EarthSky News - July 30 - Top Stories This Week

July 30 Top Stories This Week by:

Close shave from an undetected asteroid Astronomers discovered a small asteroid 3 days after it passed 1/3 the moon's distance from Earth. We are galaxy stuff New study suggests that each of us may be made in part from matter that passes from one galaxy to another. How many distant comets? Mysterious long-period comets might be more common - and bigger - than astronomers thought. This coming week … Watch for Delta Aquarid meteors Now through early August is a great time to watch meteors. Why do fireflies light up? Explanation here, plus many wonderful firefly photos. Top tips for binocular stargazing Whether you're a beginning stargazer or a veteran of thousands of starry nights, binoculars can be your best friend. Where's the moon? First quarter The 2nd of this month's 2 first quarter moons happens today. It'll appear half-illuminated and to the east of the dazzling planet Jupiter! Before dawn … Orion the Hunter returns Orion the Hunter - the most noticeable of constellations - returns to the east before dawn in each year at this time.

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This is not a mystical tree It’s an aerial view of glacial river patterns in Iceland. Manish Mamtani used a drone to capture this image.

Before dawn … Orion the Hunter returns Orion the Hunter - the most noticeable of constellations - returns to the east before dawn in each year at this time. Submit your photo to EarthSky here!

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EarthSky News - July 29 - Test of Asteroid Defense System

July 29 Test of Asteroid Defense System by:

A test of NASA's asteroid defense system Asteroid 2012 TC4 might give Earth a close shave, or pass more distantly, in October. Scientists are trying to reacquire the asteroid this summer - find it again in space - to determine its precise orbit. This weekend … Mercury farthest from sun Look for Mercury in the western twilight, starting around 45 minutes after sunset. This weekend … Watch for Delta Aquarid meteors The Delta Aquarid shower is long and rambling and overlaps with the Perseids. Since the moon will be bright during this year's Perseid peak, now is the time to watch meteors. Perseid meteors: All you need to know In case you're wondering … Star of the week: Epsilon Lyrae Binoculars reveal that Epsilon Lyrae is a double star - two stars in one. A telescope shows that each component star is also a double. The double double star!

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Next few evenings … Mercury farthest from sun Mercury will be pretty much on line with 2 much brighter celestial objects, the moon and the planet Jupiter.

Awesome beauty of the Eagle Nebula Here is the famous Pillars of Creation photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. It's one of the features within the Eagle Nebula. Submit your photo to EarthSky here!

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