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Author's Note: The "Upstate New York Stargazing" series ran on the newyorkupstate.com and syracuse.com websites (and limited use in-print) from 2016 to 2018. For the full list of articles, see the Upstate New York Stargazing page.

Stargazing in Upstate NY: What to see in the night skies July 28 to Aug. 4

The solar eclipse shadow over southern Turkey, northern Cyprus and the Mediterranean Sea as seen from the ISS on March 29, 2006. Image from NASA.

Updated: Jul. 28, 2017, 4:52 p.m. | Published: Jul. 28, 2017, 3:52 p.m.

Special to nyup.com

By Damian Allis | Contributing writer

This summertime weekly summary for planetary, satellite, constellation, and other observing opportunities covers the last few days of July and first few days of August. Looming high over amateur astronomer plans and social media users alike is the Aug. 21 Solar Eclipse. A number of eclipse articles have already been posted on syracuse.com, including:

* A general eclipse overview of when and where to watch

* Which libraries will be providing free solar-safe glasses in Central New York

* Some general observing information about the eclipse from the May and June UNY Stargazing series

Below is a list of scheduled lecture and observing opportunities around Upstate New York for the eclipse – this list will be reproduced in the following articles and will hopefully be added to as other locations announce events. If you know of an event not listed, please send an email with details. As always around here, we can only hope for clear skies!

Solar Eclipse Calendar

Organizer	Location	Event	Date	Time	Contact Info
Albany Area Amateur Astronomers & Dudley Observatory	Schenectady	Solar Eclipse	Aug. 21	1:22 – 3:56 PM	email, website
Cazenovia Public Library	Cazenovia	Solar Eclipse Lecture	Aug. 16	7:00 – 8:30 PM	315-655-9322 website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	Solar Eclipse	Aug. 21	11:30 AM – 4:00 PM	email, website
Liverpool Public Library	Liverpool	Solar Eclipse Party	Aug. 21	1:00 – 4:00 PM	315-457-0310 website
Marcellus Free Library	Marcellus	Solar Eclipse Party	Aug. 21	1:00 – 4:00 PM	315-673-3221 website
Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society	Waterville	Eclipse Lecture, Clinton	Aug. 2	7:00 – 8:30 PM	email, website
Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society	Waterville	Eclipse Lecture, Canastota	Aug. 3	7:00 – 8:30 PM	email, website
Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society	Waterville	Solar Eclipse	Aug. 21	12:00 – 4:00 PM	email, website
Onondaga County Libraries	NOPL North Syracuse	Solar Eclipse Lecture	Aug. 14	6:30 – 8:00 PM	315-458-6184 website
Onondaga County Libraries	Jamesville	Lecture & Solar Eclipse @ DeWitt & Jamesville Library	Aug. 21	12:00 – 4:00 PM	315-446-3578 website
Onondaga County Libraries	Syracuse	Solar Eclipse Party @ Hazard Branch	Aug. 21	12:00 – 4:00 PM	315-435-5326 website
Onondaga County Libraries	Syracuse	Solar Eclipse Party @ Paine Branch	Aug. 21	2:00 – 3:00 PM	315-435-5442 website
Onondaga County Libraries	Syracuse	Solar Eclipse Party @ White Branch	Aug. 21	2:00 – 3:00 PM	315-435-3519 website

Lectures And Observing Opportunities In Upstate/Central New York

New York has a number of astronomers, astronomy clubs, and observatories that host public sessions throughout the year. Announced sessions from several respondent NY astronomy organizations are provided below for the remainder of July and all of August so you can plan accordingly. As wind and cloud cover are always factors when observing, please check the provided contact information and/or email the groups a day-or-so before an announced session, as some groups will also schedule weather-alternate dates. Also use the contact info for directions and to check on any applicable event or parking fees.

