Mercury is visible all month at dusk. It is best in the second week of July.
Venus is also visible all month at dusk. If you look before 8 pm, you will see Venus very low in the WNW. If you look after 8 pm, you see Mercury much higher and further left. They could be mixed up if you look at 8 pm because Venus may hide behind the horizon.
Saturn rises around 10 pm. In a telescope it shows its rings almost edge-on.
Mars rises around 1 am and gets 30 degrees high by dawn. It moves closer to Aldebaran which is of the same magnitude and almost the same color.
Jupiter is 40 degrees east of Mars at the beginning of July and thus rises much later, but the distance shrinks to 8 degrees by the end of the month for a close August 14 conjunction.
Uranus is .6 degrees north or Mars on the 15th. Neptune is close to Saturn.
The first minor planet and dwarf planet Ceres is in opposition on the 5th low in Sagittarius. At magnitude 8, one can find it in binoculars.
The extremely thin moon sits between Mercury and Venus on the 6th. It is more difficult to find than Mercury. The next evening the moon is very easy to see above Mercury. On the 30th, the moon joins Mars, Jupiter, and Aldebaran, all close together.
The most impressive event is the occultation of Spica by the moon on the 13th from 7:54 to 9:14 pm. At the disappearance, dusk is still bright so Spica is probably not visible naked eye, but great in a telescopes. At the reappearance, the bright limb of the moon makes it challenging to see Spica at the very moment of the event.
There are NO planets visible in the evening except for Mercury starting June 24th around 8 pm.
Saturn rises around 1 am, and just before midnight by the end of June. It is well up at dawn, visible with a thin ring only 2 degrees tilted.
Mars follows between 1 and 2 am.
Jupiter becomes visible again at dawn after June 5th.
Venus is moving into the evening sky and will become visible in early July.
The Moon shows a thin crescent on June 7th below Castor and Pollux. It occults Saturn on June 27th at 9 am, visible in a telescope since the Moon is easy to find. The exit at 10 will be more difficult because the moon will be only 14 degrees high and the location at the lunar dark limb will be hard to find.
Presentation: My Deep-Sky Astrophotography Journey
TAAA member David Stearn shares his journey into Deep-Sky Astrophotography, showcasing his transition from landscape and nature photography to capturing the wonders of the cosmos. This presentation is perfect for visual astronomers interested in exploring the world of imaging, as well as for seasoned astrophotographers looking to learn new techniques. David will cover his beginnings, his advanced astro rig, and his expertise in capturing deep-sky objects, sharing valuable insights on imaging capture techniques, workflow, and image processing.
Bio: David Stearn is an Amateur Deep Space Photographer. He holds a BS Degree in Marketing from Northern Illinois University, and has been an amateur photographer for 20 years. With a background in landscape and nature photography, David has transitioned his skills and passions to astrophotography, leveraging his skills to capture stunning deep-sky objects. He is excited to share his journey and techniques with the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association. David’s photo gallery can be found at https://www.astrobin.com/users/astronewbie/
Mary Turner presents her popular seasonal talk about what to see in the summer night sky, as well as fascinating myths and facts about each object. Learn about bright planets, meteor showers, and all else accessible, to the naked eye, binoculars, and/or telescopes.
Bio: Dr. Mary Turner received her Ph.D in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona (UA). She is currently the Technical Fellow in Optical Design for Edmund Optics, where she designs custom optical systems for a wide variety of applications, including camera systems, machine vision applications, free-space communications and other laser systems. Additionally. Dr. Turner is a lecturer for the University of California-Irvine, teaching courses in optical design. She also lectures at UA in various aspects of optical design, and has authored chapters in several technical references relating to the field of optical design.
Presentation 2: A History of the Grand Canyon Star Party
TAAA member Jim Knoll will review the history of the Grand Canyon Star Party, from its humble beginning by a dedicated member of the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association (TAAA) to the premiere outreach event it is today. Grand Canyon National Park is a perfect location as a Dark Sky Park at 7,000 feet with incredible views of the Milky Way and the rest of our Universe. The Star Party is co-hosted by TAAA and the National Park Service. It is held annually in June, near the New Moon, and is free and open to everyone in the Park. We typically set up between 50 and 60 telescopes and provide daytime and nighttime observing over 8 days and nights, with around 125 volunteers. GCSP draws over 15,000 visitors yearly. The 2024 Star Party was the 34th in the series. The 35th Grand Canyon Star Party will be held June 21-28, 2025. Additional information: https://tucsonastronomy.org/upcoming-events/grand-canyon-star-party/.
