Scorpius and Sagittarius highlight July nights, scooting low across the south. Antares highlights the scorpion’s hook-shaped body, with teapot-shaped Sagittarius to its left. Under dark skies, the Milky Way rises from the teapot’s spout like steam. Meanwhile, the Big Dipper stands high in the north and northwest during the evening, with its handle to the upper left and bowl to the lower right.
The full Moon of July is known as the Hay Moon, Thunder Moon, or Apollo Moon.
Perigee July 13
Apogee July 25
Moon phases are Central Time.
The Orion Nebula is a giant stellar nursery—a cocoon of gas and dust that has given birth to thousands of stars. It is in the south on winter evenings. The nebula is a faint smudge of light below the three bright stars that mark Orion’s Belt.
Today is Groundhog Day, which is a cross-quarter day. It occurs about halfway between the winter solstice, in December, and the spring equinox, in March. In many cultures, cross-quarter days marked the changing of the seasons, not their mid-points.
Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, stands well to the lower left of the Moon at first light tomorrow, and closer to the Moon on Wednesday morning. Spica is 250 light-years from Earth, so the light we see from it today left the star around the year 1771.
The Big Dipper wheels around the North Star like the hour-hand on a giant clock, ticking off the hours of the night. Winter is an especially good time to watch it because it’s in good view for most of the night.
The Moon passes about halfway between the brightest stars of Leo tonight. Regulus, the brightest, is to the upper right of the Moon, by about the width of your fist held at arm’s length. Denebola, the lion’s tail, is the same distance to the lower left of the Moon.
Look for the just-past-full Moon climbing into good view by about 7 p.m. A bright companion will stand close by: Regulus, the brightest star of the constellation Leo, the lion.
The Moon is full today at 1:16 p.m. CST as it lines up opposite the Sun. January’s full Moon is known as the Old Moon or Wolf Moon. It is farther from Earth than average, so discerning skywatchers may notice that it appears a little smaller and fainter than average.
Pollux and Castor, the “twin” stars of Gemini, align above the full Moon tonight. Pollux is the brighter of the two and stands closer to the Moon. The bright stars will look a bit washed out in the glare of the Moon.
Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky, peeks into view on winter evenings for skywatchers in the southern latitudes of the United States. It’s due south at about 10 or 11 p.m., almost directly below Sirius, the night sky’s brightest star.
The Great Square of Pegasus stands high in the west at nightfall. Its brightest star, Alpheratz, is at the highest point of the square.
