Mars and Jupiter offer an extraordinary spectacle in the July sky, fascinating astronomy enthusiasts and the curious. If you look up at the sky on clear nights this month, you might notice something special: Mars and Jupiter shining brightlycreating a breathtaking celestial spectacle.
In the second half of the night between the July 18th and 19thwe will be able to observe a suggestive triangle formed by the two planets and by Aldebaranthe brightest star in the constellation Taurus. This spectacle will be further illuminated by thePleiades clusterwhich includes several stars visible to the naked eye.
But, as theItalian Amateur Astronomers Union (UAI)there is also another triangle that is the protagonist of the summer skies: the so-called Summer Triangleformed by the three super-bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb, belonging to three different constellations. Vegain particular, is the brightest star in this period together with Arcturus Bootes and throughout the season this unmistakable group of stars will be high above our heads.
Not Just Mars and Jupiter: Other Planets Visible in the July Sky
The planet visible longer is also confirmed for this month Saturnthe first to rise among those visible to the naked eye in the hours preceding dawn. The procession then continues with Neptune, Mars, Uranus and Jupiter.
The month will be relatively favorable for observing the elusive Mercury in the evening hours, while the same cannot be said for Venuswhich remains extremely low on the horizon. Plutoinstead, in this period it will reach the minimum distance from the Earthjust over 5 billion kilometers across, and will therefore be visible with the aid of a telescope all night long.
Astronomical curiosities of July
On July 6th, at 9:00 p.m. Italian time, the Earth will reach theaphelionthe point of maximum distance from the Sun, with a distance of almost 153 million kilometers. The date in which our planet is in this position is very variable and this is mainly due to the presence of the Moon. In fact, it is not the Earth alone that orbits around the Sun but the system Earth-Moon: the latter, depending on its position, influences the distance between our planet and our star by a few thousand kilometres, causing aphelia and perihelia (the points of minimum distance) to be delayed or brought forward.
Have you ever wondered what other celestial spectacles the future holds?
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