Starwatch Newsletter Minnesota Starwatch is a newsletter describing the night sky in the Midwest. It is updated monthly, and is produced by the Department of Astronomy, University of Minnesota 116 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Hello, this is Minnesota Starwatch for July 2003.

The Moon is at first quarter on the 6th, full on the 13th, at last quarter on the 21st and new on the 29th. The waxing crescent Moon on the 2nd will be about 4 degrees to the upper right of Jupiter in the western sky just after sunset. In the early morning of the 17th the Moon will be only 1/6th of a degree from Mars as seen from Minneapolis and even closer as seen from locations in the southeastern states. On the 28th the Moon will be just a few degrees from Saturn before sunrise in the eastern sky.

Venus rises about an hour before sunrise on the 1st and moves steadily closer to the Sun, finally disappearing in the solar glare by the end of the month.

Mercury will also be visible around the 25th but actually seeing it will be a major challenge even though it will be about 1/3rd of a degree from Jupiter in the evening sky. Both planets will then be only a few degrees above the horizon less than an hour after sunset.

Mars will be the planet to watch in July and August; at the beginning of July it rises close to midnight and is already extremely bright. As July progresses it rises earlier and continues to increase in brightness; this progression will continue into August when it becomes the brightest planet in the sky and will be at its closest approach to Earth since before recorded history. It will then be a most impressive sight even with a small telescope. Mars will be spectacularly close to the gibbous Moon in the predawn hours of the 17th, making for a very rare visible treat.

Jupiter sets closer and closer to the Sun as July progresses and will be lost in the solar glare by the end of the month.

Saturn rises about an hour before the Sun at the beginning of July and about 2 ½ hours before at the end of the month. On the 26th Saturn will be at perihelion, its closest distance from the Sun in 29 ½ years. Even a small telescope will show the rings of Saturn which are very favorably inclined towards the Earth this year; a very beautiful sight!

The close approach of Mars this summer has increased interest in the age old question: is there any evidence for life on Mars, past or present? The key ingredient is water. There seems to be increasing evidence from the NASA Mars Global Surveyor that liquid water has flowed in large quantities on the surface of Mars, creating large channels and networks of river-like patterns. Much smaller flows from sub-surface water have created tiny gullies in crater walls. But a real understanding of the role of water in reshaping the surface of Mars will have to await the next generation of Martian spacecraft explorers being launched this year.

For those interested in the Minnesota Astronomical Society, call 952-467-2426 for information their upcoming events.

Minnesota Starwatch is available on-line at http://www.astro.umn.edu/Outreach/pub_out.html

For fun Astronomy Outreach programs or how you can help build the new Minnesota Planetarium, please call 612-630-6151 or visit http://www.mplanetarium.org.

Como Planetarium is offering fun, family shows about astronomy on a limited basis, please call 651-293-5398 for more info!

This has been Minnesota Starwatch, produced by the University of Minnesota Astronomy Department.

Last Updated: Thu Jul 03 09:45:00 2003