The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of July 11, 2020

Saturday:  Over the past few months, we have been teased with stories of possible naked eye comets. Or, at least binocular comets. But none have panned out until now. Comet NEOWISE (C/2020 F3) survived its closest approach to the Sun and is moving towards its closest approach to Earth on July 23. This week, the best time to see the comet is about an hour before sunrise. Tomorrow morning, it will be one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the north-northeastern horizon at 4:00 a.m. First find Capella, the bright star about two and a half fists above due northeast. Then, move your gaze about one fist to the lower left to the next bright star, about one fifth as bright as Capella. Finally move your gaze about one fist to the lower left again. That is where Comet NEOWISE is located. You’ll likely need binoculars to find it. By the end of the week and through the rest of the summer, the better viewing will be in the evening. For an added challenge this week, try to spot the comet at both dawn and dusk. For more information about the comet and maps on how to find it, go to https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/comet-neowise-delights-at-dawn/. 

Sunday: Star light. Star bright. The first star you see tonight might be Arcturus, six fists above the southwestern horizon right after sunset.

Monday: Mars rises just after midnight. By 4:00 a.m., it is three and a half fists above due southeast.

Tuesday: Five years ago today, NASA’s New Horizons probe passed by Pluto. If the band Nirvana was still together, they’d probably rewrite one of their hit songs to be called Heart-Shaped Spot, after one of Pluto’s most distinctive features. “She eyes me like a dwarf planet when I am weak. I’ve been imaging your heart-shaped spot for weeks.” Astronomers think this heart-shaped spot is a large plain of nitrogen ice that consists of convective cells 10-30 miles across. Solid nitrogen is warmed in the interior of Pluto, becomes buoyant, and bubbles up to the surface like a lava lamp. You will find great pictures and information about what New Horizons found this past year at http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/. Pluto, itself, is about one fist above the southeastern horizon, and just to the lower left of the much brighter Jupiter, at 10:30 p.m. Saturn is farther to the lower left of Jupiter.

Hey, wait, I’ve got a new complaint. People should be more interested in astronomy. The best group to start with is children. If you are stuck at home, wondering what to do (Hmm, who could that be?), go to the NASA Kids Club website at https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/. There are fun and educational activities for younger children. Older children may like my favorite NASA website about planets outside our Solar System. I suggest first exploring the “Galaxy of Horrors!” at https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/alien-worlds/galaxy-of-horrors/. 

Wednesday: Earlier in the week, you used Capella to find Comet NEOWISE. But, Capella is compelling on its own, even though it is “just” a star. It is the fourth brightest star we can see in Ellensburg. It is the most northerly bright star. It is a binary star consisting of two yellow giant stars that orbit each other every 100 days. At 10:00 p.m., Capella is a half a fist above the northern horizon. You can also use the Big Dipper to find it.  First, find the two “cap” stars on the cup of the Big Dipper, the stars on the top of the cup. Draw a line from the “cap” star closest to the handle to the cap star farthest from the handle. Then, continue that line to the next very bright star, which is Capella. Thus, you can “cap” to Capella. If you can’t “cap” tonight, don’t worry. Capella is the brightest circumpolar star meaning it is the brightest star that never goes below the horizon from our point of view in Ellensburg.

Thursday: For the next two mornings, the Moon, Venus, and the bright star Aldebaran will make a skinny triangle about a fist above the eastern horizon at 4:00 a.m. Aldebaran is about two finger widths to the right of Venus, the brightest point of light in the sky. This morning, the waning crescent Moon is to the upper right of the two. By tomorrow morning, the Moon will have moved to the left of Venus.

Friday: Say "Cheese". 170 years ago today, Vega, in the constellation Lyra the lyre, became the first star ever photographed. The photograph was taken at the Harvard Observatory using the daguerreotype process. Vega is the third brightest night time star we can see in Ellensburg, behind Sirius and Arcturus. Vega is nearly straight overhead at 11:00 tonight. 

The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.