@narnian78, I agree that small telescopes can be really handy for observing objects like the Moon and planets. I'd also recommend binoculars as they have the advantage of portability.

Things have been rather quiet in the skies of late, though auroras were reported as far south as New Mexico (latitude 36.6N) last night. None were seen here, due at least in part to incredibly hazy skies from huge wildfires in Manitoba.

The sky is a milky gray by day and even by night. The past few nights I've only been able to see the Moon, and it was greatly dimmed and a deep orange or red color. Quite pretty and a bit eerie. Last week I was able to see the Chinese Tiangong space station a few times, but even it couldn't compete with the haze last night (it is smaller and fainter than the ISS, and lower in the sky from my latitude, all factors in making it harder to see in this haze).

The sunsets have been spectacular, and the haze has held down our temperatures a little (though 90F/32C is expected today; it was estimated it would be up to 5F warmer without the haze)

It is wonderful looking at the night sky through a telescope! Our youngest son, still very interested in astronomy, began his enjoyment of the night sky at a fairly young age. He then saved up money he earned for a fairly simple, but effective, telescope—a refractor—which he still has to this day. For his birthday, we supplemented the difference, and I took him to purchase it after a fair bit of research on his part.

We have had many nights over the years of excellent viewing. Saturn and its rings, in particular, stands out; as does the main four moons of Jupiter; seeing a comet magnified; the Orion Nebula; the Moon, at any stage, but in particular full. There hardly are words for the thrill of these sights. I hasten to add, however, that having effused on sighting astronomical wonders through a telescope, for me the greatest of treats is to look up at the vast night sky with the naked eye.

And I, too, recommend a good pair of binoculars, as one can easily carry them along, and they do 'the job' of very suitable magnification.

This time of year, when I head out for my walks around 5:30 am local time, the only viewable sky object is Venus, and even it is quickly fading with the sun rising around 5:45 these days. (The longest day is soon coming the end of next week!) But if the sky is clear, I can spot Venus up to a half hour after the sun has risen, although towards the end of that time this can become a bit tricky.  But always rewarding.  

@jo, your post makes me want to observe! Alas, opportunities this month have been limited either due to clouds and rain, or wildfire smoke.

Mars, at magnitude 1.4 a mere shadow of its brighter self just a few months ago, is passing near the similarly bright star Regulus in Leo the Lion. They are within 2 degrees of each other from June 13 to 20, with Mars passing less than a degree north (above, or upper right, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere) of the star on June 16-17.

I don’t know if anyone else here subscribes to Star Date magazine.  It is quite a nice magazine to find out what is happening in the night sky. The magazine is bimonthly and is published by the McDonald Observatory.  I have been getting it for a couple of years now, and I think it is about as enjoyable as Astronomy. I recommend it highly if you are a night sky watcher. 🙂

I'm not much of a star watcher, but as today marks the Maori New Year, I'll put my head into this observatory! New Zealand has had a public holiday on this day for the last few years. 

The Pleiades appear on the Southern sky at this time of the year. Maori tradition has names and attributes for them. Pacific people used the stars for navigation as well as times of year. 

I'm not Maori, and I don't follow their traditional spirituality. But I'm re-reading The Game, a creative story by Diana Wynne Jones, where all the characters are linked to classical stars/gods.

I wonder if anyone else here met John Dobson when he was giving his astronomy talks. I met him in person at an astronomy club meeting about thirty years ago, and he autographed a star chart for me. Dobson was known as the “sidewalk astronomer” by showing people objects through his telescopes. He had his own design for them and taught classes for building them.  He also appeared on the first episode of the PBS series The Astronomers. He made astronomy very accessible to ordinary people. 

https://youtu.be/mau5TAhx29Y?si=o4Z0PasX3nUMJQ8d

That is very cool, @narnian78! It would be awesome to meet an "astronomical celebrity" like him. His telescope design, commonly called the "Dob," made large-scale scopes (by amateur standards) much more affordable and accessible to many people.

Thanks for stopping by, Auntie! I've enjoyed reading about star myths and legends from groups other than the familiar Greek and Roman myths, and I've noticed the Pleiades were also notable in a number of Native American star myths.

That cluster is also rising into prominence in mid-northern latitudes.  Once the sky gets a little darker as the cluster rises earlier each day, those with binoculars or nice dark sky will find it has a rare visitor this year: the planet Uranus is about 4 degrees south of the cluster (with bright Venus nearby in early July). A good star chart or online article (likely once the pair rises into better visibility) will be needed to confirm you're seeing the planet.

Binoculars will likely be needed in light-polluted areas like mine, but even here I was able to easily pick out Uranus when it was near Mars in July 2024, and a number of years ago when it was near the totally-eclipsed Moon.  Happy hunting!

@stargazer 

And considering that the astronomy club had only about fifteen or twenty members, I think it was very nice of Mr. Dobson to visit it.  He was also willing to give astronomy talks to people on the sidewalk, which shows how humble he was.  He probably taught more people about astronomy than some scientists. I was very impressed with his visit remembering it even thirty years later. 🙂

The earth is at aphelion (farthest from the sun) July 3 at 19:54 UTC.

We're just past the latest sunset of the year, so it still gets dark quite late (astronomical twilight still lasts almost until midnight daylight time). But summer evenings can still be a pleasant time to sit outside and watch the stars come out, except that the mosquitoes have arrived with a vengeance; after a few years of light population counts due to drought, I was worried about needing a blood transfusion after spending some time outdoors last evening.

But earlier this week I did see something quite unusual for where I live: several fireflies. I saw them a lot growing up in rural southern Minnesota, but here in the city they are a rare thing indeed.

