Skip to content
Vatican Observatory
  • About
    • Overview
    • Team
    • FAQ
  • Telescopes
    • Overview
    • Telescope Images
  • Latest
    • Overview
    • Resources
    • Press
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Research
    • Authors
      • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Tucson Meteor Cameras
  • Podcast
  • Education
    • Overview
    • Resource Center
    • Image Gallery
    • Summer School
    • Books
    • Software
    • Additional Resources
    • ACME
    • Ambassadors
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donate Now
    • Smart Ways to Give
    • Sacred Space Astronomy
      • View Content
    • Fr. Coyne Fundraiser
    • Bequests / Trusts
    • The Foundation
      • Newsletters
      • Annual Reports
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
    • Contact
  • About
    • Overview
    • Team
    • FAQ
  • Telescopes
    • Overview
    • Telescope Images
  • Latest
    • Overview
    • Resources
    • Press
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Research
    • Authors
      • FAQs
    • Newsletter
    • Tucson Meteor Cameras
  • Podcast
  • Education
    • Overview
    • Resource Center
    • Image Gallery
    • Summer School
    • Books
    • Software
    • Additional Resources
    • ACME
    • Ambassadors
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Donate Now
    • Smart Ways to Give
    • Sacred Space Astronomy
      • View Content
    • Fr. Coyne Fundraiser
    • Bequests / Trusts
    • The Foundation
      • Newsletters
      • Annual Reports
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
    • Contact

In the Sky This Week – July 7, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  7 Jul 2020

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

This entry is part 156 of 245 in the series In the Sky This Week

Conjunction

The Moon appears with Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern sky at midnight on July 8th.

Conjunction The Moon appears near Saturn and Jupiter in the southeastern sky near midnight on July 8th. Credit: Stellarium / Bob Trembley.

The Moon appears near mars in east-southeastern sky during the early morning hours on July 11th & 12th.

Venus appears in conjunction with the star Aldebaran in the eastern predawn all week.

 

The Moon is a waning gibbous – rising after sunset, visible high in the sky after midnight, and visible to the southwest after sunrise.

The third quarter Moon occurs on  July 12th – rising around midnight, and visible to the south after sunrise.

After July 12th, the Moon will be a waning crescent – visible low to the east before sunrise.

Moon The Moon from 2020-07-07 – 2020-07-13. Visualizations by Ernie Wright / NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

Moon News

Full Moon from the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA/Jeff Williams pic.twitter.com/ltk0Lr8bBK

— Antonio Paris (@AntonioParis) July 4, 2020

The Sun is currently spotless, but SpaceWeather.com reports that a sunspot appears to be emerging on the northern hemisphere, near the center of the Sun’s face. Coronal holes appear at both poles, with no significant coronal holes on the Earthside of the Sun.

The Sun seen in 193 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet)  July 6, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/07/06/20200706_1024_0193.mp4

A couple long-lived prominences on the Sun’s limb over the last couple days made for great astrophoto targets.

The Sun seen in 304 angstroms (extreme ultraviolet) July 6, 2020:

https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/assets/img/dailymov/2020/07/06/20200706_1024_0304.mp4
Videos courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.
You can view the Sun in near real-time, in multiple frequencies here: SDO-The Sun Now.
You can create your own time-lapse movies of the Sun here: AIA/HMI Browse Data.
You can browse all the SDO images of the Sun from 2010 to the present here: Browse SDO archive.

 

Facebook: SolarActivity – Run by Solar System Ambassador Pamela Skivak

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222794561833528&set=gm.3338424676168853&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Solar Corona

Solar wind speed is 426.2 km/sec (↑), with a density of 4.8 protons/cm3 (↓) at 1310 UT.

