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.
Saturn continues to shine at its best. The planet is in the southeast at nightfall and looks like a bright star, to the lower left of brilliant Jupiter. Saturn looks so bright in part because its rings are tilted toward Earth right now.
The Moon is “new” today at 12:33 p.m. CDT. It crosses the imaginary line between Earth and the Sun, so it is lost from view in the Sun’s glare. It will return to view tomorrow evening as a slender crescent, quite low in the western sky as twilight darkens.
The Moon is “new” today at 12:33 p.m. CDT. It crosses the imaginary line between Earth and the Sun, so it is lost from view in the Sun’s glare. It will return to view tomorrow evening as a slender crescent, quite low in the western sky as twilight darkens.
Saturn is shining at its best. The planet is in the southeast as night falls. It looks like a bright golden star, not far to the lower left of brighter Jupiter. Saturn is in view all night and is brightest for the year.
Saturn is shining at its best. The planet is in the southeast as night falls. It looks like a bright golden star, not far to the lower left of brighter Jupiter. Saturn is in view all night and is brightest for the year.
Polaris marks the north celestial pole, so it is known as the North Star. Thanks to a wobble in Earth’s rotation, though, it won’t keep the spot. In about 1,000 years, Gamma Cephei will assume the title, followed by Deneb, the tail of the swan, then brilliant Vega.
Polaris marks the north celestial pole, so it is known as the North Star. Thanks to a wobble in Earth’s rotation, though, it won’t keep the spot. In about 1,000 years, Gamma Cephei will assume the title, followed by Deneb, the tail of the swan, then brilliant Vega.
The Milky Way arcs high across the eastern sky on July evenings. This subtle band of light is produced by the glow of millions of stars in the flat disk of our Milky Way Galaxy. Since we are inside the disk, we see the galaxy as a band of light across the sky.
The Milky Way arcs high across the eastern sky on July evenings. This subtle band of light is produced by the glow of millions of stars in the flat disk of our Milky Way Galaxy. Since we are inside the disk, we see the galaxy as a band of light across the sky.
The planet Venus and the star Aldebaran are close to the right of the crescent Moon at first light tomorrow. Venus is the dazzling Morning Star, which is the brightest object in the night sky other than the Moon. Aldebaran marks the eye of Taurus, the bull.
