Monthly Night Sky information provided by Chris Vaughan (@Astrogeoguy) at Starry Night Education (@StarryNightEdu).
When the sky darkens after dusk on Thursday, July 3, Virgo’s brightest star Spica will appear just to the upper right of the waxing gibbous moon in the southwestern sky. Until they set after midnight, the duo will share the view in binoculars (orange circle). Observers viewing the pair later, or in more westerly time […]
The brilliant planet Venus will dominate the eastern predawn sky for most of this year while it slowly swings back toward the sun. On the mornings surrounding Friday, July 4, Venus will pass close enough to Uranus to allow early risers to use Venus to locate the far fainter planet in binoculars (orange circle). On […]
On Saturday night, July 5, the terminator on the waxing gibbous moon will fall just west of Sinus Iridum, the Bay of Rainbows. The circular 155 mile (249 km) diameter feature is a large impact crater that was flooded by the same basalts that filled the much larger Mare Imbrium to its east – forming […]
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 […]
On the nights around Wednesday, July 9, the ringed planet Saturn will finally begin to rise before midnight for observers located at mid-northern latitudes – making Saturn available for evening viewing again after a long absence. During the wee hours, the bright, creamy-yellow planet will climb the southeastern sky below the Great Square of Pegasus. […]