Bio: Jim Knoll joined the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association in 2004. Since that time, he has been involved in many TAAA activities, particularly outreach events. He has been the School Program Coordinator, and is currently the Coordinator for Tucson Stargazing Adventures (paid star parties). Jim is also the Chiricahua Astronomy Complex Director, the Library Telescope Coordinator, and most recently assumed the role of Coordinator for the annual Grand Canyon Star Party (GCSP). As GCSP Coordinator, he oversees a planning team of several TAAA members to orchestrate the yearly event in conjunction with the National Park Service.
Caption: Over 1,200 visitors a night at GCSP, 2018 / Credit: Dean Ketelsen
Presentation: SHARK-VIS Ushers In A New Age of Planetary Imaging
Since Voyager images in 1979 revealed volcanic activity on Jupiter’s moon Io, (the most volcanically active world in our solar system), Io’s surface has been monitored by both spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. In his presentation, scientist Al Conrad presents the highest resolution images of Io ever obtained from a ground-based telescope. Taken by the Large Binocular Telescope’s new instrument, SHARK-VIS, they show evidence of a recent major resurfacing event on Io, and usher in a new age of planetary imaging by using adaptive optics at optical wavelengths. Scientists hope monitoring Io’s eruptions will shed light on the tidal heating mechanism responsible for Io’s intense volcanism, and, according to Conrad, “Io, therefore presents a unique opportunity to learn about the mighty eruptions that helped shape the surfaces of the Earth and the moon in their distant pasts.”
Bio: Dr. Al Conrad, associate staff scientist at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1994. Before joining LBT in 2014, he worked as a software engineer and support astronomer at both Lick and Keck Observatories, then at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, where he led the development of the adaptive optics system for LINC-NIRVANA (near- infrared imaging instrument). At LBT, Al has served as the point of contact for commissioning of several instruments. His current duties include the science archive, SHARK-NIR (infra-red instrument), SHARK-VIS, and others. His research interests include asteroid systems and developing novel techniques to study comets, planets, and the moons of planets, in particular Jupiter’s moon Io. He enjoys cycling, sailing, and outrigger canoe paddling.
Jupiter’s moon Io imaged by SHARK-VIS on Jan. 10, 2024
Presentation: Following Pluto’s Heart: A Look into Pluto’s Past and Present
When NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew through the Pluto system in 2015, it revealed a geologic surface of surprising complexity, which further hinted at the dwarf planet’s unusual hidden depths. The characteristics of Pluto’s thick ice shell and its potentially long-lived subsurface ocean, as well as the composition of its rocky core, remain active questions. The answers to these questions have critical implications for how icy bodies and ocean worlds form across the outer Solar System. In this talk, I will focus on the Sputnik basin, Pluto’s largest impact basin, and investigate its formation conditions, morphology, and proposed association with geologic features elsewhere on the surface. By reproducing the giant impact that formed Sputnik, I can reconstruct Pluto’s evolution over geologic time.
Bio: Dr. Adeene Denton is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory interested in giant impacts and their influence on the history, evolution and tectonic activity of icy satellites, ocean worlds, and Kuiper Belt Objects. Adeene received bachelor’s degrees in History and Earth Science from Rice University in 2016, her MS in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science from Brown University in 2018, and her PhD in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science from Purdue University in 2022. She uses a combination of numerical tools, from shock physics codes to finite element modeling, to explore the effects of giant impacts, which begin in the first few seconds after impact and can extend for hundreds of millions of years. She is passionate about integrating numerical modeling, fieldwork, and everything in between to approach planetary problems. Asteroid 16883 adeenedenton is named for her research on impact processes on outer Solar System worlds, including Pluto.
Caption: Heart of Pluto / Credit: NASA/NEW HORIZONS TEAM
