What is the best time to watch a meteor?

Summer is the time for stargazing – as long as the nights are warm, you should take a look, it's worth it. Because now you can see some planets and shooting stars. Our astronomy expert Markus Dorfberger knows when.

This year, the Earth will be at its apogee, or farthest point from the sun, on July 5. However, it did happen. No effect on seasonsThis is because the Earth's orbit hardly deviates from the circular path and therefore the effects are very small.

At the beginning of the month, the sun rises at 5:13 a.m. and sets at 9:10 p.m. At the end of the month, its sunrise and sunset times change to 05:42 and 20:44. The days are already getting shorter and the nights are getting longer.

This is what the July night sky has to offer.

July is the best month to see the southern constellations. the scorpion Beside Protect To observe. From Germany it can be found near the horizon. However, if you are vacationing in the Mediterranean area, you can see it much higher in the sky. The inconspicuous constellations are hidden above Scorpio and Sagittarius Eve, snake And above that HerculesParticularly bright stars in the sky are Arcturus. boatVega in guitarDeneb in the swan and Atyr in eagle.

The band from milky way It stretches across the sky. Since night falls for a very short time in July, it is best not to look at the Milky Way until August. Big Bear It can only be seen partially on the star chart. It is increasingly sinking towards the horizon and can now be found in the northwest direction.

Shooting stars:

As for the meteors this month, around July 30 we can see the maximum of what is called Fish tanks for July Calculate. At about 40 km/s, these objects are very fast and their vanishing point (radians) is near the star Delta Aquarius in the constellation Aquarius. The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate) is 25, but this stream of meteors is best enjoyed the further south you are, where the radiant is higher. The short comet 96P/Machholz 1 is considered the original comet.

Solar activity:

The sun is still relatively active at the moment. We are fortunate that we are not in the path of solar flares at the moment. However, that could change at any time. So don’t write off the possibility of northern lights.

Planets in July 2024

• Mars It becomes an object in the morning sky above the northeastern horizon. On July 15 it passes close to Uranus. At the end of the month, Mars is increasingly moving towards Jupiter, on July 31. Together with the narrow crescent and Aldebaran in Taurus, it creates a beautiful view of the sky.
• Jupiter Mars follows in the morning sky, but does not rise until later.
• Saturn The observation period for this year begins now, and peaks in the morning hours. On the night of July 24 to 25. The Moon accompanies it.
• Uranus In Taurus it becomes a morning observation target after mid-July. On July 15 it will pass just 0.5 degrees from Mars.

Moon, sunrise and sunset times:

• moon:
  July 1: Ascension zone brightened at 1:36 AM, waned 24.3%, moonset at 4:49 PM.
  July 15: Set at 12:33 AM, 67.3% illuminated, moonrise at 3:32 PM.
  July 31: Ascension at 1:08 AM, 17.6% illuminated, Moonset at 6:29 PM
  (July 6 New Moon / July 14 Waning Crescent / July 21 Full Moon / July 28 Waning Crescent)
• sun
  July 1: Sunrise 5:16 AM, Sunset 9:13 PM
  July 15: Sunrise 5:28 AM, Sunset 9:05 PM
  July 31: Sunrise 5:47 AM, Sunset 8:47 PM

Markus Dorfberger