Saturday SkyWatch 11^th Jul 2026

🌅 Sunset & Observatory Hours

• Sunset:                             5:14 PM
• Nautical Sunset:              6:14 PM
• Astronomical Sunset:   6:44 PM
  This Saturday we will be open from sunset till late (around 9:30 – 10:00 PM).

☁️ Weather & Viewing Conditions

Click on the widgets to visit the parent weather sites for a longer, more detailed forecast.

B.O.M. Forecast for The Rock: http://www.bom.gov.au/places/nsw/the-rock/

To learn how to read the Clear Outside forecast page, follow this link: https://clearoutside.com/page/how_to_use/

Moon Phase

Waning Crescent (9.6 % illumination), 26.55 days old, and rises on 12 Jul at 4:59 AM.  Another dark sky evening for great observations of dim objects.

ℹ️ Other Information

 We recommend to bring a jacket as the weather turns cooler. As always feel free to bring a picnic blanket, some snacks and non-alcoholic refreshments.  Please don’t forget to bring your Aeroguard or Bushmans in case of mosquitoes or other annoying insects.

🔭 In the Sky Tonight

Note that just because these objects are in the sky at the moment, you may not always see them. Visibility is dependent on weather, moon brightness, atmospheric conditions, and equipment parameters. Check the weather and viewing conditions above, and if in doubt ask a friendly volunteer if you’re able to see an object in the night sky!

Feature Object: M53 (Globular Cluster)

Messier 53 (also known as NGC 5024) was discovered by the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode in 1775.  Messier 53 is 59,700 light-years away, one of the most distant globular clusters from Earth.  It has an apparent magnitude of 8.3 and can be seen through a small telescope in the constellation Coma Berenices. Larger instruments will resolve the cluster’s individual stars.

Globular clusters are much older and larger than open clusters, so they are generally expected to contain more elderly, red stars and fewer young, blue stars. But Messier 53 has surprised astronomers with its unusual number of a type of star called blue stragglers. Blue stragglers appear to be brighter and more youthful than they should be. Although their precise nature remains mysterious, these unusual objects are probably formed by close encounters, possibly collisions, between stars in the crowded centers of globular clusters like M53.

M53 is a metal-poor cluster and at one time was thought to be the most metal-poor cluster in the Milky Way.  Most of the red giant branch in the cluster are first-generation stars. That is, they did not form from gas recycled from previous generations of stars in the cluster. This differs from the majority of globular clusters that are more dominated by second generation stars.  The second generation stars in M53 tend to be more concentrated in the core region. Overall, the stellar composition of cluster members is similar to members of the Milky Way halo.

The cluster displays tidal features including clumps and ripples, and tails along its orbit in an east–west direction. A tidal bridge-like structure appears to connect M53 with the globular cluster NGC 5053, and an envelope surrounding both clusters. These may indicate that a dynamic tidal interaction has occurred between the two clusters, a situation that may be unique within the Milky Way.  In addition, M53 is a candidate member of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy tidal stream.

Prominent Constellations

Chamaeleon, Dorado, Carina, Scorpius, Vela, Puppis, Lupus, Centaurus, Corvus, Crater, Coma Berenices, Antlia, Ara, Ophiuchus, Sagittarius, Norma, Reticulum, Serpens, Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Canes Venatici, Bootes, Monoceros, Hydra, Circinus, Triangulum Australe, Crux, Musca, Tucana, Canis Major, Pavo.

Celestron Alignment Objects

Regulus, Alpha Centauri, Canopus, Denebola, Acrux, Naos, Venus

Other Bright Stars

Adhara, Alphard, Alphecca, Aludra, Antares, Arcturus, Atria, Avior, Dschubba, Gacrux, Hadar, Kaus Australis, Menkent, Miaplacidus, Mimosa, Muhlifain, Peacock, Regor, Sabik, Sargas, Scutulum, Shaula, Spica, Suhail, Wezen.

Open Clusters

NGC 4755 (Jewel Box Cluster), M 7 (Ptolemy’s Cluster), C 100 (Running Chicken Nebula), NGC 3766 (Pearl Cluster), NGC 5281 (Little Scorpion Cluster), NGC 5316, NGC 3532 (Wishing Well Cluster), NGC 2547, NGC 2516 (Southern Beehive), NGC 3114, NGC 3293 (Little Jewel Box Cluster), NGC 6124, NGC 6193, NGC 6167, NGC 6231 (Northern Jewel Box), NGC 6383, IC 2714, C 85 (Omicron Velorum Cluster), NGC 6087, C 102 (Southern Pleiades), M 21 (Webb’s Cross Cluster), M 23, M 24 (Small Sagittarius Star Cloud), M 46, M 47, M 48, M 67 (Golden Eye Cluster), M 93 (Critter Cluster), NGC 2506, NGC 2360 (Caroline s Cluster ), NGC 2362 (Tau CMa Cluster), NGC 2477, NGC 5823, NGC 6025, NGC 4609 (Coal Sack Nebula), NGC 6067, Melotte 111 (Coma Star Cluster)

