Hello ...
Here's your Cosmic Pursuits newsletter for July 2023!
1. All five bright planets make an appearance this month,
with Venus, Mars, and Mercury in the evening sky and Jupiter and Saturn in the eastern sky before dawn. The Full Buck Moon arrives. And don't forget to look for a long, lingering meteor shower through the end of July, one of the better meteor showers of the year. Here's what to see in the Night Sky This Month...
2. Most bright stars you see are likely younger than the stones in your backyard. But one star in Libra, the Methuselah Star, was born more than 13 billion years ago, when the universe was less than 5% of its current age. Grab a pair of binoculars and learn how to see this ancient relic. It's the oldest thing you will ever see...
3. Speaking of ancient stars, Bob King takes you on a tour of globular clusters that were once part of small galaxies gobbled up by
the Milky Way billions of years ago.
4. When Albert Einstein awaited the first observational confirmation of his now-famous General Theory of Relativity in 1919, he was asked what he would say if the results did not confirm his work. "I would have had to pity our dear Lord", replied Einstein. "The theory is correct." This week astronomers found yet more confirmation by showing the universe is awash in gravitational waves, a key prediction of his theory.
5. For many, it's been a hot, smoky summer. Some thoughts on our disappearing sky.
And the astronomy quote of the month...
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
-Albert Einstein
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Wishing you clear skies!
Brian Ventrudo
Publisher
CosmicPursuits.com
