Giant Planets Brighten July

The night skies of this month would exhibit the exquisite elegance of planets and divulge congenial conundrums of our earth, asteroids, and strange stars that outline comely constellations. The elusive fleet-footed speedster planet Mercury would be merrily mingling with the stars that chart the constellations Cancer (crab) and Leo (lion) in the western sky after sundown. It would reach its greatest eastern elongation from the sun on July 22. It would offer the best moment to mark Mercury since it would climb to its highest point above the western horizon. It would be shining during the half-phase alias dichotomy on July 19. Since Mercury could be astounded in twilight, it would be difficult to notice it in its thin crescent face. Mercury's tricky trajectory would carry it with an orbital period of only 88 days close to the Sun. One day on Mercury would last, weirdly, 176 earth days. Thus it would be lost in the Sun's glare mostly. 

Mercury’s condition would vary relative to the earth's position. When this scorching hot during the day and extremely cold planet at night would be slipping between earth and the sun, its side turned towards earth would not be illuminated, like during our new moon. Conversely, when it is opposite the earth and sliding behind the sun, it is fully fulgent, like during a full moon. As it would be far away from the sun, it would demonstrate the dim intermediate-half dichotomy stage. Planet Venus will be out of sight this month. It would be venturing through the constellations Gemini (twins), Cancer, and Leo during the day. 

It would be lying low in the western sky during dusk. The red planet Mars could be marvelled at in the eastern sky before sunrise. It would be marching through the constellations Aries (ram) and Taurus (bull). Mars would be skirting Uranus from the south on July 15. The two planets would rendezvous and hover in the eastern sky before fading away by daytime. 

The gargantuan gaseous planet Jupiter, accompanied by its monumental Jovian moons, could be admired in the eastern sky from the wee hours after midnight until before sunup. It would be evanescent during daybreak. It would be joyfully jesting with the stars of the captivating constellation Taurus. The resplendent red giant star Aldebaran (Rohini), which is assumedly 65 light-years away, would be sparkling below Jupiter. Planet Uranus would be glistening to the west of Jupiter. The ringed planet Saturn could be savoured in the eastern sky late in the night, before midnight. It would be ascending into the southern sky. 

It would be creeping towards the southwestern horizon during the morning. It would be skylarking with stars that sketch the eastern flank of the arcane constellation Aquarius (water bearer). Planet Neptune would be gleaming to the east of Saturn, below the charming circlet asterism of the constellation Pisces (fish). Planet Uranus could be glimpsed after midnight in the eastern sky in the commanding constellation Taurus. 

It would be aloft till morning and be unseen in solar glitter. Far-flung planet Neptune could be discerned in Pisces from late at night in the eastern sky. It would be hugging the southeastern horizon as the day began. 

 The new moon would betide on July 5, while the full moon (Guru Purnima) would be mesmerizingly bedazzled on July 21. Its main popular mystique moniker would be Buck Full Moon, because during this time the male buck deer would begin to grow their unique antlers. 

An average Delta Aquarid meteor shower would be generating up to twenty meteors per hour during its peak in the eastern sky, which would befall this year from the night of July 28 until the morning of July 29. Delta Aquarids have ostensibly but controversially originated from the debris left behind by comets Marsden and Kracht stemming from the 96P/Machholz Complex. The shimmering shower has been running annually from July 12 to August 23. 

The second-quarter moon would bitterly block many of the fainter meteors this year. But patient people could still peer at a few prominent ones from the dark venues after midnight. Meteors would exude enormous energy from their radiant location in the confounding constellation Aquarius near the tenebrous star Skat (Delta Aquarii), which would be fairly 113 light-years away. On July 5, the earth's yearly journey around the sun would push it to its furthest location, nicknamed the aphelion, at 152.096155 million kilometers. The earth's distance from the sun would alter by a paltry 3 percent over the course of the year because its orbit would be slightly oval-shaped, following a peculiar path dubbed an ellipse. 

Technically, it would signify the instance when the sun would allegedly appear punier and when the earth would receive the least radiation from it. 

In practice, however, the sparse three percent differences in the earth's distance from the sun would be barely traceable. Alterations in our weather, for example, between the summer and winter, would be caused entirely by the tilt of the earth's axis of rotation (circa 23.5 degrees) rather than by any correction in its remoteness from the sun. The sun at aphelion would be resting calmly in the constellation Gemini. The 29-day-old waning crescent moon would be zero percent lit.

 An alluring asteroid or dwarf planet, Ceres, would arrive at opposition when it would lie opposite the Sun on July 6. It was the first known asteroid identified on January 1, 1801, by Italian Catholic priest and veteran astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi. Ceres has been named after the mythological Roman goddess of agriculture. It has been the largest object in the asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter and would zip around the sun once in surely 4.61 earth years. This ball of rock and ice would have a diameter of roughly 953 kilometres. Lying in the constellation Sagittarius (archer), it would be visible for much of the night from its elevated sector in the sky during midnight local time. At around the same time, Ceres would make its closest tryst with the earth (termed perigee) and make it obviously the brightest. Ceres would be so far from the earth that it could possibly be distinguished as a gliding, lambent, star-like smudge of light. At opposition, Ceres would be basically 282.74 million kilometres away. 

 The iconic, perplexing dwarf planet Pluto (Yama) would come into opposition on July 23, when it would lie opposite the Sun. It would be relaxing comfortably in the constellation Capricornus (sea goat). It would be accessible comfortably above the south-easterly laxity in the constellation of the pricornus (sea goat). It would then sink towards south-western earth. At opposition, it would . also make its closest approach to earth, making it incandescent. However, it is so far away from Earth that it could be recognised as a scintillating star-like spot of light. 

At opposition, Pluto would be roughly 5.091 billion kilometres from the Sun. Pluto's diameter would express explicitly 2376.6 kilometers. Pluto would need quaintly 248 years to revolve around the sun, and its one twirling time would be equal to 6.387 earth days. At its equator, temperatures would drop to minus 240 Celsius, causing plentiful nitrogen to fiercely freeze. Pluto would boast about its five quirky moons. American astronomer Clyde William Tombaugh ascertained Pluto in 1930.

 Recently, alarmingly appalling asteroids whizzed by the earth harmlessly. It could have triggered dramatic climate changes had it impacted our planet. This potentially hazardous space stone, tagged 2011UL21, with an approximate size of Mount Everest, had dashed by earth within sixty million kilometres in simply 125 years. 

The asteroid has been hurtling around our sun for 1130 days. The asteroid would race safely by Earth again in 2089. Astronomers have been cautiously chasing the asteroid, meticulously monitoring its track to ensure that our plant and its inhabitants would be absolutely safe. 

It has been categorised as a planet killer, which has been defined as an asteroid capable of inflicting damage and destruction on a continental scale and producing enough dusty debris upon a hurtful hit to earth that would instigate disastrous climate modifications. Similarly, freshly witnessed football field-resembling asteroid 2024 MK had also 

darted innocuously by earth without posing any threat to us. 

(Dr. Shah is an academician at NAST and patron of NASO.)