It's difficult to photograph a star party in full swing because star parties happen in the dark, and flash photography isn't welcome. Occasionally, however, a photo is taken that gives a flavor for the event.
Photo by Ron Pearson
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July
Skies
2008
by
Dennis Cochran
e
are coming from the
galaxy months to the
Scorpius-Sagittarius
month when the
sights shift back to
the fine furniture
of our own Milky
Way, a 2-armed
barred galaxy seen
from the inside. But
first the planets.
The main planetary
attraction is
Jupiter even though
in the early evening
he is down in the
soup. So, since
Saturn and Mars are
still visible in
early evening hours,
when you first set
up your telescope
take a look West at
the unfolding drama
of the Tilt of the
Rings. This month
contains a complete
lunar cycle from
start to finish, so
the early days of
the month will not
interfere with our
sighting Saturn. On
the 6th the crescent
moon bunches up with
Saturn and Mars. By
mid-month the moon
is full and closing
on Jupiter above and
to the left of
Sagittarius. Jupiter
doesn't get very
high these days, so
is best viewed later
in the evening. Look
for two smaller
storms to the left
of the Great Red
Spot. White spot
storms may also be
visible in the North
Temperate Belt,
which may be below
the equator in your
telescope.
Later in the evening
is also good for the
Teapot of
Sagittarius but
we'll talk about him
next month. Let's
look for the objects
that hang around the
head of one of the
two constellations
that actually look
like what they
represent: Scorpius
(the other being
Leo). With a little
luck we can find the
globs M4, M80 and
M107. From Antares,
the big red star
that is the Heart of
the Scorpion, it's
easy to find the
spot where M4 is
supposed to be, just
to the star's right.
At Chamberlin its
faintness makes it
hard to see thru the
miasmic vapors of
the city. And don't
look on the 13th
because the waxing
gibbous moon will be
there. M80 is
located up nearer
the head of the
scorpion and a bit
upper-left of the
body line. M107 may
be the hardest to
find since it is in
Ophiuchus, the huge,
empty bell-shaped
constellation above
Scorpius. Look for a
straggle of small
stars coming down
from its middle
towards and almost
reaching Antares.
M107 is up this line
almost to the bottom
of the bell.
Ophiuchus the
Serpent-Bearer, an
unfortunate who has
to struggle with
Serpens the Serpent,
has two more bright
globs in his empty
middle, M10 and 12.
They're about 1/3 of
the way up from the
bottom of the bell
to the Alpha star at
the top. Ophiuchus
is associated with
Ascelpius the
physician, and the
snake twined around
a staff is the
symbol of medicine.
An open cluster I'll
bet you've never
seen is IC4665 just
above the Beta star,
which is down to the
left of Alpha.
—Dennis Cochran