Astronomy Events Calendar

Organizer	Location	Event	Date	Time	Contact Info
Adirondack Public Observatory	Tupper Lake	Lecture and Public Observing	July 28	L – 7:00 p.m., O – 1/2 Hour After Sunset	email, website
Adirondack Public Observatory	Tupper Lake	Public Observing	Aug. 4	1/2 Hour After Sunset	email, website
Adirondack Public Observatory	Tupper Lake	Public Observing	Aug. 18	1/2 Hour After Sunset	email, website
Adirondack Public Observatory	Tupper Lake	Public Observing	Aug. 21	1/2 Hour After Sunset	email, website
Albany Area Amateur Astronomers & Dudley Observatory	Schenectady	Octagon Barn Star Party	July 28	8:00 – 10:00 PM	email, website
Albany Area Amateur Astronomers & Dudley Observatory	Schenectady	Night Sky Adventure	Aug. 15	8:00 – 9:30 PM	email, website
Albany Area Amateur Astronomers & Dudley Observatory	Schenectady	AAAA Meeting	Aug. 17	7:30 – 9:00 PM	email, website
Albany Area Amateur Astronomers & Dudley Observatory	Schenectady	Octagon Barn Star Party	Aug. 18	8:00 – 10:00 PM	email, website
Astronomy Section, Rochester Academy of Science	Rochester	RocheSTAR Fest 2017	July 28 – 29	daytime & nighttime	email, website
Astronomy Section, Rochester Academy of Science	Rochester	Observing At The Strasenburgh	Aug. 5	8:30 – 10:30 PM	Jim S., 585-703-9876
Astronomy Section, Rochester Academy of Science	Rochester	Observing At The Strasenburgh	Aug. 12	8:30 – 10:30 PM	Jim S., 585-703-9876
Baltimore Woods	Marcellus	Bob Piekiel & Perseid Meteor Shower	Aug. 12/13	8:30 – 11:00 PM	email, website
Baltimore Woods	Marcellus	Bob Piekiel & Solar Observing	Aug. 26/27	1:00 – 3:00 PM	email, website
Clark Reservation State Park	Jamesville	Bob Piekiel & Summer Skies	July 28/29	8:00 – 11:00 PM	315-492-1590 website
Green Lakes State Park	Fayetteville	Bob Piekiel & Summer Skies	Aug. 18/19	8:00 – 10:00 PM	315-637-6111 website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	Friday Night Lecture & Observing	July 28	8:00 PM	email, website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	KAS Monthly Meeting	Aug. 2	7:00 – 9:00 PM	email, website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	Friday Night Lecture & Observing	Aug. 4	8:00 PM	email, website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	Friday Night Lecture & Observing	Aug. 11	8:00 PM	email, website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	Perseid Meteor Shower	Aug. 12	8:00 PM – 12:30 AM	email, website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	Friday Night Lecture & Observing	Aug. 18	8:00 PM	email, website
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center	Vestal	Friday Night Lecture & Observing	Aug. 25	8:00 PM	email, website
Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society	Waterville	Meeting	Aug. 9	7:30 – 9:00 PM	email, website
Mohawk Valley Astronomical Society	Waterville	Public Stargazing @ Waterville Library	Aug. 26/27	8:30 – 11:30 PM	email, website

ISS And Other Bright Satellites

Satellite flyovers are commonplace, with several bright passes easily visible per hour in the nighttime sky, yet a thrill to new observers of all ages. Few flyovers compare in brightness or interest to the International Space Station. The flyovers of the football field-sized craft with its massive solar panel arrays can be predicted to within several seconds and take several minutes to complete.

The ISS is out and about several times between 9:00 p.m. and midnight this week, with double flyovers before midnight from the 29th on. You may note that these flyovers are spaced by about 90 minutes – the time it takes for the ISS to go once around the Earth. Properly equipped members of the amateur radio community can even add audio to their visual experiences by listening to transmissions from the ISS – see ariss.org or issfanclub.com for details.

