July’s Evening Planets:

In the first week of July, Mercury will in Cancer the Crab until around 9 PM. Red Mars will be in Cancer the Crab until around 10 PM and setting earlier every night. Jupiter will be between Scorpius the Scorpion and Ophiuchus the Serpent bearer all night. Saturn and dwarf Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer as of midnight and rising earlier every night.

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).

July’s Morning Planets:

Bright Venus will be in Gemini the Twins in the first half the July as of 5 AM. Jupiter will be between Scorpius the Scorpion and Ophiuchus the Serpent bearer until 4 AM and setting earlier every day. Saturn will be in Sagittarius the Archer until dawn. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer and Uranus will be in Pisces the Fish until sunrise

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).

July Skylights

• July   2 New Moon at 3:15 PM
• July   2 Total Solar Eclipse, not visible in NY
• July   4 Moon is 0.1° north of Mars, 3° north of Mercury, Pre-dawn
• July   4 Earth at Aphelion (94.5 million miles from Sun)
• July   5 Moon at perigee (226,000 miles away)
• July   9 First Quarter Moon at 6:55 AM
• July 16 Full Moon at 5:38 PM
• July 20 Moon at apogee (252,000 miles away)
• July 24 Last quarter Moon at 9:20 PM
• July 30 Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks
• July 31 New Moon at 11:10 PM

Times given in EDT.