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This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report for the period between July 1 and July 31, 2022. Here are the events happening in the sky of southern California.

Mercury rises at 4:33 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 5:45 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st. Mercury is 75-percent illuminated and six arcseconds in width. On the 8^th, Mercury passes behind the sun and appears in the evening sky by the 25^th. On the 31^st, the sun sets at 7:55 p.m., PDT, and Mercury sets at 8:43 p.m., PDT. Mercury is 86-percent illuminated and five arcseconds wide.  Do not observe any planet when it appears close to the sun, for the danger to the eyes is great.

Venus rises at 3:44 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st. The planet is 86-percent illuminated and 12 arcseconds wide. On the 31^st, Venus rises at 4:15 a.m., PDT, and the sun rises at 6:04 a.m., PDT. Venus is then 93-percent illuminated and 11 arcseconds wide. The disk of Venus slowly diminishes in size and becomes more fully illuminated as it travels to the far side of its orbit. On the 19^th, Venus is 1.5° south of the large open cluster M35 in Gemini.

Mars rises at 1:30 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st and at 12:31 a.m., PDT, on the 31^st. On the 9^th, Mars crosses from Pisces the Fishes to Aries the Ram. The disk of Mars is 86-percent illuminated and increases in size from 7.2 arcseconds on the 1^st to 8.3 arcseconds on the 31^st.  A telescope capable of magnification of 100x or more will be needed to show the disk and perhaps large surface features. On the 31^st, Mars is 1.5° south of Uranus.

Jupiter rises in Cetus the Sea Monster at 12:35 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st and at 10:41 p.m., PDT, on the 31^st. Jupiter’s disk is 43 arcseconds in width. A telescope capable of magnification 50x will show the Red Spot and the four bright Galilean moons, which can be seen moving back and forth, roughly in a line centered on Jupiter.

Saturn rises in Capricornus the Sea Goat at 10:40 p.m., PDT, on the 1^st and at 8:38 p.m., PDT, on the 31^st. The rings and Saturn’s largest moon Titan can be seen with a telescope capable of magnification 50x.

Uranus is in Aries the Ram and rises at 2:24 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st and at 12:29 a.m., PDT, on the 31^st. On the 15^th, Uranus is at Right Ascension 3^h 2^m 29^s with a declination of +16° 50ʹ 16ʺ. Uranus is 3.5 arcseconds in width, and so a telescope with a magnification of 150x is needed to show its diminutive disk.

Neptune is in Pisces the Fishes and rises at 12:04 a.m., PDT, on the 1^st and at 10:05 p.m., PDT, on the 31^st. On the 15^th, Neptune is at Right Ascension 23^h 43^m 42^s and at declination -3° 3ʹ 53ʺ. Neptune is 2.3 arcseconds in width, and so a telescope with a magnification of 150x is needed to show its diminutive disk.

First quarter occurs on the 6^th, full moon on the 13^th, last quarter on the 20^th, and new moon on the 28^th.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The southern delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks on the night of July 27^th through to the morning of the 28^th. The moon is only a day after new moon and will not interfere with observations. The meteors appear to originate from the star delta Aquarii. The shower usually produces faint meteors that lack both persistent trains and fireballs. The parent body appears to be comet 96P/Machholz.

The alpha Capricornid meteor shower will peak from the night of the 30^th to the morning of the 31^st.  This shower is not very strong and rarely produces even five meteors per hour. What is notable about this shower is the number of bright fireballs produced during its activity period. The meteors appear to originate from the star alpha Capricorni, which gives the shower its name. The parent object is the comet 169P/NEAT. The evening crescent moon should not interfere with observations.

The comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) was reported to be at magnitude 8. This makes it bright enough to be visible in binoculars or a small telescope.  The comet rises earlier each day as it slowly moves west and south.

Date                Rise Time (PDT)         Constellation               R.A.                 Dec.

July 1               5:30 p.m.                     Ophiuchus                   17^h 24^m            +1° 31’

July 15             4:21 p.m.                     Ophiuchus                   16^h 55^m            -4° 1’

July 31             3:09 p.m.                     Ophiuchus                   16^h 27^m            -10° 48’

On the 15^th, the comet will be half a degree west of the bright globular cluster M10.

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