Open up the calendar! It's time to set your schedule by the stars... or maybe by the moon, a new comet, and the ISS.
On July 10th, the next full moon will be rising in the Northland. From the Minnesota shore, the moon will rise at 9:34pm over Lake Superior. "If we're lucky and we can keep the wildfire smoke away, we should have a beautiful moonrise," says Bob King.
If you're looking for something a bit faster, the International Space Station will be making several passes overhead for the next few nights. The ISS, moving at roughly 17,000 mph, makes a trip around the planet every 92 minutes. Because of its orbit, the ISS is currently basking in sunlight around the clock for the next few days.
On July 20th, from 3:30am-5:30am, the crescent moon will be overlaying the Pleiades, making for a unique sight in the sky.
And a week ago, on July 1st, a new comet was discovered. This is quite a rare sighting, as its origin is not of our neighborhood, nor is this its final stop. "It's only the third interstellar object that we know of that's crossed through our solar system," says King. The new comet, named 3I/Atlas, will be most visible in November and December - with the help of a telescope.
You can hear Astro Bob's Backyard Astronomy every other Tuesday at 8:20am on Northland Morning.
