Stargazing Tips
The sky is full of wonders every night of the week. Use our viewing guide for the week ahead to plan your backyard outings.
July 4, 2009
The Big Dipper stands in the northwest at nightfall with its bowl spilling toward the horizon. Follow the two stars that form the outer edge of the bowl to the right to find Polaris, the North Star. Despite its reputation, Polaris isn't very bright.
July 5, 2009
The Moon passes across the heart of the Milky Way galaxy tonight. The Moon lines up above the "spout" of the teapot-shaped constellation Sagittarius. The core of the Milky Way is in that same direction, about 27,000 light-years away.
July 6, 2009
The full Moon rolls low across the south tonight. July's full Moon is known as the Hay Moon or Thunder Moon. Since this is the month in which humans first landed on the Moon, it's appropriate to add "Apollo Moon" to the list.
July 7, 2009
Leo, the lion, is plunging nose-first toward the western horizon as night falls. Its brightest star, Regulus, is low in the sky, with the lion's body stretching above it. Leo's tail, the star Denebola, is well above Regulus
July 8, 2009
Like a crazy carnival attraction, Earth is spinning, circling, and racing through space. It rotates on its axis once every 24 hours and orbits the Sun at a speed of 65,000 mph. Earth and the rest of the solar system orbit the center of the Milky Way galaxy at 600,000 mph, so it takes about 200 million years to complete one circuit.
July 9, 2009
The Milky Way arcs across the east this evening. You need to get away from city lights to see it. The Moon rises in late evening, overpowering the faint glow. But it rises later each night after this, providing extra time for viewing our galactic home.
July 10, 2009
The Moon and Jupiter put on a good show tonight. They rise in late evening and scoot over to the southwest by first light. Jupiter looks like a brilliant star, and is a little to the right of the Moon as they rise.
Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
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