The Naked-Eye Stargazer’s Guide To Summer 2022: One Supermoon, Two Meteor Showers And Saturn At Its Best

Science The Naked-Eye Stargazer’s Guide To Summer 2022: One Supermoon, Two Meteor Showers And Saturn At Its Best 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! Jun 22, 2022, 08:00pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The “ringed planet” Saturn will this season reach its annual opposition, shining brightly for many .

. . [+] weeks either side.

Universal Images Group via Getty Images Summer is a great time for stargazing. Sure, the nights are at their shortest, but it’s when most of us finally get a chance to spend time outdoors on vacation. As the Sun sets and dusk descends, night’s window begins to open, revealing untold thousands of stars and, this season, a particularly gorgeous planet—Saturn.

From the stars of summer and classic seasonal constellations to some notable events to watch out for, here’s everything you need to go stargazing this summer: 1. Saturn at opposition When: August 14, 2022 Where: rising in the east The ringed planet is tonight at its brightest and biggest of the entire year. That’s because our planet is between the Earth and Saturn, an annual occasion that astronomers call opposition .

Saturn will rise at in the east at dusk and set in the west. From mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere it never gets particularly high, and it will remain relatively low in the southern night sky. You can see it easily with the naked eye though you’ll need any small telescope to see its rings.

Friday, August 19, 2022: Last Quarter Moon and Mars Stellarium 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 2. Moon, Mars and the Pleiades When: August 19, 2022 Where: southern night sky Today is the Last Quarter Moon phase, which is when our natural satellite rises after midnight, clearing the way for 10 nights of dark, mostly moonless skies that will be ideal for both stargazing and astrophotography. As a bonus, the nights are now getting longer, and the Milky Way and its bright galactic centre are visible just after dark in the southern sky.

However, the reason to stay up late and watch the moonrise is that it will be just 2. 5° from Mars and also very close to the Pleiades open cluster of stars. The planet Venus after being eclipsed by crescent moon.

AFP via Getty Images 3. A crescent Moon and Venus When: July 26, 2022 Where: east-northeastern sky 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. 4. The Teapot When: all summer Where: southeastern night sky The vast summer constellation of Sagittarius “the Archer” which is positioned across the densest star fields of the Milky Way galaxy.

It’s also over the galaxy’s center, so while you look in the direction of Sagittarius you’re looking at galactic central point. The most interesting sight here isn’t the shape of the archer—which is pretty hard to see—but a smaller shape (stargazers call it an asterism ) called the “Teapot” (shown above, right of center). Look south.

Sagittarius Constellation. Zodiac Sign Sagittarius constellation lines Getty 5. A parade of planets When: July 17, 2022 Where: southern night sky Stay up really late or more likely get up before sunrise and in the southern sky you’ll see the bright planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn line-up.

An 82%-lit waning gibbous Moon will be between Saturn and Jupiter. 6. Southern Delta-Aquarid Meteor Shower When: July 30, 2022 Where: all-sky 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. A Perseid Meteor entering the atmosphere over the Rio-Antirio bridge in Patras, Greece during the .

. . [+] peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower on August 12, 2016.

getty 7. Perseid meteor shower When: August 13, 2022 Where: all sky Typically a highlight of the annual stargazing calendar, strong moonlight will ruin this year’s Perseid meteor shower, with its 100 or so “shooting stars” per hour likely to be very tricky to see thanks to a just-past-full Moon—though if you’re out stargazing just before midnight tonight and into the early hours of tomorrow morning then you may see some particularly bright bolides. Noctilucent clouds over Northamptonshire, UK.

Taken 17 June 2009. Noctilucent clouds, are tenuous . .

. [+] cloud-like phenomena that are the ‘ragged-edge’ of a much brighter and pervasive polar cloud layer called polar mesospheric clouds in the upper atmosphere, visible in a deep twilight. They are made of crystals of water ice.

The name means roughly night shining in Latin. They are most commonly observed in the summer months at latitudes between 50° and 70° north and south of the equator. (Photo by Jamie Cooper/SSPL/Getty Images) SSPL via Getty Images 8.

Night-shining clouds When: twilight during June and July Where: northern sky At their best in northern twilight skies during June and July (at latitudes between 50° and 70° north and south of the equator), noctilucent or “night shining” clouds are very delicate high altitude clouds of icy dust that form about 50 miles/80 kilometres up. Because the Sun is never too far below the horizon at these latitudes they get subtly lit up for a short time. They’re best seen with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars.

9. A crescent Moon and the planets When: July 24, 2022 Where: eastern night sky A 16%-lit waning crescent Moon will this morning, before sunrise, be visible between BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 16: The full moon rises in the sky on May 16, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by .

. . [+] VCG/VCG via Getty Images) VCG via Getty Images 10.

‘Super Buck Moon,’ ‘Sturgeon Moon’ and ‘Harvest Moon’ When: July 13, August 12 and September 10 , 2022 Where: rising in the east at dusk Check the exact times of moonrise and moonset for your location and get somewhere high-up with a good, clear view of the eastern horizon. You reward—just after sunset—on July 13 will be the rise of one of the biggest-looking full Moons of the year, though August’s “Sturgeon Moon” and September’s famous “Harvest Moon” will look just as orangey-awesome during their moonrise moment. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website or some of my other work here . Jamie Carter Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.