ISS Flyovers

Date	Brightness	Approx. Start	Start Direct.	Approx. End	End Direct.
28-Jul	moderately	12:56 AM	NW	12:57 AM	N/NW
28-Jul	moderately	10:26 PM	W/NW	10:31 PM	NE
29-Jul	moderately	12:03 AM	NW	12:06 AM	N/NE
29-Jul	moderately	9:33 PM	W/NW	9:39 PM	NE
29-Jul	moderately	11:11 PM	NW	11:15 PM	NE
30-Jul	somewhat	12:47 AM	NW	12:48 AM	NW
30-Jul	moderately	10:18 PM	NW	10:23 PM	NE
30-Jul	moderately	11:55 PM	NW	11:57 PM	N
31-Jul	moderately	9:26 PM	W/NW	9:31 PM	NE
31-Jul	moderately	11:03 PM	NW	11:06 PM	NE
1-Aug	somewhat	12:39 AM	NW	12:39 AM	NW
1-Aug	moderately	10:10 PM	NW	10:15 PM	NE
1-Aug	moderately	11:47 PM	NW	11:48 PM	N/NW
2-Aug	moderately	9:18 PM	NW	9:22 PM	NE
2-Aug	very	10:54 PM	NW	10:58 PM	NE
3-Aug	moderately	10:02 PM	NW	10:07 PM	E/NE
3-Aug	moderately	11:38 PM	W/NW	11:40 PM	NW
4-Aug	moderately	9:10 PM	NW	9:14 PM	E/NE
4-Aug	extremely	10:46 PM	NW	10:49 PM	N/NE

Predictions courtesy of heavens-above.com. For updated nightly predictions, visit spotthestation.nasa.gov.

Lunar Phases

First Quarter:	Full:	Third Quarter:	New:
Jul. 30, 11:23 AM	Aug. 7, 2:10 PM	Aug. 14, 9:14 PM	Aug. 21, 2:30 PM

The Moon's increasing brightness as Full Moon approaches washes out fainter stars, random meteors, and other celestial objects – this is bad for most observing, but excellent for new observers, as only the brightest stars (those that mark the major constellations) and planets remain visible for your easy identification. If you've never tried it, the Moon is a wonderful binocular object. The labeled image identifies features easily found with low-power binoculars.

Lunar features prominent in low-power binoculars.

Observing Guides

Items and events listed below assume you're outside and observing most anywhere in New York state. The longer you're outside and away from indoor or bright lights, the better your dark adaption will be. If you have to use your smartphone, find a red light app or piece of red acetate, else set your brightness as low as possible.

The sky at 10 p.m. from July 28 to August 4, accurate all week except for the changing Moon position.

Evening Skies: The two most prominent shapes in the sky are the Big Dipper and the Summer Triangle, with the Sagittarius Teapot highlighted in several previous articles. Whether or not you can see the Teapot, another very distinctive shape is as high as it will get in the southern sky right now just to the west. The body of Scorpius, easily identified by the bright red-orange star Antares and now residing below Saturn in the nighttime sky, hooks down and back up around the southern tree line at our latitude in a shape that nearly every civilization has recorded as being a celestial scorpion. Like the Teapot, the Scorpion tail is between us and the galactic center – a scan with binoculars will reveal a number of objects that do not come into focus like their surrounding stars.

The Big Dipper is a bright and easy guide for finding Polaris, the north star. From its handle, you can "arc" down to Arcturus. Jupiter, which stands out soon after sunset, is close to the bright star Spica in Virgo and to the southwest of bright Arcturus in Bootes. Saturn is also visible as dusk approaches, rising soon after the bright orange star Antares in Scorpius.

The sky at 4 a.m. from July 28 to Aug. 4, accurate all week except for the changing Moon position.

Morning Skies: Venus is unmistakable in the early morning sky, second only to the Moon in brightness before sunrise. The torso of Orion is increasingly peaking above the pre-dawn skies behind Taurus the Bull. As dawn approaches, Venus and the bright stars Betelgeuse, Aldebaran, and Capella may be the last few celestial objects you see.

Planetary Viewing

Mercury: While technically visible after sunset this week, Mercury is very low on the horizon and awash in scattered sunlight. Observers with binoculars might consider scanning the western horizon before 9:15 p.m. to find it, but DO NOT risk doing so until after the sun has set, as even a moment of magnified sunlight will permanently damage your vision. For the patient, Mercury becomes a good early morning target with Mars in late August/early September.

Venus: Venus remains unmistakable in the early morning and even into sunrise, rising before 4:00 a.m. all week. With good, steady binoculars, you should be able to see that Venus is currently more than half-lit – and you can follow the changing phases of Venus as it and the Earth make our way around the Sun. Venus is currently flying over the club of the great winter constellation Orion along a line away from Aldebaran in Taurus and towards the foot of Pollux's twin Castor in the constellation Gemini. Over the course of the week, you'll see the Venus-Betelgeuse-Aldebaran geometry change from a right triangle to a slightly obtuse one.

The Venus-Betelgeuse-Aldebaran Triangle this week.

