Bright Moon Follows Antares (overnight)

In the southern sky after dusk on Monday, July 7, the prominent reddish star Antares will be twinkling several finger widths to the right of the bright, waxing gibbous moon. By the time that Antares sets ahead of the moon, at around 2:30 a.m. local time, the rotation of the sky will have shifted it lower than the moon. About half a day earlier, residents of the southern tip of Africa, the Kerguelen Islands, and easternmost Antarctica can watch the moon occult Antares using their unaided eyes or through binoculars and backyard telescopes. Antares marks the heart of Scorpius, the Scorpion, and is frequently visited by the moon and planets.