Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 16:50 – Southern Delta Aquariids and Perseids combine this summer for a double meteor shower.
The nights can be shorter during the summer months, but they are almost the best time of year to sleep late and contemplate the night sky.
From the morning alignment of bright planets to the nearest supermoon of the year, the summer season will offer great opportunities to see the sky. The highlight of the season, however, will probably be the superimposed meteor showers that send streaks of light at night.
Here is our guide to the astronomical sites shown for the summer of 2022.
- June 21: Summer Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)
- June 22-27: The Crescent Moon passes through the alignment of planets before dawn
- July 4: The Earth in aphelion (farthest point from the Sun in 2022)
- July 13: Super Buck Moon (Largest Full Moon of 2022)
- July 18-26: The Crescent Moon passes through the alignment of planets before dawn
- July 28/29: Aquariid southern delta meteor showers
- August 12: Super Sturgeon Moon
- 12/13 August: Perseid meteor shower peak
- August 14: Saturn in opposition
- August 15-16: The gibbous moon passes through Jupiter
- August 19-20: The Crescent Moon passes through Mars
- September 10: Full Moon of the Corn (Harvest Moon)
- September 11-12: The gibbous moon passes through Jupiter
- September 16-27: The Crescent Moon passes through Mars
- September 22: Autumn Equinox (Northern Hemisphere)
Visit our Complete 2022 Summer Guide for in-depth summer forecasting, planning tips, and more!
PLANETARY ALIGNMENT
Throughout the spring, an alignment of planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) has been visible along the eastern horizon, just hours before sunrise.
In early summer, this training will still be there. However, it will be more widespread in the sky and with a new member added.
Starting June 22, Mercury will appear above the horizon around 4:30 a.m. local time. It can be difficult to detect, depending on sky conditions. Binoculars or a telescope are sure to help. You’ll also need to be quick, as it will only be visible for a short time before the bright spot is lost in the approaching dawn twilight.
Over the course of the season, the lineup will change. Mercury will be lost to the sun’s glare in early July, and the same will happen to Venus about a month later. Meanwhile, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn will move farther and farther away, leaving only Mars and Jupiter clearly visible in the sky before dawn in September.
TERRA A AFELI
On July 4, the Earth will reach the farthest point from the Sun in its orbit during this year. This point is known as aphelion (pronounced ah-FEE-lee-on).
The Earth’s orbit around the Sun, observing the solstices, the equinoxes and the time of the perihelion and aphelion. Image is not scaled. Credit: NASA / Scott Sutherland
We often talk about the Earth “surrounding” the Sun. However, our planet does not draw a perfect circle as it travels in its annual orbit around our home star. Instead, it follows an egg-shaped “elliptical” path, as shown in exaggerated detail in the diagram above.
The average distance from Earth to the Sun (1 astronomical unit, or 1 AU) is about 150 million kilometers. The perihelion, the closest point on Earth to the Sun during any year, usually takes place around January 4, more or less minutes a day. The aphelion, on the other hand, occurs around July 4 of each year. While the average distance from the planet to the perihelion is about 147 million km and the average distance from the aphelion is about 152 million km, the exact distances change from year to year.
From TimeandDate.com, the Earth was 147,105,052 km from the Sun during Periheli 2022, which occurred at 1:52 am EST on January 4th. The Afeli 2022 passes at 3:10 am EDT on July 4, at a distance of 152,098,455 km.
You will not hear or see anything while this is happening. Perihelion and aphelion do not even have a great effect on our seasons (which are caused by the tilt of the Earth). However, you may pause for a moment at the right time to mark the passage of this orbital landmark.
SUMMER MOONS
The first full moon of the summer will be one you don’t want to miss!
The full moon of July, which rises on the night of July 13, is the supermoon of the perigee of 2022, the largest and brightest we have seen all year so far.
The Earth’s moon does not draw a perfect circle as it revolves around the planet. In contrast, its orbit is slightly elliptical. Therefore, sometimes it is closer to us, and when it is closer we say that it is in the perigee. Other times, the Moon is farther away, and we call it its farthest distance. Due to the influence of the Sun and other planets, the perigee and apogee vary with each orbit that completes the Moon.
When the Moon is at or near the perigee during any particular orbit, it appears larger and brighter, and is labeled as a supermoon.
The definition of a supermoon is a full moon (or new moon) that occurs when the moon is at 90% of its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit.
Supermoons are not uncommon. Depending on how you interpret the above definition, there are between three and five each year.
However, there are two supermoons this summer, and they are always a beautiful view of the night sky.
Also, watch as the waning crescent moon passes in front of the planetary alignment in late June and July. The Moon will pass through Jupiter and Mars in the sky in August and September.
METEORS BOARDS
Every year, in July and August, the Earth passes through a pair of superimposed currents of comet debris in space. When this happens, bits of ice, dust and gravel from the streams cause meteors to come out of our night sky.
We meet the first of these two currents from July 12. It is thought to come from comet 96P / Machholz, this current produces a meteor shower known as Aquariids in the southern delta. This rain reaches its maximum on July 29, when it delivers about 20 meteors every hour. It then shrinks in late August.
The meteor shower of the Southern Delta Aquariids gets its name from the fact that its radiant is near the constellation Aquarius. This night sky view shows the location of the radiant sky before dawn on July 29, 2022. Credit: Stellarium / Scott Sutherland
This year’s summit for the Southern Delta Aquariids is at a lucky time. The New Moon is only a day earlier, on July 28, so the Moon will not spoil our view of the meteor shower.
On July 17, the Earth sinks into the second stream of debris. Left by comet 109P / Swift-Tuttle, meteoroids in this current showed one of the best meteor views in the northern hemisphere: the Perseid meteor shower.
The location of the Perseids radiating at midnight from 12 to 13 August. Credit: Stellarium / Scott Sutherland
During the peak of the Perseids, on the night of August 12-13, rain can produce up to 100 meteors per hour. Sometimes even more!
The Perseid radiant, the position from which meteors appear to originate in the sky, is special. Located in the northern sky, it never sets below the horizon at this time of year. Therefore, for meteors to appear, observers only have to wait for the Sun to set completely.
Unfortunately, in 2022, the peak of the Perseids occurs only one night after the full moon in August. With the moon shining in the sky all night, it will probably reduce the number of meteors we can see. However, because the radiant meteor shower is centered in the northeastern part of the sky, observers can minimize this interference by keeping the Moon out of their direct line of sight.
However, it may be best to observe this meteor shower during the week before the peak. In general, there will be fewer meteors, but with at least part of the night without the Moon in the sky, we may be able to see more.
Fortunately, however, the Perseids have the distinction of having the largest number of fireball meteors of any annual meteor shower. Fireballs are so bright that they can eclipse the planet Venus and cut off any light pollution from the Moon.
See: Perseid fireball captured on camera