18 | THE COLONY NEWS | JULY 2022 | COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
By Mike Vergara, 951- 461-2889
Happy Fourth of July! Things are starting to return to pre-
pandemic status. Yay!
The local astronomy club, the Temecula Valley Astronomers,
has started holding public star parties at South Coast Winery
on Friday evenings once a month, weather permitting. The last
one was on June 3, but the website does not have July's star
party scheduled yet. You can check out their Facebook page at
www.temeculavalleyastronomers.com for more information.
There was a possibility last month of a "meteor storm."
As sometimes happens, though, it was a fizzle. This meteor
shower was unique because the peak of the shower was
before midnight, instead of a couple of hours later. I was out
in Temecula Wine Country with my trusty camera, but alas, the
storm did not appear.
This month's full moon, the "Full Buck Moon" or the "Full
Thunder Moon," will be on Wednesday, July 13. Native
Americans in the Midwest called it the Buck Moon because
it's around this time that their antlers are starting to grow. In
the southwest, the summer monsoon rains start up with their
accompanying thunder, and so the Thunder Moon.
For the early risers in The Colony, there has been a parade
of planets just before sunrise. Mercury has set now, but the
other four are still shining bright in the predawn sky.
Last July I mentioned the Palomar College Planetarium. In
June we were allowed back into the facility. The Planetarium
shows are presented using software called "Digistar." We
upgraded the Digistar hardware and software, and then one
of the other machines failed unexpectedly. I was hoping to
announce the return of our "Sky Tonight" shows, but it does
not look like that will be happening in July. Stay tuned!
Visit http://skymaps.com/index.html to print your own map
of the sky for the month to help you find these constellations.
Clear skies!
July Sky July Sky
Leo Kennedy
Larry Shaffer
In Memoriam
