July Stargazing

Good Heavens!!


Stargazing Summary
The Moon stairsteps past an array of bright stars and planets in the middle of the month: Regulus, Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Spica. A fourth planet, Mercury, just pops into view quite low in the west shortly after sunset, but you will need a clear horizon and binoculars to spot it. Two major constellations of summer, Scorpius and Sagittarius, scoot low across the south. Bright orange Antares points the way to hook-shaped Scorpius, while the brightest stars of Sagittarius form a teapot. Star clouds in the Milky Way form the steam above the teapot’s spout.

More stargazing information: http://stardate.org/nightsky/weekly.php


Radio Program Highlights
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July 1-4: Dark skies. The night sky is filled with wonders, from meteor showers to the Milky Way. Yet we're missing out on much of it because of the light we produce on our own. We'll talk about some dark-sky wonders, plus efforts to cleanse the sky of stray light.

July 5-11: "Grabby" galaxy. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, has long fingers -- the invisible fingers of gravity. It uses them to grab and pull in other galaxies, incorporating their stars into its own body.

July 12-18: The weather. The weather is probably the number one topic for idle chit-chat, and we'll join the chat this week, with the weather of planets, stars, and even space itself.

July 19-25: Dark matter. Most of the mass of the universe is invisible. We know it's there only because its gravity pulls on the visible matter around it. Join us for dark matter, from its discovery to the search for an explanation.

July 26-31: A powerful swan. Cygnus, the swan, soars gracefully through the Milky Way on summer evenings. The constellation is home to one of the mightiest stars in the galaxy, plus a giant nursery for new stars.

July Program Schedule: http://stardate.org/radio/calendars

Find an Affiliate: http://stardate.org/radio/affiliates.php


This Month in StarDate Magazine
In the July/August issue of StarDate magazine, we'll update you on NASA's long-anticipated SOFIA airborne astronomy mission. We'll also bring you a feature on the science made possible by solar eclipses.

Subscribe online: http://stardate.org/magazine


Beat the Heat and Enjoy Dark Summer Skies
It's summertime, but cooler climates prevail at McDonald Observatory in West Texas' Davis Mountains. Make your reservations now to visit us in July or August for a chance to view the heavens through a large, research-grade telescope. (We have lots of openings for our Special Viewing Nights on the 36" Telescope and our Lunar Viewing Program.) Secure your passes for an up-coming visit or buy passes for someone else as a gift.

Find out more: http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/visitors/programs/


News From the Observatory
Observatory Launches Dark Skies Initiative
The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory is kicking off a campaign to promote awareness of the causes, effects, and solutions to light pollution - stray light shone into the sky where it's wasted, rather than down on the ground where it's useful. The Observatory will be promoting dark skies awareness through its nationally syndicated StarDate radio program, its Spanish-language radio program Universo, and through online video and summer programs on-site at its home in West Texas.

Find out more: http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/releases/2010/0621.html

Watch McDonald Videos on YouTube
McDonald Observatory has launched a YouTube Channel. The channel currently hosts about 20 videos on topics from overviews of the Observatory, to fighting light pollution, to skywatching event animations. More videos will be coming soon, including many about the Observatory's Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX). Subscribe to our channel, and be notified when new videos are posted!

To watch, visit: http://www.youtube.com/mcdonaldobservatory