The Sky Tonight Update: Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower

The Delta Aquarids is an average shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by debris left behind by comets Marsden and Kracht. The shower runs annually from July 12 to August 23.

The Sky Tonight Update: Saturn at Opposition

The ringed planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long within the constellation Sagittarius.  It will be visible for much of the night, reaching its highest point in the sky around midnight.

How to Spot Comet NEOWISE Before It’s Gone For 6,800 Years

Now is a great time to catch a comet in your night sky.  It’s called Comet NEOWISE and if you miss it now you won’t be able to see it again for some 6,800 years.  Observers in the Northern Hemisphere are hoping to catch a glimpse of this object before it zips away at the end of July.

The Sky Tonight Update: Jupiter at Opposition

The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long within the constellation Sagittarius.  It will be visible for much of the night, reaching its highest point in the sky around midnight.

The Sky Tonight Update: Full Moon

The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 04:44 UTC.

This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Buck Moon because the male buck deer would begin to grow their new antlers at this time of year.

This moon has also been known as the Full Thunder Moon and the Full Hay Moon.

The Sky Tonight Update: Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

An eclipse of the moon can only happen at full moon, when the sun, Earth and moon line up in space, with Earth in the middle. At such times, Earth’s shadow falls on the moon, creating a lunar eclipse.  Lunar eclipses happen a minimum of two times to a maximum of five times a year. There are three kinds of lunar eclipses: total, partial and penumbral.