A gaggle of giggling scientists

By now I am sure you have heard that the New Horizons mission to Pluto went off without a hitch and some great data is being returned to Earth; all the scientists are giggling like school girls.

Now, remember last spring when we discussed how it was not possible to see the Milky Way because it was running around the horizon? Well, we can see it now in all its glory.

If you are outside at about midnight -- and are in a very dark-sky place -- look to the south where you will see the Milky Way rising from the horizon up through Sagittarius (remember the Teapot, it will look like steam coming out of the spout) through Cygnus, the Swan overhead then south through Cassiopeia into Perseus.

Of course, you don't need to wait until midnight, you can be out by 10 pm MDT and start looking due south where you will find the bright, almost glowing cloud of stars that is the edge of our own galaxy.

Just imagine you are holding a cookie flat and looking at the edge of it, that is kind of what it is to look at the Milky Way this time of year.

But it will still look like steam coming out of the teapot's spout, which is a great place to start a slow scan along the Milky Way with a good pair of binoculars.

It is also a good place to start our summer constellation tour with the two premier constellations of summer, Scorpius, the Scorpion and Sagittarius, the Archer (or teapot), both located in the south.

Scorpius is easy to find. Look for the three stars on a row marking its head and the long, hanging fish hook (or some say it looks like the letter "J") under them. Follow the line of the hook down from the head to a reddish looking star called Antares (the Rival of Mars) which is often called the "Heart of the Beast."

Using binoculars, scan the area just to the right of Antares in the same field of view (FOV) for M4, for a nice little star cluster. For more fun, follow the line of the fish hook down to where it jogs to the left for a really super star cluster -- officially called NGC6231 -- it is too large for a telescope, but is a great sight in binoculars.

Follow the hook farther to the left and into the area of what would be the scorpion's stinger There you will find two bright stars named Shaula and Lesath, otherwise known as "The Stinger." Some astronomers say the pair looks like cat eyes looking back at you.

For more fun keep moving your FOV to the left and put The Stinger at the 4 o'clock position on one side of the view and at the 10 o'clock position is another Messier object, M7, also called Ptolemy's Cluster.

Now put M7 at the 8 p.m. position on one side in the same FOV to the upper right is M6, also called the Butterfly Cluster. It is possible to put M6 and M7 in the same FOV.

See, didn't I tell you this was a fun place to be looking?

One more thing, while we are still in Scorpius, back up near the three stars of the head there is a moderately bight, yellowish object to the right of them, that is the planet Saturn, and now is a great time to slap a telescope on it.

Guess we will have to wait until next week for Sagittarius.

SKY WATCH: First quarter moon, Friday, July 24; Moon near Saturn on July 25, and near Antares July 26, then brackets Pluto on July 28-29. Pluto is in the "Teaspoon" of Sagittarius. All best viewed by 10 p.m. MDT

NEXT WEEK: Sagittarius; star clusters, nebula, and Pluto oh my, and more astronomical blathering.