AVAILABLE MONTHS

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APPARENT PATHS OF THE PLANETS

This month, Mars overtakes Saturn, while Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune all begin their retrograde loops!

Run these links as often as you like, and keep an eye on CELESTIA's clock at top right.  And remember: you can use the J, K and L keys respectively to reverse, slow down and speed up time in CELESTIA.


MERCURY: 2010 July

Having passed the Sun at the very end of June, Mercury continues east out of Gemini, through Cancer and about halfway through Leo  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).


VENUS: 2010 July

Appearing to head eastward as if "chasing" Mars, Venus continues through Leo.  But it doesn't quite make it out of this constellation by month's end  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1)


MARS: 2010 July

As if chased by Venus, Mars continues moving to the east for all of July.  It exits Leo and enters Virgo, then "passing under" Saturn  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).


JUPITER, URANUS & NEPTUNE: 2010 July

Jupiter, Uranus (in Pisces) and Neptune (in Aquarius) move very slowly, and begin their retrograde loops  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).


SATURN: 2010 July

As it continues moving to the east through Virgo, Saturn is overtaken by Mars and nearly by Venus  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).

CELES-TIPS

The following will help you enjoy this page's many links that run events directly in CELESTIA.  If you're new to the program, these tips will also help you learn to use it.

You'll find more information about many of CELESTIA's controls on our  Learning Center  page.


HIGHLIGHT EVENT

SOLAR ECLIPSE 2010 July 11

To view this video in a larger size, click here.

Here's how CELESTIA shows the Moon's shadow path over Earth  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1), and the "center of eclipse" from Earth  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).

THE SUN

APPARENT PATH OF THE SUN: 2010 July

Here are the Sun's positions along the Ecliptic at 00:00 UTC on the days shown.

The slightly curved lines above and below the Ecliptic show the extent of the Zodiac, which you may download from our  Bonuses  page and add to any version of CELESTIA.  Note that the curve in the Zodiac lines is the result of CELESTIA's rendering in perspective.

W A R N I N G !     It is never safe to look directly at the real Sun with the naked eye!  Moreover, looking at it through a telescope or binoculars—even for an instant—can cause permanent blindness!  NEVER DO IT!  Consult the professionals at your local planetarium or observatory to learn how you can safely "observe" the Sun and any SOLAR eclipse!

Of course, you can safely view CELESTIA's depiction of the Sun's apparent path in the sky in July.  Here are the links:  (1.6.x)   (1.4.1).  Note that versions 1.6.x and 1.4.1 differ in the way their "follow" and "lock" features work.  If you "follow" Earth and then "lock" the Sun to it, versions 1.6.x and 1.4.1 respectively maintain the "attitudes" of the Ecliptic and the the Celestial Equator.  This means that the Ecliptic remains "level" when you run the first link, but begins to tilt when you run the second!  Differences like this will be discussed on our  Help  page.


HALF OF EARTH IN SUNLIGHT & DARKNESS

During your voyages in CELESTIA, would you like to be able to position yourself directly over the center of the half of Earth in sunlight or the half in darkness at any time this month?  On our  Tips  page, you'll find that it's quite easy to do so!  If you're any kind of sky watcher at all, you probably know just how helpful this can be!

THE MOON

PHASES OF THE MOON: 2010 July

In UTC per CELESTIA 1.6.x (& 1.4.1):
  3rd Qtr: Jul 4, 14:36 (14:37). New: Jul 11, 19:41 (19:42).
  1st Qtr: Jul 18, 10:11 (10:12). Full: Jul 26, 1:37 (1:38).

NOTE: New, 1st Quarter, Full and 3rd Quarter Moons respectively are defined to occur when the Geocentric Ecliptic Longitudes of the Moon and the Sun differ by 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°.

The above diagram is produced with our "Moon Phases Calendar" script.  The numbers of the days of the month were added with an image-editing program.


LUNAR APOGEE & PERIGEE: 2010 July

Per CELESTIA 1.6.x (and 1.4.1):
    Apogee: Jul 1 10:13 (10:14) UTC; 405,063 km.
    Perigee: Jul 13 11:22 (11:23) UTC; 361,122 km.
    Apogee: Jul 29 00:20 (00:21) UTC; 405,957 km.
Determined by our "Earth-Moon Distance" and "Moon's Apparent Path" scripts.  Note that distances given are the distances between Earth's and the Moon's centers.


LUNAR ANALEMMA: 2010 July

Here is the lunar analemma, generated by the Moon's positions relative to the mean lunar orbit and the Ecliptic at 0:00 UTC every day of July.

This phenomenon can be observed using our "Moon's Apparent Path" script.  The analemma's change of shape month after month begins to give us an idea of just how irregular the lunar orbit is.


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Various astronomical "shadow events" occur throughout the Solar System!  This month's more interesting ones are featured here.

SHADOW WORKS

Here we highlight (and set up) the most awe-inspiring eclipses taking place in our Solar System, so that all you need to do is click on their links.  Don't forget that you can generate lists of Earth's, Jupiter's, Saturn's, Uranus's, Neptune's and even Pluto's eclipses, using CELESTIA's own built-in "Eclipse Finder."  You'll find it in the program's menu under "Navigation".

All events listed below are displayed as if viewed from Earth, their magnifications shown in parentheses at the lower right of CELESTIA's window.  Events involving more than one moon are often cyclical, so usually only the first example is given, and then the period of the cycle.


JUPITER

Simultaneous solar eclipses on Jupiter are again a "no show" in July.  Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto—the "Galilean" moons—remain "spread out" in their orbits this month.  So the highlights of the 33 solar eclipses they produce are less spectacular than those in other months.  Notice that Jupiter's shadow still stretches off to the west (right on your screen,) and examples of the Galileans moving in and out of it are also included.


SATURN

While CELESTIA 1.6.x shows the shadows of Titan, Rhea, Iapetus, Dione and Tethys, version 1.4.1 displays only the shadows of Titan, Rhea & Iapetus.  So, 1.6.x and 1.4.1 respectively show 33 and 6 solar eclipses on Saturn in July.  The highlights are as follows:


URANUS, NEPTUNE & Dwarf Planet PLUTO

Neither Uranus nor Neptune will experience eclipses for decades.  Dwarf planet Pluto will experience no eclipses by Charon for about a century!















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News: 2010 July

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