July 24
The Spinning Top
Sun Position
The Sun is in Leo at about +19.8° declination. Northern Hemisphere summer days are noticeably shortening from the solstice peak; Southern Hemisphere winter nights remain long.
Sky Highlight
The Southern Delta Aquariids continue building toward their July 29–30 peak. No other major event peaks on July 24. Aquila is prominent in the eastern sky after dark from both hemispheres, well placed for observation through the night.
Deep Sky Object
NGC 6760, a globular cluster in Aquila roughly 24,000 light-years away. It is a concentrated cluster in a rich Milky Way field, best seen in a medium or large amateur telescope. Aquila's position near the celestial equator makes this object accessible from both Northern and Southern Hemisphere locations.
Featured Star
Altair (α Aql) is just 16.73 light-years away in Aquila, a main-sequence A7V star. Interferometric measurements show its equatorial diameter is about 20% larger than its polar diameter, the fastest rotating naked-eye star known. Its neighbor stars in Aquila are far more distant, making Altair a nearby foreground object in an otherwise remote constellation.
Around This Date
- July 24, 1969Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, completing the first crewed lunar landing mission and ending with the safe return of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins.
- July 24, 1938A meteorite estimated at 450 metric tons on atmospheric entry exploded over Chicora, Pennsylvania, scattering fragments across the surrounding area, one of the larger documented meteorite falls in North American history.
Altair is so close that astronomers have actually photographed its shape, and it is not round.