Impact
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JULY 2005 SKYWATCH Dominating the news over the holiday weekend was the July 3-4 NASA blasting of Tempel 1. Impact was due at 1:52 a.m. EDT on July 4. The idea was for the Impactor spacecraft to slam into the comet, “blowing some of its innards into space for scientists to study.” Interesting, sure, but it sounds barbaric to me—attacking space objects just to see what happens. Comet Tempel 1 is easy to locate on this date. Find bright Jupiter low in the western sky. To the left of Jupiter (to the right in the southern hemisphere) is the bright star, Spica. Close in to the left of Spica is Comet Tempel 1. It may require binoculars, but we can try to find it in the sky both before and after the collision. Blasting a comet is very symbolic of these times, and of the new U.S. solar year. It shows on the midheaven of the U.S. Solar Return through Chiron in Aquarius placed there, heading straight for the heavens. Chiron relates to space ventures, to weapons, and to nuclear power. Furthermore, this midheaven is at the degree of the U.S. Pluto. The U.S. is flexing its muscle, showing the world its power in a way which we can all view, and showing us also that it is indeed commanding space. To learn more about Impactor, try the NASA website, or www.astronomy.com. The only good viewing planets this month are Jupiter, always radiant, and red Mars, growing bigger every day. Brilliant Jupiter is visible during the night, sinking further towards the western horizon every night. In the meantime, shining jewel Venus, now just clearing the horizon at sunset, is rising to meet Jupiter. We can watch them head for this rendezvous, getting closer and closer, during July and August. In September, voila! They meet. Mars rises in the east around midnight, just as Jupiter is preparing to set in the west. We can see their real opposition in the heavens. Mars is red, although sky conditions can make it appear otherwise. The best views come in the early morning, when Mars is high in the sky. This means that its path crosses the U.S. daily, while at the same time its apparent size is increasing. On July 17, Mars is closest to the Sun, and appears quite large. From then on, its size and brightness will increase quickly. Coincidentally, this is just when Saturn is entering Leo, the Sun’s sign. Looks like a blast of heat! |
