Volunteer naturalists and the Steele County Astronomical Society are presenting Exploring Our Solar System at Rice Lake State Park on Rose Street in Owatonna this weekend.

First meet at the picnic shelter at the park and volunteer naturalist Gene Kispert will present a slideshow of the solar system, stars and planets.

Afterward, weather permitting, Steele County Astronomical Society will have telescopes set up near the boat ramp to view the night sky.

In July, according to the seasky.org, the Astronomy Calendar of Celestial of Events for 2016 include:

  • The new moon on July 4 will be not be as visible because it will be on the same side as the sun. This night sky will have less moonlight and this will make galaxies and star clusters a little more visible.
  • Also on July 4: NASA's Juno spacecraft should arrive at Jupiter. As it is inserted into the polar orbit, Juno will observe the atmosphere and magnetic field of Jupiter until 2017, then crash into the planet.
  • The full moon in July will be on the 19th. The Native Americans call it the full buck moon with its face illuminated because the moon and sun are on opposite sides of the Earth. This is when bucks would start to grow antlers. The full moon was also known as full thunder moon and full hay moon.
  • From July 12 to Aug. 23 the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower will be going on. The peak is late July 28 and into early July 29. This is from debris made from the comets Marsden and Kracht. The meteors could be seen anywhere in the sky, but will near constellation Aquarius.
  • From July 17 to Aug. 24, the Perseids Meteor Shower will be going on. The peak will be late Aug. 11 to early Aug. 12.This is from the comet Swift-Tuttle and will be best viewed near the constellation Perseus, but could be seen anywhere in the sky.

Meteor showers are also known as shooting stars.

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