Did you have extreme FOMO when certain parts of the world, not just Iceland, witnessed the glorious aurora borealis in May? This time, we won’t let miss out on some of the best upcoming celestial events happening in July. Astrophiles and others, it is time to dust your telescopes and other necessary astronomical instruments to stargaze and be enthralled by the magical universe, sky stars and its phenomena.
Look Up In The Sky For 5 Upcoming Celestial Events In July
1. Conjunction Of The Moon And Mars
اقتران #القمر و #المريخ و #زحل صباح اليوم 27/9/1445 سماء المدينة المنورة 🌙🔭🌙🔭🌙
Conjunction of the #Moon, #Mars, and #Saturn this morning, 6/4/2024 the sky of Medina 🌙🔭🌙🔭🌙 pic.twitter.com/TnE9fAtlxU
— Abdul Rashid Murad 🇸🇦🔭 (@ARashid_murad) April 6, 2024
Delhiites, you are in luck as you will witness not one but two celestial bodies in the sky on the first of July! The best part is, you don’t even need to have a professional telescope as this conjunction is visible to the naked eye. If you want precision, go for handy binoculars. This will happen because both the Moon and Mars will have the same ascension as the 25-day-old Moon approaches Mars closely and passes its north. To witness this, you have to pull an all-nighter as they will rise at 02:00 IST at an altitude of 35° above the eastern horizon. They are visible till dawn breaks at around 04:46 IST.
Date: July 1
2. Conjunction Of The Moon And Jupiter
Incredible conjunction of the moon and Jupiter pic.twitter.com/jyKMicjgCI
— Science Arena (@ScienceA786) November 20, 2023
After the moon’s conjunction with Mars, it’s time for Jupiter. Delhi folks will again enjoy two sparkling celestial bodies in the sky with naked eyes. Now, it will be the 27-day-old Moon approaching Jupiter closely and passing its north as both are in the same celestial longitude. This celestial event in July will be visible at 03:10 IST till dawn breaks at 05:08 IST. They will rise at the denoted time at an altitude of 23°above the eastern horizon. One of the most interesting parts about this upcoming event is that it will be happening in the constellation Taurus!
Date: July 3
3. Conjunction Of Mars And Uranus
Marathon shots of 6 planets and pluto completed in single night. Earth and Uranus pending😆. Pic contains Mars, Saturn and Jupiter(L to R). Neptune and Pluto are also in frame but not visible in the wide angle lens. Venus and mercury shot during conjunction in earlier post pic.twitter.com/ZgrGxjAPfq
— Dorje Angchuk (@dorje1974) May 22, 2020
Another celestial event in July which is located in the constellation Taurus is the conjunction of Mars and Uranus. India, especially New Delhi, will witness Mars at a magnitude of 0.9 while Uranus will be at a magnitude of 5.8. This event will begin at 01:36 IST and end at 04:26 IST as both planets will come in the same ascension with Mars passing the south of Uranus. They will rise to an altitude of 35° above the eastern horizon. They will be far apart from each other so grab your binoculars and gaze at the beauty in the sky!
Date: July 15
Also Read: From Flower Moon To Meteor Showers, This May Is Filled With Unmissable 4 Celestial Events!
4. Messier 55
About 100 light-years across Messier 55, A Sparkling Cosmic Beauty Captured by Hubble pic.twitter.com/qwr8cCseMA
— Spaceguy²⁴ (@spaceguy_24) March 18, 2023
This celestial event in July can be located in the constellation Sagittarius. Southern hemisphere folks, be ready to witness Messier 55 or globular cluster M55 because its declination is 30°57’S. July 17 is the date when M55 will be at its highest point around midnight local time. The next couple of days, witness this with a gap of four minutes earlier each day. In New Delhi, it begins at 21° above the south-eastern horizon and the timings are 22:03 IST and at 02:38 IST descends below 21° above the south-western horizon.
Date: July 17
5. Conjunction Of The Moon And Saturn
The conjunction of Saturn, Venus and the moon with a faint star in a straight line with the planets, from the UK. Tonight’s new moon is the closest for one thousand years. The next time the new moon will be this close will be on Jan. 20, 2368. #Astrophotography #nightsky pic.twitter.com/I6PzCLYQwN
— Linda Holtby (@holtby_linda) January 23, 2023
The last magical event in the sky for July is another conjunction of the moon and Saturn. After the new moon, the Moon and Saturn will have the same ascension located in the constellation Aquarius. If you are in Delhi, witness the shiny celestial bodies in the sky from 22:36 IST till 03:29 IST, right before dawn breaks. At the latter time, the moon and Saturn are at the highest altitude, 54° above the southern horizon. It is to be noted that they began to rise from 11° above the eastern horizon. At 05:02 IST, the conjunction is complete and it is a fresh start to your extremely early morning.
Date: July 25
We suggest that you put reminders for the above exciting events so that you don’t miss them. Share this with your friends who love to gaze at the skies.
Cover Image Courtesy:Flickr/Jeff Sullivan
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