2019 Week 30: (July 21-July 27)

This week in the sky the Moon will be at its last quarter phase and will also be in conjunction with the 7th planet in our Solar System: Uranus.

	Event
July 21	Mercury in Inferior Conjunction
July 24	Last Quarter
July 25	Uranus 5°N of Moon

On July 21, Mercury will be at inferior conjunction with the Sun.  This means it is positioned between the Earth and the Sun and we will be unable to see it for a few weeks.

Last Quarter Moon

Look south after the Sun has gone down and catch the two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn.  They will be hanging around with us until the end of Summer.  If you have a pair of binoculars hanging around the house stick them on Jupiter and check out the 4 Galilean Moons orbiting the big giant.

Jupiter

There are three rocket launches scheduled for this week.  India will once again attempt to launch their lunar mission, Chandrayaan 2, after many delays.  A couple days later a scheduled Falcon 9 launch will take supplies up to the International Space Station.  The week ends with a Chinese commercial space company sending multiple payloads into orbit.  You can catch these launches live online.

Date	Event
July 22	GSLV Mk.3 - Chandrayaan 2
July 24	Falcon 9 - SpaceX CRS 18
July 25	Hyperbola 1 - Multi-payload

There is quite an assortment of public events happening around Calgary this week.  Join us at three branches of the Calgary Public Library as we present our Astronomical Sights of Summer program!  We will be at Shawnessy, Village Square and the Nicholls Family Library at the dates and times listed below!

Also, come out to the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory for its annual Milky Way Nights!  This is a great opportunity to escape the light pollution of Calgary and catch a glimpse of the Milky Way as it crosses overhead!  A link to this event can be found below.

https://science.ucalgary.ca/rothney-observatory/public-events/all#!view/event/event_id/2102

Date	Event
July 22	Shawnessy Library (14:30-15:30)
July 25	Village Square Library (17:30-18:30)
July 25	Milky Way Nights - Rothney Astrophysical Observatory (22:00-02:00)
July 26	Milky Way Nights - Rothney Astrophysical Observatory (22:00-02:00)
July 27	Nicholls Family Library
July 27	Milky Way Nights - Rothney Astrophysical Observatory (22:00-02:00)

This week is looking to be warm and clear, a change from the weather we have been having for the last few months.  Take the opportunity to spend time outside at night cooling down and watching the Summer stars above.