Colorado residents and visitors who tilt their heads skyward after dark this July will witness awe-inspiring astrological phenomena, including three meteor showers.
Astronomy guide Mark Laurin -- better known as Astro Mark -- said warm temperatures make summer the best time of year to enjoy the night sky with friends and family. A Summit County resident and member of the Denver Astronomical Society, Laurin said Colorado's Rocky Mountains help block out light pollution, revealing the Milky Way and countless stars.
"I want to get people to look up and understand there is something -- bigger is not even the right word to use -- unending," Laurin said. "Under the night sky, people change. I don't know if they let their guard down or if they get overwhelmed by the awe of the event, but it causes people to become more authentic."
A mentor with the non-profit Dark Sky Colorado, Laurin is an advocate for keeping the night sky dark amid the ever-encroaching flood of artificial light in the modern world. He teaches about astronomy in conjunction with the Colorado Tourism Center and as an adjunct instructor for the Keystone Science School.
Stargazing is a free activity that has been part of the human experience for thousands of years, Laurin said. In Colorado, the celestial events occurring this month can be observed while out camping, hiking under the stars or simply by getting outside and finding a dark spot, he said.
"Get heavy into stargazing this July," Laurin wrote in a recent blog post. "Gather your posse, find a dark location, and give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Bring binoculars and settle in."
Here's what stargazers should look for in July:
The full moon in July is known as "the full buck moon," a reference to the time of year when the antlers of male deer are fully grown, Laurin said. The buck moon is also the farthest full moon from the sun annually.
The full buck moon will rise on Thursday night, July 10, Laurin said. This year, it will cross through an asterism -- a prominent group of stars named after what they appear to form -- known as the teapot, which is part of the constellation Sagittarius, he said.
Around 8:15 p.m., the full buck moon will rise above the eastern horizon about 15 minutes before the sun dips below the western horizon. The full moon will then arc low across the southern horizon, passing through the teapot, and staying up all night.
Laurin recommended stargazers who spot the teapot look to the right of the asterism to see the haziness of the Milky Way forming "steam" coming out of the "spout" of the teapot.
"Take a hike, find a quiet outcropping and look for the teapot," Laurin said. "Recognize how special it is for the full buck moon to be rummaging around inside the teapot."
Active from July 15 through Aug. 10, the Piscis Austrinids meteor shower will peak late into the night of July 28 and into the early hours of July 29, Laurin said. With fewer shooting stars than some meteor showers, it can nonetheless produce long-lasting, brilliant streaks, he said.
A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through streams of debris left behind by comets. As the Earth rotates through the debris, it will burn up in the atmosphere, lighting up as "shooting stars."
The peak of the Piscis Austrinids meteor shower will coincide with a new moon, meaning the moon's light won't interfere with the meteor shower, Laurin said. It will also overlap with dueling meteor showers, which will peak one night later.
To spot the Piscis Austrinids meteor shower, stargazers should find a dark spot with a clear view of the southern horizon, Laurin said. The shower will rise above the horizon around midnight with only about five meteors per hour.
The Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids meteor showers are the best opportunity for stargazers to witness shooting stars during the month of July, Laurin said. He said the two "dueling" meteor showers will peak during the night of July 29 into the early morning hours of July 30, with the potential for dozens of meteors per hour.
The Alpha Capricornids meteor shower is already active, while the Delta Aquarids will start on July 18. Both meteor showers will remain active into August. The Delta Aquarids shower is expected to produce between 25 to 30 meteors per hour.
While the Delta Aquarids shower will begin around 10 p.m., the Alpha Capricornids shower will be visible all night long. Both of the meteor showers will be visible on the southern horizon, with the Delta Aquarids just to the southeast of the Alpha Capricornids.
Earlier and later in the evening, Laurin said the meteor showers are likely to produce more "streakers" that will create long streaks across the sky, while toward the middle of the night they will create more "flares," "bombs" and "fireballs" that are shorter but brighter.
All three meteor showers in July will be low on the horizon, so Laurin suggested finding a place where the mountains aren't blocking the southern horizon, like high up on a mountain pass or on the northern side of a reservoir.
"We want people to get out, look up, experience awe and recognize they're part of the universe," Laurin said. "We're losing a lot of the night sky to light pollution. We have to be stewards of it. We really do."
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