The Local Weekly The heart and soul of our communities with news and information about the Sunshine Coast
Mercury will be very low in the west north west in the evening twilight after mid-month. Venus will be very low in the west north west in the evening twilight late in July. Mars will appear in the south after dark and sets in the south west near 2am. Jupiter will be low in the west during twilight and will set in the west near midnight. Saturn will be seen in the south at dusk and sets in west south west near 3am.
Friday July 1 is Canada Day and is a major public outreach festival on the Sunshine Coast Astronomy Club calendar. Hackett Park in Sechelt is the venue where the Astronomy Club will have a booth and various pieces of viewing equipment on display and for public use.
Sunday July 10: The Halfmoon Bay Country Fair is a popular event and will be held at Coopers Green Park from 9am-5pm
Saturday July 30: The Starlight Coast Star Party is a new event and will be held at the Sunshine Coast Observatory on the grounds of Sechelt Airport. There will be a number of telescopes set up around the observatory giving visitors ample Lunar and Solar viewing, 3pm until midnight. The public are cordially invited.
The possibility of viewing Noctilucent Cloud formations immediately after sunset will remain throughout July. On July 8 the Moon will be five degrees to the lower right of Jupiter. During the week of July 10 you will be able to spot Arcturus before sunset. The full moon on July 19 is known as the Thunder Moon because thunderstorms are regular at this time of year. Native folklore calls it the Full Buck Moon because July is when the new antlers of Buck Deer push out of their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur.
On Saturday July 9 the Sunshine Coast Observatory will be open for Public Viewing and on Friday July 15 the Astro Cafe will take place along the seawall at Davis Bay.
In Astronomy there are certain phrases or words that may not be familiar to the average user. The first of these is the word Occult. An event that occurs when one celestial body conceals or obscures another, for example, a solar eclipse is an Occultation of the sun by the moon.
A Transit is the passage of a celestial body across an observers meridian or the passage of a celestial body across the disc of a larger one.
