1 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,620 Your guide to constellations, 2 00:00:09,620 --> 00:00:14,640 deep-sky objects, planets, and events: 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:22,160 Tonight’s Sky. Highlights of the July sky: 4 00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:41,240 Venus hangs in the west at dusk 5 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,000 with eye-catching brilliance. 6 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:46,900 On the 15th, it lies 7 00:00:46,940 --> 00:00:52,460 right above the slender crescent moon. 8 00:00:53,860 --> 00:00:56,500 Venus’s own moon-like phase is visible 9 00:00:56,500 --> 00:01:02,120 through a backyard telescope. 10 00:01:13,620 --> 00:01:15,260 Saturn and Jupiter 11 00:01:15,260 --> 00:01:22,540 dominate the southern sky at sunset. 12 00:01:25,940 --> 00:01:29,560 A modest telescope reveals the rings of Saturn 13 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,560 and the prominent cloud bands of Jupiter. 14 00:01:45,500 --> 00:01:51,920 On July 27, Mars reaches its long-awaited opposition. 15 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:56,360 During opposition, which occurs about every two years, 16 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:59,420 Mars lies opposite the Sun in our sky, 17 00:01:59,420 --> 00:02:06,070 rises at sunset, and is visible all night. 18 00:02:06,070 --> 00:02:07,640 During opposition, 19 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:12,300 the disk of Mars appears larger than usual in telescopes, 20 00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:15,280 and offers the best view of its features: 21 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:17,640 the south polar cap this year 22 00:02:17,640 --> 00:02:22,260 and dark features that shift as the planet rotates. 23 00:02:22,260 --> 00:02:26,000 With Mars nearing its closest approach to the Sun, 24 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,060 this year’s opposition will be the most 25 00:02:29,060 --> 00:02:35,240 favorable since 2003. 26 00:02:50,820 --> 00:02:52,680 The summer night sky is 27 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:58,940 filled with a treasure chest of bright jewels. 28 00:02:59,700 --> 00:03:02,660 Scorpius is a striking constellation, 29 00:03:02,660 --> 00:03:06,000 one of the few that distinctly resembles the object 30 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,340 after which it was named. 31 00:03:08,340 --> 00:03:11,640 The Scorpion is easy to trace in the sky. 32 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:13,840 Its head, curved tail, 33 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,440 and venomous stinger are prominent. 34 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,939 At the Scorpion’s heart lies a reddish star. 35 00:03:21,940 --> 00:03:24,660 Its color closely resembles that of Mars, 36 00:03:24,660 --> 00:03:27,960 known to the Greeks as Ares. 37 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,180 Ancient Greek stargazers, contemplating these 38 00:03:31,180 --> 00:03:35,480 two crimson objects, named the star Antares, 39 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:40,160 which means “rival of Ares.” 40 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,260 A prominent and lovely globular cluster 41 00:03:43,260 --> 00:03:48,820 in small telescopes, M4 lies just to the right of Antares 42 00:03:48,820 --> 00:03:51,140 in Scorpius. 43 00:03:51,140 --> 00:03:54,700 Globular clusters are collections of hundreds of 44 00:03:54,700 --> 00:03:56,680 thousands of closely packed 45 00:03:56,680 --> 00:04:04,080 and gravitationally bound stars. 46 00:04:22,780 --> 00:04:26,360 The center of our galaxy lies in the direction of the 47 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,900 great constellation Sagittarius, the Archer. 48 00:04:31,900 --> 00:04:35,600 This area of the sky overflows with stars, 49 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:41,660 globular star clusters, and bright and dark nebulae. 50 00:04:41,660 --> 00:04:45,000 Look for Sagittarius by finding the group of stars 51 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,520 commonly known as the Teapot. 52 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:53,300 The handle, top, and spout are easy to find. 53 00:04:53,300 --> 00:04:56,520 Under dark skies, the Milky Way seems to 54 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,720 rise out of the Teapot’s spout. 55 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,160 Many deep-sky targets reside in this area 56 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:05,540 of the summer night sky. 57 00:05:05,540 --> 00:05:08,200 A quick glance with binoculars reveals 58 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,460 some spectacular objects. 59 00:05:11,460 --> 00:05:14,500 The Lagoon Nebula’s gas and dust is 60 00:05:14,500 --> 00:05:17,920 brilliantly illuminated by the energy of the hot, 61 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:24,300 young stars inside it. 62 00:05:29,140 --> 00:05:32,080 In the three-lobed Trifid Nebula, 63 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:36,060 dark dustlanes appear etched against the radiance of 64 00:05:36,060 --> 00:05:38,060 glowing gas. 65 00:05:47,100 --> 00:05:51,220 The Omega Nebula glows brightly but we cannot see 66 00:05:51,220 --> 00:05:55,620 its hottest stars, embedded deep inside. 67 00:05:55,620 --> 00:05:59,380 Infrared telescopes, peering through the gas and dust, 68 00:05:59,380 --> 00:06:03,700 can detect them. 69 00:06:05,620 --> 00:06:10,080 M22, one of the brightest globular clusters in the sky, 70 00:06:10,080 --> 00:06:12,440 is visible to the naked eye. 71 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,860 It is a relatively nearby globular cluster, 72 00:06:15,860 --> 00:06:23,260 only about 10,000 light-years distant. 73 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:37,260 On July 13, portions of Australia and Antarctica 74 00:06:37,260 --> 00:06:40,380 will be treated to a partial solar eclipse 75 00:06:40,380 --> 00:06:46,920 as the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. 76 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,740 Two weeks later, on the 27th, Europe, Asia, and Africa 77 00:06:52,740 --> 00:06:55,300 will witness a total lunar eclipse 78 00:06:55,300 --> 00:07:01,300 when the Moon slips into Earth’s shadow. 79 00:07:05,780 --> 00:07:09,480 If you are in the U.S., you will be able to view the annual 80 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:11,780 Delta Aquarid meteor shower, 81 00:07:11,780 --> 00:07:16,920 which peaks on the night of July 27 to 28. 82 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,880 Up to about 20 meteors per hour 83 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,580 streak from the constellation of Aquarius. 84 00:07:23,580 --> 00:07:26,980 This year, the full moon sitting close by 85 00:07:26,980 --> 00:07:29,520 will wash out the fainter meteors, 86 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,840 but the brightest should still be visible.