Astronomy Minute for July 13

Get up early this coming Sunday to see a nice collection of things just before sunup. You’ll see bright Venus in the east. Going up from there you’ll see the bright star Aldebarn followed above that by Mars and the Pleides star cluster. To the left of venus is the pretty thumbnail moon.

(Click chart to enlarge)




















Of course summer is a great time to gaze at the milky way. It will be running up and down out of the south nearly all evening now. Looking toward the hook in Scorpio and you’re looking right toward the center of our galaxy which is about 50,000 light years distant. Scientists are fairly certain there is a giant black hole at the center of our galaxy formed of roughly 2.6 million solar masses. Uh, you can’t see it because, well, it’s black!