Near real-time animation of the corona and solar wind from the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):

SOHO LASCO C2 Latest Image Animated LASCO C2 Coronograph showing the solar corona above the Sun’s limb (the white circle). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech-SOHO

 

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) discovered this month: 2, this year: 1341 (+12), all time: 23,175  (+12)
Potentially hazardous asteroids: 2037  (last updated  June 2, 2020)
Total Minor Planets
discovered: 959,004  (+37)

 

Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid
Date(UT)
Miss Distance
Velocity (km/s)
Diameter (m)
2020 MU1
2020-Jul-11
18.8 LD
2.7
37
2020 ML
2020-Jul-12
11.4 LD
4.4
23
2020 KJ7
2020-Jul-13
11.8 LD
3.4
31
2009 OS5
2020-Jul-13
17.6 LD
2.6
45
2020 MQ2
2020-Jul-14
17.1 LD
8.3
44
2020 MX
2020-Jul-17
15 LD
5.3
51
2016 DY30
2020-Jul-19
9 LD
15.1
3
2020 ME3
2020-Jul-19
14.8 LD
4.6
24
2002 BF25
2020-Jul-21
9.4 LD
6.8
129
2020 MX3
2020-Jul-29
9.5 LD
8.6
70
2018 PY7
2020-Jul-31
8.9 LD
9.5
16
2007 RF1
2020-Jul-31
10.7 LD
5
21
2018 BD
2020-Aug-03
7.6 LD
9.4
3
2009 PQ1
2020-Aug-05
10.8 LD
13.5
112
2020 FA1
2020-Aug-23
18.4 LD
1.9
20
2016 AH164
2020-Aug-26
15.7 LD
5.6
4
2011 ES4
2020-Sep-01
0.3 LD
8.2
30

Notes: LD means “Lunar Distance.” 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance between Earth and the Moon. Red highlighted entries are asteroids that either pass very close, or very large with high relative velocities to the Earth. Table from SpaceWeather.com

Asteroid Day Recap

A huge THANK YOU to our event organizers for putting on 90+ #AsteroidDay events this year! If you are an organizer/participated in an event be sure to submit your photos & recap of your event to be featured in one of our upcoming monthly newsletters! https://t.co/BImKLYDZwR pic.twitter.com/IXNaNMvTH4

— Asteroid Day ☄ (@AsteroidDay) July 4, 2020

On July 6, 2020, the NASA All Sky Fireball Network reported 3 fireballs. 
(3 sporadics)

Orbits In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point–Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue). Credit: SpaceWeather.com

Fireball News

Tokyo residents spot massive fireball exploding in the sky producing a loud sonic boom… #Japan #Tokyo #Meteor #Sky #Fireball https://t.co/c6OefkbLtO

— www.THEPIGEONEXPRESS.com (@TPE_connect) July 7, 2020

Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system – the Parker Solar Probe is heading towards an encounter with Venus on July 10th.

Inner Solar System Position of the planets and a couple spacecraft in the inner solar system, 2020-07-07. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Close up of Parker Solar Probe approaching Venus:

Parker Solar Probe Parker Solar Probe approaching Venus, 2020-07-07. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Artist impression of the Parker Solar Probe flying by Venus on July 10th:

Parker Solar Probe Parker Solar Probe flying by Venus, 2020-07-07. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets in the middle solar system:

Middle Solar System Position of the planets in the middle solar system, 2020-07-07 – the orbit of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is highlighted. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Position of the planets some transneptunian objects in the outer solar system:

Outer Solar System Position of the planets in the outer solar system, 2020-07-07. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Highlight: Dwarf Planet Ceres

Approximate true-color image of Ceres, using the F7 (‘red’), F2 (‘green’) and F8 (‘blue’) filters, projected onto a clear filter image. Images were acquired by Dawn at 04:13 UT May 4, 2015, at a distance of 13641 km. At the time, Dawn was over Ceres’ northern hemisphere. The prominent, bright crater at right is Haulani. The smaller bright spot to its left is exposed on the floor of Oxo. Ejecta from these impacts appears to have exposed high albedo material similar to deposits found on the floor of Occator Crater. Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / Justin Cowart

 

Ceres /ˈsɪəriːz/ (minor-planet designation: 1 Ceres) is the largest object in the main asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. With a diameter of 940 km (580 mi), Ceres is both the largest of the asteroids and the only unambiguous dwarf planet currently inside Neptune’s orbit. It is the 25th-largest body in the Solar System within the orbit of Neptune.

