Trending News|July 16, 2014 01:51 EDT
Celestial Events 2014: Visible Planets, Full Moon Dates and Meteor Showers Details
Night-time sky gazers are in for a treat as amazing celestial events are set to take place this month.
According to Seasky.org, a full moon will be seen on July 12, and during this event the moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated. This type of occurrence is also known as the Full Buck Moon by early Native American tribes because it is believed that male buck deer would begin to grow antlers at this time of year.
On July 26, a new moon will be occurring at 8:08 UTC. The moon, which will be directly between the Earth and the Sun, will not be visible. However, experts claim that this will be the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
The Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower will light up the sky on July 28 and 29. Seasky.org states that "The Delta Aquarids is an average shower that can produce up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak." The meteor shower runs annually from July 12 to August 23. It is reported that this is a great year for the shower because a thin crescent moon will set early in the evening, which will result in dark skies"”an ideal backdrop for a good show. Experts recommend viewing the meteor shower at a dark location after midnight.
Meanwhile, Space.com is reporting that the planets Mercury and Venus will be visible during this month. To view Venus, experts are saying that stargazers will find it by looking at the east-northeast sky on the morning of July 24, before sunrise. On the same day, Mercury will be spotted about "10 degrees to the lower left of crescent moon."