—

Welcome to Quintilis! The early Roman calendar began with March and the fifth month was Quintilis. In 44 BCE, when the year began with January, Quintilis was renamed July in honor of Julius Caesar.

Early in July, the line of bright planets, Venus, Mars and Saturn, in the western sky, has set by 1 A.M. At the same time Neptune, Uranus and Jupiter are rising in the east. Neptune and Uranus aren’t visible to the naked eye but Jupiter is brighter than anything else in the sky. If you look straight up at 1 A.M. you will see the bright star Vega directly overhead. As the sun orbits around the galaxy it is drifting in the direction of Vega at about 10 miles per second.

July is historically the hottest month in Minnesota so maybe it might surprise some of you that the Earth reaches it greatest distance from the sun, aphelion, on July 6. Of course the seasons on the Earth are due to the Earth’s tilt, not its slight variation in distance from the sun.

The Greeks had a further explanation for the muggy, hot weather of July they called the “dog days”. They attributed the heat to the effect of the star Sirius, the “dog star”, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major, the Big Dog. In July Sirius, also the brightest star in the sky other than the sun, rises about the time the sun rises. The Greeks reasoned that the heat of Sirius added to the heat of the sun making the days hotter. Of course in reality at its great distance Sirius delivers about as much heat to the Earth as a firefly.

Last month there was a lunar eclipse and this month on July 11 there will be a total solar eclipse. Eclipses usually occur in pairs. Unfortunately this eclipse will only be visible from the south pacific and the tip of South America. If you are determined to see the eclipse try Easter Island, the home of those strange stone heads. The total eclipse path goes directly over the island.

The delta Aquarid meteor shower occurs late in July. Unfortunately this year a moon just past full will keep fainter meteors from being visible. Be patient. Next month come the Perseids, the grandest shower of the year.

If you miss seeing any spectacular meteors there is another more predictable spectacular celestial event-Iridium flares. The iridium satellite system is a collection of dozens of communication satellites that supports the satellite phone system. Each satellite has highly polished flat surfaces that occasionally reflect sunlight creating a “iridium flare”. Flares can get very bright and their timing is very predictable. There is a bright iridium flare July 7, 11:06:32 P.M. Look 25 degrees above the western horizon. The flare will come and go in a few seconds and will get brighter than Venus in the evening sky. If you miss that flare there is another bright flare July 22 at 11:38:31 P.M. Look 26 degrees above the west-southwest horizon. Amaze your friends with the flares. But don’t tell them what the flares are right away.

Sometimes the iridium flares can get so bright that they can be seen during the daytime. On July 15 at 7:39:43 P.M. CDT look 46 degrees above the northwest horizon to see a very bright flare. The website Heavens-Above will show you how to predict iridium flares along with other satellite events.