A Jaw-Dropping Conjunction Of Venus And A Razor-Thin Moon As ‘Shooting Stars’ Fall: What To See In The Night Sky This Week

Science A Jaw-Dropping Conjunction Of Venus And A Razor-Thin Moon As ‘Shooting Stars’ Fall: What To See In The Night Sky This Week Jamie Carter Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky New! Follow this author to improve your content experience. Got it! Jul 24, 2022, 08:00pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin null Getty Each Monday I pick out the northern hemisphere’s celestial highlights (mid-northern latitudes) for the week ahead, but be sure to check my main feed for more in-depth articles on stargazing, astronomy, eclipses and more.

What To See In The Night Sky This Week: July 25-31, 2022 This is an excellent week for stargazing. With a New Moon midweek it means dark, moonless skies either side that are perfect for picking-out stars and constellations and getting to know how to navigate the night sky—albeit during relatively short bursts of darkness. It’s a good week to look for the stars of Aquarius, which is a tricky constellation to find, but may come in handy later this week when “shooting stars” appear to emanate from it.

Stars and “shooting stars” aside, this week also sees a gorgeous conjunction of a razor-thin crescent Moon and the bight Venus. That will be worth getting up early for. Tuesday, July 26, 2022: A crescent Moon and Venus Stellarium Tuesday, July 26, 2022: A crescent Moon and Venus A lovely conjunction of Venus—the brightest planet—and a delicate 5%-lit crescent Moon is arguably the most beautiful sight in this week’s night sky.

Look low in the east-northeast before sunrise. You can spend each evening this week looking for the waxing crescent Moon, which will get slightly brighter and higher in the sky with each passing evening. Saturday, July 30, 2022: Southern Delta-Aquarid Meteor Shower MORE FOR YOU New Research Finds A Connection Between Domestic Violence And These Two Personality Disorders This Scientist Helps Andean Forests And Ecuador’s Women In STEM Exceptional Fossil Preservation Suggests That Discovering Dinosaur DNA May Not Be Impossible Just before midnight tonight and into the early hours of tomorrow is the peak of the Southern Delta-Aquarid meteor shower in dark moonless skies (the waxing crescent Moon will be barely 3%-lit and will set just after the Sun).

So keep your eyes peeled (no binoculars or telescope necessary) for its 20 or so “shooting stars” per hour. A dark sky will help you locate them, though the farther south you are the more meteors you’re likely to see. The Delta Aquarid meteor shower is caused by dust and debris being left in the inner Solar System by Comet 96P/Machholz.

Although they can appear from anywhere the radiant point for the meteors is the constellation of Aquarius. This is probably the best time of 2022 to go “shooting star” hunting because the Perseids meteor shower has also begun . The constellation of Aquarius.

getty Constellation of the week: Aquarius, the water bearer One of the signs of the zodiac, the constellation of Aquarius—along with the equally faint Pisces, the fish—are as high in the southern sky this month as they ever get. You’ll find them in an area of the night sky called “the sea” where you’ll also find the constellations of Delphinus, the dolphin, Cetus, the whale and Eridanus, the river. The shape in Aquarius is the “Water Jar”—the tiny three-pronged shape of four stars at the top the above image— which fits well in the field of view of 10×50 binoculars.

Sequence of the Moon Earthshine phenomenon until the moonset in the Alentejo horizon of a hot . . .

[+] evening in Herdade do Esporão. Sky of Reguengos de Monsaraz, Dark Sky Alqueva region, Portugal. getty Object of the week: Earthshine Have you ever seen “Earthshine,” sometimes called “planet-shine?” The phenomenon of the Moon’s darkened limb being subtly lit-up by sunlight being reflected by Earth is only visible to the human eye in the last and first few days of the Moon’s orbit of Earth.

You can see “Earthshine” on the crescent Mon from Wednesday evening onwards. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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