Monday July 6th at 10 UT (5 am CDT) the Dwarf Planet Pluto will be at opposition. All outer planets and other solar system objects that orbit the Sun beyond the orbit of the Earth have opposition. At that orbital position the Earth is between the Sun and the outer solar system object, much like the Sun-Earth-Moon arrangement for a full Moon. At opposition the outer solar system object rises at the local time for sunset and sets at the local time for sunrise – again just like the full Moon.
Where is Pluto and is Pluto visible to the naked eye? Pluto currently is above the teapot-shaped asterism for Sagittarius the Archer. It is located near a 3rd magnitude star, Xi2 Sagittarii, however Pluto has an apparent magnitude of 14.0 making it too dim to be seen in other than a large telescope or with time exposure images.
Click here to learn more about the New Horizons mission and take part in the mission with some of the interactives created by NASA.
Click here to go to the Qué tal in the Current Skies web site for more observing information for this month.
Filed under: Astronomy, Astrophotography, citizen science, Classroom, Dwarf Planets, Earth and Space, Lesson Plan, Observing, Planets, Solar System Exploration Tagged: 7x50 binoculars, Antares, astronomy, astrophotography, dwarf planet, earth, full Moon, nasa, new horizons, observing, orbit around the sun, outer planets, outer solar system object, Planet Pluto, planets, pluto, pluto flyby, sagittarius, Scorpius, solar system