Ceres was the first asteroid to be discovered (by Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo Astronomical Observatory on 1 January 1801). It was originally considered a planet, but was reclassified as an asteroid in the 1850s after many other objects in similar orbits were discovered.

Ceres is the only object in the asteroid belt currently known to be rounded by its own gravity, although detailed analysis was required to exclude Vesta. From Earth, the apparent magnitude of Ceres ranges from 6.7 to 9.3, peaking once at opposition every 15 to 16 months, which is its synodic period. Thus even at its brightest, it is too dim to be seen by the naked eye, except under extremely dark skies.

Ceres appears to be partially differentiated into a muddy (ice-rock) mantle, with a crust that is 60 percent rock and 40 percent ice or less than 30 percent ice. It probably no longer has an internal ocean of liquid water, but there is brine that can flow through the outer mantle and reach the surface. The surface is a mixture of water ice and various hydrated minerals such as carbonates and clay. Cryovolcanoes such as Ahuna Mons form at the rate of about one every fifty million years. In January 2014, emissions of water vapor were detected from several regions of Ceres. This was unexpected because large bodies in the asteroid belt typically do not emit vapor, a hallmark of comets. Any atmosphere, however, would be the minimal kind known as an exosphere.

The robotic NASA spacecraft Dawn entered orbit around Ceres on 6 March 2015. – Wikipedia

Dawn Spacecraft at Ceres Dawn Spacecraft at Ceres. Credit: NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley.

Read more about Ceres on NASA’s Solar System Exploration site: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/ceres/overview/

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

After nearly 4 years in flight, I’ll be performing my 100th maneuver today. What a great way to celebrate #AsteroidDay ? pic.twitter.com/uAfu8j5iGS

— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) June 30, 2020

International Space Station

This past week, research aboard the the @Space_Station was conducted on autonomous robot assistants, the properties of liquid metals and the physics of neutron stars.
Learn more: https://t.co/zbMKFSorR9 pic.twitter.com/1C0zs8glzu

— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) July 2, 2020

NASA Perseverance Mars Rover

My team at @NASA, @NASAJPL and partners around the world have gone above and beyond to get me to the launch pad and soon on to Mars. We’ll continue to push onward together, to persevere, no matter what challenges arise. #CountdownToMars #WeWillPersevere pic.twitter.com/pYXxKEbVu9

— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) July 7, 2020

Hubble Space Telescope

A glowing planetary nebula (+) two ultra-hot stars (-) a white dwarf (=) a cosmic conundrum!

Scientists taking a close look at SuWt 2, which lacks a white dwarf, theorize that a third star is the cause of its ghostly glow: https://t.co/95VJaXEnI7 pic.twitter.com/ZaULDf44TE

— Hubble Telescope (@HubbleTelescope) July 7, 2020

Climate

Arizona's Bighorn fire burn scar seen from space. ASTER, an instrument aboard @NASA's Terra satellite imaged the burn in the mountains north of Tucson, providing data for surface mapping and monitoring of changes: https://t.co/ecI5ZSNCJu

Vegetation=red?
Burn area=dark gray⬜️ pic.twitter.com/FBTC7dIZpd

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) June 30, 2020

Aerosol particles (like dust) have an effect on human health, weather and climate. While African dust plumes traveling across the Atlantic Ocean are not new, this dust storm has been quite expansive. A NASA satellite has provided a look: https://t.co/G0TGFIDuAK pic.twitter.com/7XplNsQNfW

— NASA Climate (@NASAClimate) June 26, 2020

Exoplanet
ex·o·plan·et /ˈeksōˌplanət/, noun: a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun.