Mars: Mars will not return to our pre-midnight skies until this time next year, but will become a morning target in late August/early September.

Jupiter: If you look south soon after sunset, Jupiter will be the brightest object you'll see this summer (or second-brightest if the Moon is out). Low power binoculars are excellent for spying the four bright Galilean moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – and several online guides will even map their orbits for you. Jupiter is to the west of the bright star Spica in Virgo, roughly a full fist-width if you measure with your arm fully-extended. As reported in last week's article as well, the Moon will nearly graze the top of Jupiter in the late-evening sky on July 28th. This will make for an excellent pairing this week – one that will look even better in binoculars.

Jupiter and the Moon on July 28th in Virgo.

Saturn: Still on the western edge of the brightest part of the Milky Way, Saturn is going to spend the next 17 months making its way to the eastern edge, all the while giving us an excellent observing target from late Spring to mid-Autumn. On the evening of August 2nd, the Moon will make its closest approach to Saturn before spending the 3rd and 4th flying over the "Teapot" that makes up the body of Sagittarius.

The Moon and Saturn on Aug. 2, with tea time happening the next two nights.

As a refresher from the June 30th to July 7th article, those looking in the direction of Saturn with binoculars are treated to a host of Messier ("M") Objects – all residing between ourselves and the center of the Milky Way galaxy above the spout of the Sagittarius teapot. A good star chart and some guide stars will help you determine just which object you're looking at.

Meteor Showers And Other Phenomena

The last few days have been very busy in the amateur astronomy community, with a newly reported comet, nova, and supernova all discovered after July 19th. These are very dim objects at present, but they may all be targets for large telescopes and seasoned amateurs at upcoming observing sessions in your area – consider seeking them out! Those without any observing equipment also have some great observing opportunities in the few weeks before the solar eclipse, with an Aquariid Meteor Shower peaking on July 30 and the usually-excellent Perseid Meteor Shower peaking on Aug. 12.

Southern delta Aquariid Meteor Shower: The constellation Aquarius hosts several meteor showers each year, although none of them reach the activity of the Perseids or Geminids. The Southern delta Aquariids are generally the second-busiest of these showers during the year, peaking in the very early morning of July 30th from the southwest. It will be easy to orient yourself towards the radiant if the skies are clear – look for the Summer Triangle, find the bright corner star Altair, and slide south to the bright star Fomalhaut. Expect up-to 15 shooting stars per hour. For your best chance at seeing the most meteors, lie down with your feet facing southwest.

The radiant of the Southern delta Aquariids near the bright star Fomalhaut.

Perseid Meteor Shower: The Perseids are arguably the best, and best-timed, meteor shower of the year. For a preview of where and when to look before next week's article, see the Perseid section of the UNY Stargazing from August 2016 article.

Dr. Damian Allis is the director of CNY Observers and a NASA Solar System Ambassador. If you know of any other NY astronomy events or clubs to promote, please contact the author.

Original Posts:

Tags:

aldebaran, altair, arcturus, galilean moons, iss, issfanclub.com, messier objects, pollux, solar eclipse shadow, southern delta aquariids, summer triangle, teapot

As first appeared in the July 2009 edition of the Syracuse Astronomical Society newsletter The Astronomical Chronicle (PDF).

Image generated with Starry Night Pro 6, www.starrynight.com.

The Constellations, for all of their mythological, mystical, and ceremonial significance throughout human history, are also the bases for much of the scientific discovery (the Zodiac was a calendar long before it was ever used to identify the other kind of dates, and the backdrop of the unchanging Heavens served as the guide against which the motions of the planets were first tracked) that fueled our understanding of the universe before Edwin Hubble first exposed its true vastness by identifying the "Andromeda Nebula" as, in fact, a galaxy far outside of the Milky Way. The constellations have also served in a far more pragmatic capacity throughout human history as seasonal sign posts, simply marking times and locations for those on land and sea. Perhaps the most famous example of this in American History is the use of the Big Dipper as the marker by freed slaves traveling North along the Underground Railroad. The song "Follow the Drinkin' Gourd" is not simply a series of verses, but is instead a set of instructions, with the "Drinkin' Gourd" being the Big Dipper, the most easily recognizable asterism in the Northern Hemisphere (amateur astronomer or not) and pointer (by drawing an arrow from Merak to Dubhe) to the North Star Polaris, itself the most famous star of the Little Dipper (also known as Ursa Minor), an otherwise somewhat unimpressive constellation (certainly not as prominent in the North as the Big Dipper or the Cassiopeia "W" and, therefore, not as useful a sign post).

