With summer now in full swing, July promises to bring astronomy lovers just as many exciting viewing and learning opportunities as usual. From the “peak” of the Delta Aquarids meteor shower to the Earth at its aphelion, here are some of July’s most anticipated astronomical phenomena and rocket launches.
On July 3, the Earth will reach aphelion. At approximately 4:00 PM, we will be at our furthest point in our orbit around the Sun. At its aphelion distance, our planet is over 4.8 million kilometres further from the Sun than it is at its perihelion (or closest point, which occurs in early January), totaling to a total distance of 152.1 million kilometres between the two astronomical bodies.
The full moon of the month, specifically known as the Buck Moon, will become visible at 4:37 PM (Eastern Time) on July 10. Named for the male buck deer that begin to regrow their antlers at this time of year, the Buck Moon is also sometimes referred to as the Feather Moulting Moon, the Halfway Summer Moon (as it is considered the full moon that marks the midpoint of the summer months), and the Raspberry Moon.
The peak of the Delta Aquarids meteor shower is expected to fall over July 28 and July 29. However, unlike most of the other annual showers, the Delta Aquarids tend to maintain a steady rate throughout their duration from mid-July to late August, producing an average of 15 to 20 visible meteors each hour. In their final few weeks, the Aquarids can be seen mixing with meteors from August’s Perseids shower, creating an even more noticeable event in the sky. Since the Delta Aquarids tend to be slightly darker than the Perseid meteors, viewing attempts should always be held in more rural locations free from city lights and other potential visual distractions, especially on moonless nights. The Delta Aquarids are known for occasionally leaving glowing gas trails in their paths that can persist for multiple seconds after the meteor has passed by, which should make it easier to distinguish them from their Perseid counterparts. Though there is still some ambiguity surrounding the creation of the Delta Aquarids meteor shower, recent discoveries point to Comet 96P/Machholz (a comet with a diameter of just over 6 kilometres that completes an orbit around the Sun every 5 years) as being the most likely source.
Finally, SpaceX and NASA are targeting late July for the launch of the Crew-11 mission. This will be the eleventh NASA Commercial Crew program flight, and will transport four crew members to the International Space Station. The crew consists of Commander Zena Cardman, an American geobiologist and astronaut who will be making her first spaceflight on the Crew-11 mission; Pilot Michael Fincke, a NASA astronaut who held the record for most time spent in space as an American up until 2015; Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui, a JAXA astronaut and test pilot with over 140 days in space logged to date; and Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov, a former military pilot and cosmonaut who was originally meant to launch on the Soyuz MS-25 ISS mission before swapping seats with an American astronaut to join the Crew-11 mission instead. While docked to the International Space Station for a planned duration of almost six months, the crew will conduct technological and scientific investigations focusing on how to best prepare humans for future, longer-duration spaceflight missions, while also continuing to benefit those on Earth.
Overall, this month will contain a variety of exciting astronomical events, from a rocket launch to a meteor shower to the Earth reaching the most distant point in its orbit. Whether you choose to learn more about the launch of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission or would rather watch the Buck Moon rise, July is sure to contain plenty of astronomy observation opportunities for anyone interested.