855 miles away, is about a quarter the size of our planet. The Moon has no light of its own—it simply shines by reflecting sunlight. Your footprints will last forever because the moon as no atmosphere, there is no wind or weather to wash anything away. The footprints left by the Apollo astronauts in 1969 will stay perfectly preserved for millions of years!
On January 1, 1801, the Italian priest, mathematician and astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first asteroid, now called Ceres. It orbits in the asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. These days, Ceres is no longer classified as an asteroid. It is now known as dwarf planet Ceres. Planets and dwarf planets both orbit the Sun and are large enough to be round. The key difference is that a planet has a strong gravitational pull that clears its path of other space debris, which a dwarf planet lacks the mass to clean up its neighborhood.
On Saturday, July 18 at 7 pm, The Ventura Country Astronomical Society will be hosting a free Night Sky Fest with the National Park Service at the Peter Strauss Ranch. The event is outdoors and can get chilly. Red lights only and no pets allowed.
If you are traveling to either Iceland or Spain this August, there will be a total eclipse of the Sun on August 12. People on ships off of Iceland will be able to see up to two minutes and 18 seconds of totality. A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and the Earth. The Moon then casts a big shadow on Earth, temporarily blocking the Sun’s light and turning daytime into evening for a few minutes.
In July, everyone’s favorite constellation, Ursa Major, better known as the “Big Dipper,” is hanging down in the north. While this is going on, Ursa Minor or the “Little Dipper” is upright and appears to be standing on the North Star, Polaris. A common misconception is that Polaris is the brightest star in the sky. It is not. However, it is certainly the most important one. This is because Polaris lies nearly in a direct line with the Earth’s axis above the North Pole so that Polaris doesn’t move and all the stars appear to rotate around it. Therefore, it has been used for centuries for celestial navigation.
When not stargazing, Neill Simmons is an Investment Executive with LPL Financial in Woodland Hills. If you have any astronomy or financial questions, he may be reached at (818) 936-2626 or neill.simmons@lpl.com.
Photo: A footstep on the Moon/NASA