I haven't yet spotted the Pleiades near Venus in the morning sky; twilight is still too strong. But soon it should rise early enough to be seen in the dawn.

Do the people here read Astronomy magazine or Sky and Telescope? I prefer Astronomy simply because it costs about ten dollars less through a magazine agent,  but I think either is a good choice.  I think both of the magazines are available in electronic or paper form although I prefer print for magazines, but of course that is a matter of taste. I tend to be old fashioned that way in liking the real physical edition.  The magazines have been made more colorful and attractive in the past few years to attract more interest in them.  And they have probably gained more readers. 

S&T tends to be my go-to choice, though I have also read Astronomy. This isn't a reflection on the quality of the latter magazine, but mostly a matter of habit. I found S&T years before I found Astronomy.

I currently have a digital-only subscription to S&T and visit its website regularly. While I also like the tactile sensation of an actual physical magazine (or book), I'm getting to that age when I think about decluttering. 😉

From July 6 to July 11, the ISS is in continual daylight. This lack of night complicates cooling the station and (probably) sleep for its occupants, though this is an annual thing, so I suspect they have found ways to deal with it.

But it means, for those of us in mid-northern latitudes, that we can see the station when it passes all night, as opposed to the more-limited options at other times. This past Sunday night (into Monday morning), I was able to see the ISS on 5 consecutive passes. But it also meant staying up all night (or at least until 5 am) and that has messed up my sleep schedule just a bit. Totally worth it, however. 

Posted by: @stargazer

This past Sunday night (into Monday morning), I was able to see the ISS on 5 consecutive passes. But it also meant staying up all night (or at least until 5 am) and that has messed up my sleep schedule just a bit. Totally worth it, however. 

Wow, that is quite an achievement—both the ISS multiple views and staying up all night to do so.  

Really neat that you were able to meet John Dobson all those years ago, Narnian78!  

The past few nights have been nice and cool (a glimmer of Autumn! ), so I have been able to walk in the early hours of the day, starting just past 5:30 am. One night was even high single digits Celsius; the other two nights have been a tweak above that. Really refreshing! But, still, the only night sky object to be seen, aside from the Moon, is Venus, which shines in the eastern sky. Two mornings ago, Venus was to the lower right of the Moon; yesterday morning it was to the right; this morning 'twas far to the upper right. Again, I always make a point of seeing Venus, even after the sun has arisen. Fun!

The Moon's phase has been waning, so what a treat to have clear mornings to see it diminish to the barest fingernail this morning, hardly visible. In fact, I only spotted it right after I stepped out the door. By the time I was past the trees and houses of our village, it had gone from view. But Venus was still glowing ... if one knows where to look. Beautiful!

I have noticed a small change in the lighting. The past month, I had not been able to arrive back home after my walks until after the sun had been risen for awhile. These mornings, however, the sun is just barely above the horizon when I am nearly home. I so look forward to the longer nights for more beauty of the night sky. I really miss seeing it in all its splendour! In August (soon!) that will noticeably change.  

I enjoyed reading your post, @jo, since recent days here have been cloudy, rainy, or just plain hot, limiting stargazing.

This morning, however, I was having trouble sleeping, so I stepped outside shortly after 5am local daylight time. Twilight was strong and the sky filled with ground fog and haze from wildfire smoke, but I was still able to quickly spot Jupiter about 10 degrees high in the east-northeast. It was the first time I'd seen it since it passed behind the sun a month ago and entered the morning sky.

Venus blazed about 16 degrees to its upper right, but I was unable to spot any other celestial objects. Welcome back Jove! 

Posted by: @stargazer

I was still able to quickly spot Jupiter about 10 degrees high in the east-northeast.

Nice, stargazer! And I saw Jupiter this morning, rising in the eastern sky, as I began my walk around 5:40 am EDT. Brighter Venus was to its upper right, no less than 10° away. But within 15 minutes, Jupiter had dimmed significantly; then five minutes later (6 am), it had vanished, 13 minutes before sunrise. Venus, of course, was still visible, although gradually fading.

I look forward to August 12 morning when these two planets will be in close conjunction. Also, during that night (12-13) will be the wonderful Perseid meteor shower! Although the Moon is 84% full then, which will hamper viewing a bit. 

The only reason I was able to view Venus and Jupiter with such ease this morning is because I was able to walk again (hurrah!). Previous to this, most of July has been way too hot and humid (aside from another cool break about a week ago), but finally we have a few cool nights now (even down to high single digits ), which is beautiful for walking. And I should be able to get out, as well, the next few mornings from 5:30/5:40 - 6:30 or so until the heat ramps up a bit early next week.

EDIT on Sat. morning, 6:50 am EDT: It was a beautifully fresh 8°C / 46.4F this morning at 5:40 when I left on my walk.   Again, Venus and Jupiter was lovely in the eastern sky. I tried to spot Gemini's feet, which are near right now, to no avail. Even the brightest stars at the heads, Pollus and Castor, were not visible anymore with the growing dawn. If I had been 30 minutes earlier, that constellation probably would have been visible.

Also, I noted that, indeed, Venus and Jupiter are gradually drawing closer. Yesterday morning, when I held my fist at arm's length between them, they were just outside my fist; this morning, they were barely inside. Conjunction is coming!  

I guess there won’t be astronomy DVD’s anymore from PBS now that the network is shutting down. I have several of them including a set of Nova episodes with the title Stargazing, which I purchased about fifteen or twenty years ago and The Planets, which aired a few years ago. I also have an older BBC version of that miniseries which was released in 1999. I think probably the BBC will continue to create astronomy and other science programs long after PBS has shut down.  I don’t think it will be the end of educational television, although for the next few years there may not be as many programs about the stars and planets. This is very sad. 🙁