Skies will be mostly clear on Monday (July 4) evening across a large part of the contiguous United States, as millions gaze skyward to be entertained by fireworks in celebration of the 246th year of American Independence. There is a chance of spotty light precipitation in parts of the Pacific Northwest, New Mexico and Colorado, as well as parts of the Piedmont and Southeast US.
If you are watching fireworks with your family and friends, you may want to point out some of the objects that will be in the spotlight. If you have a telescope, give them a close up view of some of the stars. On July 4, what will you be able to see?
When our country was founded, what was astronomy like? What was in the early summer evening skies of 1776? All of these questions will be answered here.
The moon is taking center stage.
The moon is one of the most popular targets for astronomy. The moon will be in a position to be seen in the southwest before sundown on Independence Day. The new moon will be six days old and only two days before it arrives at the first quarter or half phase on July 6th.
If you want to show off the wide lunar crescent through a telescope, you should wait until the sky is sufficiently dark to do so. The first human beings to set foot on a natural satellite in 1969 happened in this region. The moon will be seen until it sets in the west.
There are lunar phases and monthly lunar cycles.
There are planets that are visible to the naked eye.
Most people want to see the ringed wonder of the solar system after the moon. The naked eye can see that it is a bright white star which will rise in the east-southeastern at 10:45 pm.
It's best to wait a couple of hours to allow it to reach 20 degrees above the horizon. The famous rings can be seen with high power binoculars and small spotting scope. The view from a 6-inch telescope is amazing. Even for a veteran amateur astronomer like myself, the sight can be jaw-dropping. Someone has accused me of showing a slide ofSaturn when looking through the eyepiece, but I have never stopped showing it to those who have never seen it through a telescope. There is no question that Saturn is the most beautiful planet in the universe.
The king of the planets is Jupiter. You will have to wait a couple of hours before you can see it, but it will be well worth the wait. It shines with a silvery glow that is 16 times brighter thanSaturn. Three of the four Galilean moons are lined up on one side of Jupiter. Io, Ganymede and Callisto will be going Outbound. Jupiter will be in front of the fourth moon.
You can point out Mars, a bright orange-yellow light hovering in the eastern sky soon after 3 a.m., if you still want to. Venus will be low in the east- north east horizon about 45 minutes before sunrise.
There are planets in the July night sky.
The night sky of 76.
Enough about the July 4 weather. On July 4th, 1776, there was no bright planets in the evening sky. The ringed planet was visible to the naked eye at 9 p.m. as seen from Philadelphia. bluish Spica was the bright star of Virgo. A gibbous moon four days past full would be due to rise in the east-northeastern part of the country.
Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter were all too close to the sun to be seen on July 4th, 1776.
There is a role for almanacs.
The almanac was an important part of daily life in the American colonies. It gave the rising and setting times for the sun and moon, the times at which certain stars would reach their highest point above the horizon on different days of the year. The care, cultivation, and breeding of crops and animals were included in the typical almanac. The forecasts were called on the title page.
The two most popular almanacs of the 18th century were Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack from Philadelphia and Nathaniel Ames' astronomer's diary from Boston. In a country with 2.5 million people, they sold between 50,000 and 100,000 copies each year. A father and son team edited The Ames' Diary for 50 years.
The elder Ames was a big fan of astronomy and his diary was a good example. He kept his fellow New Englanders informed of the upcoming transits of Mercury and Venus, as well as the history of the telescope, and speculated on the inhabitants of Jupiter. Nathaniel Jr., a Harvard graduate, continued the series until the demands of the Revolutionary War ended it.
Dating back to the time of independence.
There are many stars that began their journeys before our country was born. Calculating such distances with an accuracy of one light year is not possible because of the difficulty in measuring conjugates. There is a bright star above the horizon on July 4th that is 250 light years away. Spica was ranked sixteenth among the 21 bright stars.
It is possible that if you look at Spica this year on July 4th, you will see stars that date back to the founding of the United States.
The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies will be celebrated in the year 2026.
Joe is an instructor at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for a number of publications. We encourage you to follow us on social networking sites.
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