All Exoplanets 4171
Confirmed Planets with Kepler Light Curves for Stellar Host 2360
Confirmed Planets Discovered by Kepler 2341
Kepler Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 2418
Confirmed Planets with K2 Light Curves for Stellar Host 430
Confirmed Planets Discovered by K2 409
K2 Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 889
Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS 52
TESS Project Candidates Integrated into Archive (2020-06-20 13:00:04) 2042  (+1)
Current date TESS Project Candidates at ExoFOP 2042  (+1)
TESS Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed 1255  (-7)

Data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive
* Confirmed Planets Discovered by TESS refers to the number planets that have been published in the refereed astronomical literature.
* TESS Project Candidates refers to the total number of transit-like events that appear to be astrophysical in origin, including false positives as identified by the TESS Project.
* TESS Project Candidates Yet To Be Confirmed refers to the number of TESS Project Candidates that have not yet been dispositioned as a Confirmed Planet or False Positive.

Congrats to Wai-iti Recreational Reserve & Tunnicliff Forest for becoming New Zealand's first Intl Dark Sky Park!

The newly designated site consists of 135 hectares of Tasman District Council land just south of Wakefield on New Zealand’s South Island. https://t.co/Mu8J5i9xBw pic.twitter.com/zuZ0b7rdZB

— IDA Dark-Sky (@IDADarkSky) July 6, 2020

The Local Stellar Neighborhood

Continuing with my visual tour of nearby stars and their systems, we travel to Luyten’s Star, 12.36 light years distant.

Luyten's Star Distance to Luyten’s Star (Gliese 273) from Sol; the plane (green) is aligned with the orientation of the plane of the Milky Way galaxy. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Luyten’s Star

Luyten’s Star /ˈlaɪtənz/ (GJ 273) is a red dwarf in the constellation Canis Minor located at a distance of approximately 12.36 light-years (3.79 parsecs) from the Sun. It has a visual magnitude of 9.9, making it too faint to be viewed with the unaided eye. It is named after Willem Jacob Luyten, who, in collaboration with Edwin G. Ebbighausen, first determined its high proper motion in 1935. 

This star is approximately a quarter the mass of the Sun and has 35% of the Sun’s radius. Luyten’s Star is at the maximum mass at which a red dwarf can be fully convective, which means that most if not all of the star forms an extended convection zone. It has a stellar classification of M3.5V, with the V luminosity class indicating this is a main-sequence star that is generating energy through the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen at its core. The projected rotation rate of this star is too low to be measured, but is no greater than 1 km/s. Measurements of periodic variation in surface activity suggest a leisurely rotation period of roughly 116 days (which would give a velocity of ~0.15 km/s). The effective temperature of the star’s outer envelope is a relatively cool 3,150 K, giving the star the characteristic red-orange hue of an M-type star.

At present, Luyten’s Star is moving away from the Solar System. The closest approach occurred about 13,000 years ago when it came within 3.67 parsecs. The star is currently located 1.2 light years distant from Procyon, and the latter would appear as a visual magnitude −4.5 star in the night sky of one of the planets orbiting Luyten’s Star. The closest encounter between the two stars occurred about 600 years ago when Luyten’s Star was at its minimal distance of about 1.12 ly from Procyon. The space velocity components of Luyten’s Star are U = +16, V = −66 and W = −17 km/s.

In March 2017, two candidate planets were discovered orbiting Luyten’s Star. The outer planet, GJ 273b, is a Super Earth in its star’s habitable zone. It has a mass of 2.89 ± 0.26 Earth masses and orbits at a distance of 0.09110 ± 0.00002 AU, completing one orbital period in 18.650 ± 0.006 days. While the planet is on the innermost edge of the star’s conservative habitable zone, the incident flux is only 1.06S⊕, so it may be potentially habitable if water and an atmosphere are present; depending on albedo, its equilibrium temperature could be anywhere between 206 and 293 Kelvin. The inner planet, GJ 273c, is one of the lightest exoplanets detected by radial velocities, with a mass of only 1.18 ± 0.16 Earth masses. However, it orbits much further in, with an orbital period of only 4.7234 ± 0.00004 days.

