What’s Up in the July Sky
July’s Evening Planets
Bright Venus will be in Leo the Lion at the beginning of the month and in Virgo the Virgin by the end of the month until around 10 PM. In the first half of July, Mercury will be in Cancer the Crab until around 9 PM. Red Mars will be in Capricornus the Sea Goat as of 10 PM and rising earlier every night, by the end of the month it will outshine Jupiter. Jupiter will be in Libra the Scales all night. Saturn and dwarf planet Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer.
July’s Evening Stars
Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle all night. See Spica in Virgo the Virgin, Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion, and Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman. Also find the stars of constellations Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Pegasus, Draco, Virgo, Sagittarius, Libra, Leo, Hercules, Ophiuchus, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).
Sky Safari star map annotated with Annotable by Peter Tagatac.
July’s Morning Planets
Mars will be the brightest object in the sky, after the Moon, until sunrise. Saturn will be in Sagittarius the Archer until dawn. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water Bearer as of midnight and rising earlier every night. Uranus will be in Pisces the Fish around 2 AM and rising earlier every day.
July’s Morning Stars
Find the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle. Look for Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull, along with the stars of constellations Lyra, Hercules, Aquarius, Capricornus, Cetus, Aries, Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Perseus, Draco, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).
Sky Safari star map annotated with Annotable by Peter Tagatac.
July Skylights
July 6 Last quarter Moon at 3:50 AM
July 6 Earth at Aphelion (94.5 Million miles from the Sun)
July 12 New Moon at 10:48 PM
July 12 Pluto at opposition
July 13 Moon at perigee (222,100 miles away from Earth)
July 15 Moon is 1.5° north of Venus – midnight
July 19 First Quarter Moon at 3:50 PM
July 25 Moon is 2° north of Saturn – predawn
July 27 Mars at opposition, at its brightest this year– midnight
July 27 Moon at apogee (252,400 miles away)
July 27 Full Moon at 4:20 PM
Total Lunar eclipse not visible in NY
July 30 Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks
July 31 Mars at its closest to Earth in 15 years, 35.8 million miles away
