The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of July 26, 2025

Saturday: At 9:30 p.m., the bright star Regulus is to the lower right of the crescent moon, low on the west-northwestern horizon. Mars is nearby, one fist held upright and at arm’s length above the western horizon.

Sunday: Have you ever planned a vacation to a place because it was supposedly the up-and-coming locale? Then, when the vacation time finally arrives, you find out the place doesn’t live up to its billing. Over the past decade, astronomers strengthened earlier findings about the planetary system of the star Tau Ceti, one of our closest Sun-like star neighbors at 12 light years away. It has four planets classified as “super-Earths.” Two of the planets are on the edge of the habitable zone where the temperature is just right for having liquid water on their surface. Time for a va-ca-tion! Well, not so fast. Astronomers have only a lower limit to the planet masses so they may be too massive for complex life to form. And the Tau Ceti system has ten times as much mass in dust and rocks as our own solar system. So, you’ll want to do some research before you travel there. Tau Ceti is one and a half fists above the southeast horizon at 3:00 a.m. For more information about the system, go to https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/four-exoplanets-may-orbit-nearby-sun-like-star/.

Monday: Saturn is a half a fist above the eastern horizon at 11:30 p.m.

Tuesday: The Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks tonight, tomorrow night, and on into mid-August. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Aquarius near the star Delta Aquarii, also known as Skat. This point is about one and a half fists above the southeastern horizon at 1:00 am tonight. You can follow this point throughout the night, as it will remain a fist above Fomalhaut, the brightest star in that section of the sky. The Moon is in the waxing crescent to first quarter phase this week meaning it will not be up for many hours each night. For more information about this year’s shower, go to https://earthsky.org/?p=159138. As your mother might say, dress warmly and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. Meteors are tiny rocks that hit the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Wednesday: At 4:30 a.m., Jupiter is one fist above the east-northeastern horizon and Venus is one and a half fists above the eastern horizon.

Thursday: Mizar is a well-known binary star in the constellation Ursa Major. You can find it at the bend in the Big Dipper handle, three fists above due northwest at midnight. Its name is Arabic for waistband. Mizar has an optical double called Alcor, which is less than a pinky width away and can easily be seen with the naked eye. Optical doubles are stars that are close together in the sky but do not orbit a common center of mass as true binary stars. Not wanting to deceive sky gazers who call Alcor and Mizar a binary star, two stars that DO orbit a common center of mass, Mizar actually is a binary. It was the first binary star system discovered using a telescope. Mizar A and Mizar B are about 400 astronomical units apart from each other and about 80 light years from Earth. 400 astronomical units is about 10 times the distance between the Sun and Pluto.

Friday: The Perseid meteor shower peaks in a week and a half. But there will be an increased number of meteors over the next two weeks. If the Moon is out when you want to look, position yourself so you are blocked from the Moon’s light. The meteors appear to come from a point just below the W of the constellation Cassiopeia. This point is about two and a half fists above the northeast horizon at 11:00 p.m. By dawn, this point is about seven fists above the northeast horizon. If you fall asleep or forget to set your alarm, you will be able to observe this shower from about 11:00 p.m. to dawn for the next two weeks in about the same location in the sky.

The Perseid shower is one of the longest lasting showers. For tips about optimizing your viewing this year, go to https://earthsky.org/?p=165416. These meteors are sand to pea-sized bits of rock that fell off Comet Swift-Tuttle. They travel about 40 miles per second as they collide with the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

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. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of July 19, 2025

Saturday: As of July 17, both the US Senate and House of Representatives have rejected the White House NASA budget cuts and propose to keep NASA’s budget nearly unchanged. But your favorite NASA mission isn’t out of danger yet. Because of the White House request, NASA has directed teams to start submitting project termination plans. One of the missions in danger is the Deep Space Climate Observer (DSCOVR), a collaboration between NASA, NOAA, and the U.S. Air Force. Since reaching orbit in 2015, it has been Earth’s primary warning system for dangerous solar magnetic storms.

Sunday: Take a two and a half hour walk today. Too long, you say? 56 years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first ever walk by humans on another world. They spend two and a half hours setting up scientific instruments and collecting rocks for study back on Earth. Their colleague Michael Collins orbited the Moon in the spacecraft the astronauts would use to return to Earth. While everyone seems to know about Armstrong and Aldrin, spend some time learning more about Collins by reading https://time.com/5624528/michael-collins-apollo-11/.

Monday: At 4:30 a.m., Venus is one and a half fists above the eastern horizon, right below the moon. Jupiter is a half a fist above the east-northeastern horizon.

Tuesday: Mars is a little more than one fist above the western horizon at 9:30 p.m.

Wednesday: Zubenelgenubi, the second brightest star in the constellation Libra. The name means "southern claw", a holdover from the time when this part of the sky was associated with the neighboring constellation of Scorpius the scorpion. Zubenelgenubi is a binary star system, easily seen with binoculars as a white and yellow pair. To a person living on a planet orbiting the dimmer of the two stars, the brighter star would be nearly as bright as the full Moon appears from Earth. Zubenelgenubi is one and a half fists above due southwest at 10:45 p.m.

