The Trails subcommunity blog
Posted by:
SC Trails on
July 10, 2009 at
5:38PM PST
Love the night sky? Then you'll love our new weekly astronomy post by Trails community member Kelly Kizer Whitt. Check out her first post and bio below, then welcome her with a comment! -- Tioga Jenny
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 One of the best ways to become familiar with the night sky is to learn a few constellations connected to the brightest stars. In July, the Summer Triangle is an easy place to start. Follow the link to learn three of the brightest stars appearing as the sky darkens along with their constellations.
On most nights, one or two of the brightest stars you see in the sky are not stars at all, but planets. On July 10, Jupiter appears by an 87%-lit moon. A steadily-held pair of binoculars will show Jupiter's four brightest moons circling the planet. Sometimes not all can be seen because they are passing in front of or behind Jupiter, as Io does in the late evening on July 10 when it occults Jupiter. Saturn can be found after sunset this weekend, setting about two hours behind the sun.
Saturn is currently in the constellation Leo the Lion, which looks a bit like a backward question mark. This year Saturn is dimmer than usual because it is tilting so that the rings are almost edge-on as seen from Earth. This angle means that the planet has less surface area visible to reflect sunlight toward us.
"Summer Sky" image: NASA/JPL
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Kelly Kizer Whitt loves clean, clear, and dark skies. Kelly studied English and Astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked for Astronomy magazine. She is currently the Feature Writer for Astronomy and Space at Suite101.com.
(11) Comments
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Hi Kelly...
Thanks for a great addition to our online community.
I look forward to your heads up on upcoming astronomical attractions here on SC Trails. I plan back country outings during new moons just to take advantage of extra dark skies to commune with the stars!
...don
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Thank you. I love sleeping in hammocks in the summer and watching the moon and stars go by. How can I tell time by the moon? How many degrees of arc make an hour?
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This is great, Kelly. I hope July 10 wasn't the only time to see Jupiter's moons. I'm going to look for them with my binoculars tonight! Can't wait for next week's post! Thanks!
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Posted by: drain on July 13, 2009 10:05AM PST
Looking forward to more posts Kelly. I saw some great stars in the Sierra's recently... enough to make one not want to sleep. Left my glasses on when I did decide I had to close my eyes :-)
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Posted by: rexieran on July 13, 2009 10:42AM PST
Awesome post... I know very little about the stars and planets. I look forward to learning more here each week!
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Fascinating stuff. I just got some new binoculars, so I think I need to go look for Jupiter's moons. I last saw them more than 30 years ago, but I doubt they've changed much. It's great to see scientists and naturalists sharing their expertise here. Maybe a geologist will be next to step up....?
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Posted by: Alex M on July 13, 2009 12:25PM PST
Great post! Looking forward to seeing more in the future!
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Posted by: Food Dude on July 13, 2009 1:10PM PST
Way cool! I've been backpacking for decades, and I'm often sheepish that I know so relatively little about the constellations when my companions ask what we're looking at. Tonight I'm going to take my 10-year-old son outside to show him what's in the heavens above.
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Thanks Kelly - very cool stuff. Like a lot of us, I'm also pretty clueless about the night sky, but still fascinated by it. Looking forward to learning more!
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This is so great. You've given me the incentive I need to dust off my 127mm telescope sitting in the closet. I have typically gone to www.heavensabove.com to determine if the night skys here in central Michigan offer some great views. Thanks Kelly!
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Posted by: Kelly Rae on July 15, 2009 6:53AM PST
Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking forward to writing more blogs and it's great to hear from some of the people who will be reading them!
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