Stars over Sisters

Along with fireworks to celebrate the birth of our nation, the beginning of July also brings a full moon on July 3. The moon will wane into the last quarter by July 11, when only the left half of the moon's surface appears illuminated by the sun. The new moon, completely dark in the sky, will come on July 19. On July 26, just the right half of the moon will be lit up as the first quarter phase arrives.

July is a great month to view the summer constellation Hercules. This pattern of stars is a bit difficult to find in the night sky because even its brightest stars are still fairly dim. It lies between the constellations Lyra, to the left, and Corona Borealis, to the right. To find Hercules, follow the arc of the Big Dipper's handle to Arcturus, which is in the constellation Bootes. To the left of Bootes is the U-shaped constellation of Corona Borealis. Hercules is to the left of that and displays a pinwheel shape.

According to Greek and Roman folklore, Hercules was the illegitimate son of Zeus.

As a result, Zeus' wife, Juno, hated Hercules, since she viewed him as a living reminder of her shame.

When Hercules was a baby, Juno sent two snakes into his crib, which he killed with his bare hands.

As he grew older, Juno drove him insane, making him kill his family.

Hercules finally went to the oracle Delphi, which told him to serve the king Eurystheus.

During this time, he completed 12 tasks that were thought to be impossible, including wrestling and killing Leo the lion and slaying Hydra, which was a poisonous monster that could grow back its heads, making Hercules one of the greatest heroes in mythology.

Eleven of the stars in the constellation are orbited by exoplanets, which are planets outside of our solar system; it contains two prominent globular star clusters, one of which is the biggest and brightest north of the celestial equator. Hercules is the fifth largest constellation.

After sunset on July 24, Mars, Saturn, the bright star Spica and a crescent moon will be clustered together in the west. Jupiter and Venus will be the bright star-like objects in the pre-dawn eastern sky, with Venus being the brighter of the two.

If you are interested in learning more about astronomy, come to the next meeting of the Sisters Astronomy Club (SAC) on Tuesday, July 17 at 7 p.m., in the Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD) building. On Friday, July 20, SAC members will put on a public star watch, called Stars over Sisters, also held at SPRD, beginning at 9 p.m.