Night Sky Highlights for July-September 2023
By Jim Mazur
Solar System
Perseid Meteors
Peaking on the nights of August 11-12 and 12-13
This should be a good year for observing the Perseids if the weather cooperates because the Moon will be a thin waning crescent during the peak nights. Under clear dark skies, more than 60 meteors per hour can sometimes be seen in the hours after midnight. Remember that many meteors can be seen for a few days both before and after the peak nights.
Mercury
Mercury will be low in the west after sunset from about mid-July to early August. It will have some interesting conjunctions with Venus and Mars during July, with the pattern of the three planets changing night by night.
Venus
Venus will be slowly sinking in the west after sunset during July. It will have a crescent shape, large enough to be visible through telescopes of any size and even with binoculars. After passing near the Sun, Venus reappears in the east in the early morning sky in August.
Mars
The red planet will be visible in the west near Venus and Mercury during July. It will be very far from Earth, so typical telescopes will show just a tiny reddish disk, probably too tiny to spot any surface features. It will still be in the western sky after sunset in August and early September, but it will be harder to see in the evening twilight.
Jupiter
The giant planet rises around midnight in July and in the mid-evening by September. Its four brightest moons can be spotted with ordinary binoculars if you can hold them steady enough or put them on a tripod.
Saturn
Located in Aquarius, Saturn rises late in the evening during July and reaches opposition (rising as the Sun sets) on August 27. By mid-September it will be visible in the eastern sky as soon as darkness falls.
Uranus
Uranus is in Aries, rising around midnight in August. At about magnitude 6, it can be seen in binoculars if you know where to look. A finder chart can be found at:
https://theskylive.com/uranus-info
Neptune
This distant gas giant is in Pisces, rising in the late evening in July and reaching opposition on September 19. Here is a finder chart for Neptune:
https://theskylive.com/planetarium?obj=neptune
Deep Sky Objects
The summer sky is full of objects to observe, no matter what equipment you have. All the targets listed here can be seen at least dimly with the naked eye from a dark location. (I have seen them all without optical aid from here in CT.) The views of the various star clouds in the Milky Way are wonderful through binoculars or a rich-field telescope. The double stars appear as a single star to the naked eye, but reveal two close companions through a telescope.
Messier 6, Butterfly Cluster
Open cluster in Scorpius
M6 does resemble a butterfly when viewed through a telescope at low power or through binoculars. At magnitude 4.2, it is not difficult to see with the naked eye on a dark night, just a few degrees to the upper right of M7. The cluster is about 1600 light years away. Star-hop chart
Messier 7, Ptolemy‘s Cluster
Open cluster in Scorpius
This cluster is larger and brighter than M6 (magnitude 3.3), and appears as a faint circular glow with the naked eye. Through binoculars or a telescope it is an impressive sight. Its distance is about 980 light years. Star-hop chart
Messier 8, Lagoon Nebula
Diffuse nebula in Sagittarius
The famous Lagoon Nebula is one of the brightest nebulas in the sky, and easy to spot as a small elongated patch above the spout of the Sagittarius teapot. Through a telescope, what can be seen is a complex nebula with a bright center, and to its east a nice open cluster, NGC 6530. Star-hop chart
Messier 24, Small Sagittarius Star Cloud
Section of the Milky Way
Look about 7 degrees above the top of the teapot shape of Sagittarius and you will see a bright oval patch about three times the width of the Moon. This is an unusually rich section of the Milky Way, well worth examining with a telescope and a wide-field eyepiece. Star-hop chart
Large Sagittarius Star Cloud
Section of the Milky Way
This is the brightest part and center of our Milky Way galaxy, located just above the spout of the Sagittarius teapot, as if steam were billowing out of the spout.
Scutum Star Cloud
Section of Milky Way
Another large and bright patch of the Milky Way can be found in the small and dim constellation Scutum, which is just below the tail section of Aquila, the Eagle.
Cygnus Star Cloud
Section of Milky Way
This long and bright oval section of the Milky Way stretches for at least 15 degrees down the backbone of Cygnus, the Swan, from Albireo at the head of the swan to Sadr in the center of the swan’s body. It is a great region to slowly pan with binoculars or a rich-field telescope.
NGC 7000 (Caldwell 20), North America Nebula
Diffuse Nebula in Cygnus
Color photos show a red nebula with a clear resemblance to the shape of North America. Through a telescope, the nebula is faint (and a nebula filter will help) and the background is dense in stars. There is also a small, rich open cluster in the middle, NGC 6996. With the naked eye, look 3 degrees northwest of Deneb for a bright patch in the Milky Way about 2 degrees in diameter. Star-hop chart
Albireo (Beta Cygni)
Double Star in Cygnus
This is a favorite target of many amateur astronomers, consisting of a bright yellow/orange star of magnitude 3.2 and a bluish secondary of magnitude 5.1. Through a telescope they are dazzling in their brightness and contrasting colors. The two components are 34″ apart, and easy to separate with telescopes of any size. Star-hop chart
Gamma2 Delphini
Double Star in Delphinus
The 4th magnitude star that marks the nose of Delphinus, the Dolphin, can be seen through telescopes as a nice double star. The brighter component is an orange subgiant and the dimmer star is yellow. They are separated by 9″ and are about 100 light years from Earth.