The Little Dipper is not the most prominent constellation in the Night Sky, but it serves as an important terrestrial marker because it includes Polaris among its member stars. Just as the Big Dipper is a prominent asterism that directs you to the Little Dipper, the Summer constellation Scorpius (which has been recognized specifically as a scorpion by many cultures for several millennia) can draw you to a slightly less prominent constellation to its West that is a sign post to a far more impressive marker than Polaris.

Sagittarius is an astronomy instructor's dream constellation, as it wraps up a number of interesting topics of discussion in one easy-to-find location. To begin, the Centaur, a half-human/half-horse hybrid, is the perfect bridge between the fantastical world of mythology in all of its seeming ridiculousness and, well, the shining example of what might even be ridiculously possible as scientists learn more about DNA and biological engineering (as of this past May, we now can make monkeys that glow in the dark. That's right, in the dark).

Second, Sagittarius provides its viewer another shining example of the difference between a constellation and an asterism. A constellation is, simply, a specific grouping of stars that everyone has agreed are, in fact, assigned to that particular constellation. This circular definition was finally laid flat by the International Astronomical Union in its defining of Constellation Boundaries, solidifying star groupings that go as far back as antiquity and as far forward as 1763 (the exploration of the Southern Hemisphere was not limited to the land and the sea). An asterism is, simply, a convenient grouping of stars that are NOT one of the 88 Official Constellations, with some asterisms being only fragments of a full Constellation (such as the Big Dipper, the most famous asterism in the Constellation Ursa Major) and some asterisms composed of parts of multiple Constellations (such as the Summer Triangle, composed of the stars Deneb (Cygnus), Altair (Aquila), and Vega (Lyra). At our latitude (Syracuse and Tully), we cannot even see the entire Constellation of Sagittarius, but have an excellent view during the Summer of one of the most modern of conveniences in the form of a Tea Pot (see below). We may seem a little ridiculous pointing out the tea pot, short and stout, with its handle (on the left or to the West) and its spout (on the right or to the East) at Darling Hill on a dark night, but you will not forget this asterism after it jumps out at you the first time. An important thing to remember is that any grouping of stars in the sky that helps YOU find what you are looking for is as significant an asterism as one you might find in any book. If an otherwise unlabeled grouping jumps out at you that helps you find your place in the Night Sky, put those informal naming rights to good use.

Image generated with Starry Night Pro 6, www.starrynight.com.

Third, the billowing steam from the spout of this tea pot marks a most important location to all 100 billion or more stars in our galaxy. The small darkened oval in the picture above marks the exact location of the center of the Milky Way galaxy (the tiny, fuzzy spec at its middle), meaning we are looking into the most dense region of the galaxy when we set our gazes at this region. Unfortunately, the city lights from Cortland wash the density of the Milky Way band at our South when we observe in Tully, although the full band of the Milky Way is prominent above us during the Summer.

Images from ircamera.as.arizona.edu.

Fourth, because we are looking into the heart of the Milky Way when we see the spout of the tea pot (as the image at right tries to show), we are looking into the densest region of stars we can see from Earth. As a result, this tea pot marks the location of a variety of Messier Objects and fainter nebulae far more numerous than even the largest variety pack the other Celestial Seasonings (pardon the tea pun) has to offer. The Trifid Nebula (M20), Lagoon Nebula (M8), Sagittarius Cluster (M22), Omega Nebula (M17), Black Swan Nebula (M18), M25, M23, M55, M54, M70, M28, M21, and M75 all reside within the Sagittarius boundary, while M6, M7, M16, and a host of other deep sky objects surround its borders in neighboring Scorpius, Ophiuchus, and Serpens Cauda.

When we observe during the Summer, I often recommend to new visitors with binoculars to simply point to the South, aim for the tea pot, and slowly scan. If your binoculars or telescope are anywhere near focused, you are guaranteed to find something within your field of view.

Mildly thirsty just thinking about it,
Damian