Globular Clusters

NGC 104 (47 Tucanae), NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri), NGC 6397, NGC 6541 (Cacciatore Cluster), NGC 5986, NGC 6441 (Silver Nugget Cluster), NGC 6388, NGC 4372, M 4 (Spider Globular Cluster), M 19, M 62 (Flickering Globular), NGC 6752, M 80, M 3, M 5 (Rose Cluster), M 9, M 10, M 12, M 28, M 53, M 68, M 69, M 70, M 107 (Crucifix Cluster), NGC 5694, NGC 3201, NGC 6352, NGC 5286, NGC 362, NGC 4833 (The Southern Butterfly), NGC 6101, NGC 2032, NGC 2467, NGC 6281 (Moth Wing Cluster)

Galaxies

NGC 5128 (Hamburger Galaxy), M 83 (Southern Pinwheel Galaxy), NGC 4945 (The Tweezers Galaxy), NGC 5068, NGC 4650, NGC 4753 (Dust Devil Galaxy), NGC 5102 (Iota s Ghost), NGC 4699, NGC 5253, NGC 4976, NGC 3557, NGC 4696, NGC 3962, NGC 4565 (Needle Galaxy), NGC 4494, NGC 3585, NGC 3256, NGC 2997, NGC 3175, NGC 2442 (Meathook Galaxy), NGC 6744, NGC 1313 (The Topsy Turvy Galaxy), NGC 4559 (Koi Fish Galaxy), M 49, M 58, M 59, M 60, M 61 (Swelling Spiral Galaxy), M 64 (Black Eye Galaxy), M 65 (Leo Triplet), M 66, M 84, M 85, M 86, M 87 (Virgo A), M 88, M 89, M 90, M 91, M 95, M 96, M 98, M 99 (St. Catherine’s Wheel), M 100 (Mirror Galaxy), M 104 (Sombrero Galaxy), M 105, NGC 4244, NGC 5005, NGC 4631 (Whale Galaxy ), NGC 4889, NGC 3626, NGC 5248, NGC 2775, NGC 4697, NGC 3115, NGC 292 (Small Magellanic Cloud), NGC 2573 (Bear Paw Galaxy), NGC 4151 (Eye of Sauron ), NGC 4308, NGC 4567 (Butterfly Galaxies), NGC 4568 (Butterfly Galaxies), NGC 4622 (Backwards Galaxy), NGC 4676 (Mice Galaxies ), NGC 6872 (Condor Galaxy ), LMC (Large Magellanic Cloud), ESO 97-G13 (Circinus Galaxy)

Active and Interacting Galaxies

NGC 4038 (Antennae Galaxies), NGC 2936 (Porpoise Galaxy )

Bright Nebula

NGC 3372 (Eta Carinae), IC 2631 (Chamaeleon Cloud), NGC 2070 (Tarantula Nebula), NGC 3576 (Statue of Liberty Nebula), NGC 3199 (Banana Nebula), NGC 3603 (The Giant Nebula), NGC 6334 (Cat s Paw Nebula), NGC 3242 (Ghost of Jupiter), NGC 3132 (Southern Ring Nebula), IC 2220 (Toby Jug Nebula), M 20 (Trifid Nebula), M 8 (Lagoon Nebula), M 17 (Omega Nebula), M 16 (Eagle Nebula), NGC 6729, IC 2948, IC 4628 (Prawn Nebula), NGC 5367

Dark Nebula

C 99 (Coal Sack)

Planetary Nebula

NGC 5189 (Spiral Planetary Nebula), NGC 2440 (Albino Butterfly Nebula), IC 4406 (Retina Nebula), NGC 6302 (Butterfly Nebula), NGC 2867, NGC 3195

Planets

Planets

• Twilight:      5:48 AM
• Sunrise:       7:20 AM

* Planet is visible during Saturday SkyWatch

🪐 Astronomical Events for the month

• July 7-8:  Saturn-Moon Meetup: The waxing gibbous Moon passes near Saturn. Look high in the eastern sky during morning twilight to see the ringed planet alongside the Moon.
• July 11:  Moon-Mars Conjunction: A slender crescent Moon gathers with Mars and the Pleiades star cluster. Look low toward the east before sunrise.
• July 17:  Venus-Moon Conjunction: The young crescent Moon shines close to brilliant Venus in Leo. Look low in the western sky shortly after sunset.
• July 29:  The Full Buck Moon: The Full Buck Moon occurs in Capricornus. Because it is a winter moon in the Southern Hemisphere, it will appear unusually high in the night sky.
• July 30-31:  Southern Delta Aquariids Peak: This meteor shower produces long, slow trails. While peak nights coincide with bright moonlight, the week before peak offers great moon-free, pre-dawn viewing.
• Throughout July:  Milky Way’s Core: July is prime time to view the shimmery bulge of the Milky Way, which will be prominently positioned high overhead and across the southern sky throughout the night.

Note:  Other astronomical events occurring this month that are only visible from the Northern Hemisphere, or in daylight, are not listed.

As always, don’t forget to look up wherever you are!
– The TRRO Team

References

List data is gathered using ‘Starry Night Enthusiast V8.1.0.2048’, Google AI and the following links.

Time and Date   https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@-35.27,147.12

B.O.M.                   https://www.bom.gov.au/places/nsw/the-rock/

Clear Outside     https://clearoutside.com/forecast/-35.27/147.12

Celestron             https://www.celestron.com/blogs/knowledgebase/can-all-named-stars-listed-in-the-hand-control-be-used-for-alignment

Object positions determined as at    6:00 PM local time.

From TRRO, Lat 35^o 16.08’ S, Long 147^o 5.81’ E, Elevation 236m

Objects below 15^o azimuth are not included.