TODAY
The moon will pass .3 degrees north of Mars at 1 a.m. If you can view Mars in a telescope as small as three inches, you should be able to see the southern polar ice cap. The international space station can be viewed at 2:42 a.m. 10 degrees above the northwest and disappears at 2:48 a.
m. 26 degrees above the northeast. The space station can be seen again at 4:18 a.m. 10 degrees above the west-northwest and disappears at 4:24 a.m. 10 degrees above the east-southeast.
FRIDAY
Low in the south-southwest as darkness falls, you should see the constellation Lupus, which represents a wolf. Lupus is located just below the constellation Scorpius the scorpion. The international space station can be viewed at 3:20 a.m. 10 degrees above the northwest and disappears at 3:23 a.m. 38 degrees above the north. The space station can be seen again at 11:13 p.m. 31 degrees above the east-northeast and disappears at 11:15 p.m. 11 degrees above the east-northeast.
SATURDAY
The planet Jupiter is not long for the evening sky. It sets in the west-northwest a little more than an hour after sunset. About 40 minutes after sunset, Jupiter will be at magnitude -1.7 and the planet Mercury will be at 0.7 magnitude and will be just 9 degrees to Jupiter's lower right. Nine degrees is about the width of your fist held at arm's length. The international space station can be viewed at 10:11 p.m. 10 degrees above the south-southwest and disappears at 10:17 p.m. 10 degrees above the east-northeast. The space station can be seen again at 11:47 p.m. 10 degrees above the west and disappears at 11:53 p.m. 10 degrees above the northeast.
SUNDAY
The constellation Sagittarius is in the southern skies during summer evenings. Sagittarius looks like a teapot. Under dark skies, you can see what appears to be steam coming from the spout of the teapot. That steam is actually what we can see of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Use binoculars to view the steam, and you will soon realize that all that steam is actually very faint stars. The international space station can be viewed at 9:13 p.m. 11 degrees above the south and disappears at 9:17 p.m. 10 degrees above the east. The space station can be seen again at 10:48 p.m. 10 degrees above the west-southwest and disappears at 10:55 p.m. 11 degrees above the east-northeast.
MONDAY
The moon reaches last quarter at 12:01 a.m. The last quarter moon leads the sun across the sky by one-quarter day. The international space station can be viewed at 9:50 p.m. 10 degrees above the southwest and disappears at 9:56 p.m. 10 degrees above the east-northeast. The space station can be seen again at 11:27 p.m. 12 degrees above the west-northwest and disappears at 11:33 p.m. 10 degrees above the northeast.
TUESDAY
The moon is at apogee (251,238 miles from earth) at 12:37 p.m. Find the constellation Delphinus, the dolphin. It is located due east as darkness falls on summer evenings. The stars of Delphinus actually form the shape of a dolphin leaping from the sea. The international space station can be viewed at 4:17 a.m. 11 degrees above the west-southwest and disappears at 4:19 a.m. 10 degrees above the south. The space station can be seen again at 10:28 p.m. 10 degrees above the west and disappears at 10:34 p.m. 10 degrees above the east-northeast.
WEDNESDAY
The distance between Mars and Earth continues to shrink. The red planet has closed to within 42 million miles in the direction of the constellation Aquarius. The last time Mars was this close was in 1988. Mars apparent diameter is 20.7 arc seconds, and by August 27, Mars will become 25.1 arc seconds wide. The international space station can be viewed at 9:30 p.m. 10 degrees above the west-southwest and disappears at 9:36 p.m. 10 degrees above the east-northeast. The space station can be seen again at 11:06 p.m. 10 degrees above west-northwest and disappears at 11:12 p.m. 10 degrees above the east-northeast.