GJ 273b is one of the closest known planets in its star’s habitable zone.

In 2019, two more candidate planets were detected by radial velocity, making a total of four known planets in the system. – Wikipedia

Luyten’s Star System Architecture

Luyten's Star Luyten’s Star (Gliese 273) System Diagram. Note: exoplanet surface features are procedurally generated. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Luyten’s Star Exoplanet Orbital Diagram

Luyten's Star Top-down view of the inner exoplanet orbits around Luyten’s Star (Gliese 273). Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.
Luyten's Star Top-down view of the outer exoplanet orbits around Luyten’s Star (Gliese 273). Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Artist’s Rendering of Exoplanet Gliese 273 b

Luyten's Star Artistic rendering of Luyten’s Star seen from above the surface of exoplanet Gliese 273 b. Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob Trembley.

Stay safe, be well, and look up!


Apps used for this post:

NASA Eyes on the Solar System: an immersive 3D solar system and space mission simulator – free for the PC /MAC. I maintain the unofficial NASA Eyes Facebook page.
Universe Sandbox: a space simulator that merges real-time gravity, climate, collision, and material interactions to reveal the beauty of our universe and the fragility of our planet. Includes VR support.
SpaceEngine: a free 3D Universe Simulator for Windows. Steam version with VR support available.
Stellarium: a free open source planetarium app for PC/MAC/Linux. It’s a great tool for planning observing sessions. A web-based version of Stellarium is also available.


Section header image credits:
The Sky – Stellarium / Bob Trembley
Observing Target – Turn Left at Orion / M. Skirvin
The Moon – NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Sun – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroids – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Fireballs – Credited to YouTube
Comets – Comet P/Halley, March 8, 1986, W. Liller
The Solar System – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Spacecraft News – NASA Eyes on the Solar System / Bob Trembley
Exoplanets – Space Engine / Bob Trembley
Light Pollution – NASA’s Black Marble
The Universe – Universe Today

 

 

Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

Sacred Space Astronomy

The Vatican Observatory’s official digital community and online magazine.

Become a Member

Recent Posts

Conjunction of the Moon and Venus – March 24

By Robert Trembley  |  22 Mar 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Br. Guy Consolmagno to be Awarded Honorary Degree from SUNY Geneseo

By Robert Trembley  |  21 Mar 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter – March 22

By Robert Trembley  |  20 Mar 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Bubbles on the Moon

19 Mar 2023  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

Archives

      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • October
      • September
      • August
      • July
      • June
      • May
      • April
      • March
      • February
      • January
      • December
      • November
      • August
      • June
      • March
      • January
      • November
      • October
      • December
      • November
      • April
      • May
      • January
      • December
      • September
      • May
      • March
      • December
      • November
      • February

More Posts in this Series:
"In the Sky This Week"

78  |  What Do We Lose When We Sacrifice Science?

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  27 May 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

69  |  To err is human… to admit it, is science

By Br. Guy Consolmagno  |  25 Mar 2021  |  Sacred Space Astronomy

155  |  In the Sky This Week – June 30, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  30 Jun 2020

157  |  In the Sky This Week – July 21, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  21 Jul 2020

158  |  In the Sky This Week – July 28, 2020

By Robert Trembley  |  28 Jul 2020

Newsletter

Upcoming astronomical events, scientific breakthroughs, philosophical reflections… just a few reasons to subscribe to our newsletter!

Vatican Observatory
  • About
  • Telescopes
  • Latest
  • Podcast
  • Education
  • Shop
  • Calendar
  • Support
  • Press
  • Specola Vaticana
  • Contact
Privacy Policy  |   Cookie Policy  |   Disclosure Statement

Podcast:

  • Apple Podcasts Listen onApple Podcasts
  • Spotify Listen onSpotify
  • Google Podcasts Listen onGoogle Podcasts
  • Stitcher Listen onStitcher
  • Amazon Alexa Listen onAmazon Alexa
  • TuneIn Listen onTuneIn
Made by Longbeard