Thursday: What you see with the naked eye isn’t all that can be seen. While astronomers can learn a lot from observing the sky in the visible wavelengths, many celestial objects radiate more light, and more information, in wavelengths such as radio, microwave, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray. In 2012, NASA launched the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) to study objects that radiate in the infrared range such as asteroids, cool dim stars, and luminous galaxies. For an interesting comparison of how different wavelengths show distinct aspects of celestial objects, go to http://goo.gl/nvuax. If it weren’t for infrared telescopes such as WISE, astronomers would not know about the significant amount of dust in galaxies. We also wouldn’t know how much brighter than the Sun red supergiant stars are. Antares is a red supergiant star, currently sitting at one and a half fists above the southern horizon at 9:30 p.m. In the visible wavelengths, Antares shines 10,000 times brighter than the Sun. But since Antares is much cooler than the Sun, its energy distribution peaks in the infrared. Across all wavelengths of light, Antares shines 60,000 times brighter than the Sun. The JWST is also an infrared telescope.

Friday: Capella is the fourth brightest star we can see in Ellensburg. It is the brightest northerly star. Actually two stars, a binary star system of two yellow giant stars that orbit each other every 100 days. At 11:30 p.m., Capella is a half a fist above the northern horizon. At this time, the planet Saturn is half a fist above the eastern horizon.

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. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of July 12, 2025

Saturday: This evening’s viewing challenge is the planet Mercury. It is less than half a fist above the west-northwestern horizon at 9:25 p.m., a half hour after sunset. Pan the west-northwestern horizon with binoculars for the best chance to see it.

Sunday: Since 2014, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission has been orbiting Mars gathering information about the Martian upper atmosphere. Studying the atmosphere and climate on other planets is crucial for helping scientists understand the Earth’s climate history and make better predictions about its future. Unfortunately, as of early July, the White House proposed 2025-26 budget cuts funding for this mission. While MAVEN may no longer be able to send valuable information back to Earth, Mars will always be visible to us. Mars is one fist above the western horizon at 10:00 p.m.

Monday: Ten 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 one fist above the southeastern horizon at 11:00 p.m.

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, 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/.

Tuesday: Venus is more than one and a half fists above the eastern horizon and Jupiter is just above the northeastern horizon at 4:30 a.m.

Wednesday: Did you know that you can see bright planets during the day? It really helps if they are close to an easy to spot object such as the Moon. Saturn is just to the lower right of the Moon from midnight in the eastern sky until nearly noon when they set in the west. They are four fists above the south-southeastern horizon at 4:30 a.m. Look at the Moon with binoculars anytime between sunrise and nearly noon. Once you find Saturn in the binocular field of view, lower your binoculars and look at that same location with the naked eye. You should still be able to see Saturn with the naked eye now that you know exactly where it is located.

Thursday: Say "Cheese". 175 years ago, 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 nighttime star we can see in Ellensburg, behind Sirius and Arcturus. Vega is nearly straight overhead at midnight.

Friday: The Southern Delta Aquarid meteor shower has a long gradual peak for the next few weeks into mid-August. Meteor showers are named after the constellation from which the meteors appear to originate. These meteors appear to come from a point in Aquarius near the star Delta Aquarii, also known as Skat. This point is about two and a half fists above the southeast horizon at 3:00 am early this morning. You can follow this point throughout the night and for the next few weeks, as it will remain a fist above Fomalhaut, the brightest star in that section of the sky. Read about the shower, at https://earthsky.org/?p=159138. As your mother might say, dress warmly and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. Meteors are tiny rocks that hit the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

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. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.

The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of July 5, 2025

Saturday: Let’s learn about Capella. It is the fourth brightest star we can see in Ellensburg. It is the brightest northerly star. It is a binary star consisting of two yellow giant stars that orbit each other every 100 days. At 11:20 p.m., Capella is half a fist above due north. 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.

Sunday: Saturn is three and a half fists above the southeastern horizon at 4:15 a.m. The planet Neptune is less than a pinky width above Saturn. You’ll need binoculars or a small telescope to see it.

Monday: Antares is less than a fist to the upper right of the moon at 4:15 a.m., one and a half fists above due south.

Tuesday: Three years ago, the Mars Curiosity rover made a comprehensive measurement of the organic carbon found in rocks on the Martian surface. It found more organic carbon in the Gale Crater rocks than in very low-life places on Earth such as the Atacama Desert in South America. This certainly does not prove there is life on Mars now. And it does not prove there was life on Mars in the past. But it definitely strengthens the argument for either. In the past, Gale Crater likely had water, chemical energy sources, low acidity, and other elements common in living organisms. Read more about the findings at https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/mars-total-organic-carbon. Mars is one and a half fists above the western horizon at 10:00 p.m.

Wednesday: About ten years ago astronomers using a radio telescope in Australia discovered the source of fleeting radio signal bursts that had been a mystery for 17 years. And they didn’t have to probe the depths of deep space. They only had to probe the depths of… the observatory kitchen. It turns out the signal came from opening the microwave door prematurely. Read more about The Microwave Emission here: http://goo.gl/Ftb04C. Sheldon Cooper used similar methods of science when he discovered a can opener instead of magnetic monopoles in the season three premiere of “The Big Bang Theory” http://goo.gl/kAEoOD.

Thursday: Tonight’s full moon is in the constellation Sagittarius. The Wishram, Haida, and Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest call the July full moon the salmon moon. This is the time of year the salmon return after spawning season.

Friday: Stonehenge was created on the island of Great Britain by Neolithic people. “Manhattanhenge” was created on the island of Manhattan by modern day architects and construction workers. Twice a year, at the end of May and mid-July, the setting Sun aligns perfectly with the Manhattan grid pattern. That means observers will see the Sun set at the end of the street. The first Manhattanhenge sunset of July is tonight at 8:20 p.m. Eastern time and then again tomorrow at 8:22 p.m. Eastern time. For more information about Manhattanhenge, go to https://www.amnh.org/research/hayden-planetarium/manhattanhenge.

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. All times are Pacific Time unless noted.