This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023 July 15 – July 22
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023 July 15 – July 22
Serpens the Serpent is unique among the 88 constellations in that it is split in two by another constellation, Ophiuchus. As the name suggests, Ophiuchus is the Serpent Bearer, and he is often depicted holding a large snake. The two constellations are also intertwined in mythology.
Ophiuchus represents Asclepius, a renowned healer who could raise the dead. After killing a snake one day, he watched as another snake placed a herb on its dead companion and revived it. After this, Asclepius learned the healing arts and his success at reviving people drew the ire of Hades, a brother of Zeus and ruler of the Underworld. Receiving a complaint from Hades that he was being robbed of subjects, Zeus killed Asclepius with a thunderbolt.
The part of Serpens west of Ophiuchus is called Serpens Caput (meaning head); to the east is Serpens Cauda (for tail). M16 is a star cluster with a rather faint cloud, the Eagle Nebula, within Serpens Cauda. It gained fame as the iconic Pillars of Creation photo from the early years of the Hubble Space Telescope. The delightful globular cluster M5 is found in Serpens Caput, and several other globular clusters reside within the borders of Ophiuchus.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 5:42 am and sunset will occur at 9:07 pm, giving 15 hours, 25 minutes of daylight (5:50 am and 9:09 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:49 am and set at 9:00 pm, giving 15 hours, 11 minutes of daylight (5:57 am and 9:03 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is new on Monday; the crescent forms the peak of a wide triangle with Venus and Mercury on Wednesday, and it passes near Mars on Thursday. Venus is stationary on Thursday, after which it moves toward inferior conjunction with the Sun in mid-August. Mercury is near the Beehive star cluster this Saturday, although seeing the cluster’s stars in twilight with binoculars will be difficult, and by next Friday Mercury will be a fist-width to the right of Venus. Saturn and Jupiter are well-placed for observing in the early morning hours.
There will be public observing at the ball field in St. Martins on Thursday evening beginning at 9:30 pm, as part of Old Home Week festivities. If cloudy, we will try again on Friday, June 21.
