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 planet Jupiter is lining up opposite the Sun now. It rises around sunset and is low in the southeast as night falls. It scoots low across the south during the night, and sets in the southwest around sunrise. It’s brightest for the year, too.
Regulus, the bright heart of Leo, the lion, stands quite close to the lower right of the Moon this evening. The bright star has a close companion that is far too faint and too close to Regulus for us to see it.
Hercules and Ophiuchus stand almost head to head in the east this evening. Each has a star with an Arabic name that means “the head.” In Hercules, it’s Ras Algethi (head of the kneeler); in Ophiuchus, Rasalhague (head of the serpent bearer).
The evening sky is alive with creepy crawlers: snakes, a dragon, a lizard, and a scorpion. The most ancient is the dragon, Draco, which winds between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Almost 5,000 years ago its brightest star, Thuban, served as the Pole Star.
Look for the planet Mars to the lower right of the Moon shortly after sunset tonight. It looks like a moderately bright star. The much brighter planet Mercury is farther along the same line, just above the horizon.
Mercury is in view shortly after sunset now, quite low in the west-northwest. It looks like a bright star, but it’s so low that it’s hard to spot. It is a little easier to see this evening because the planet is close to the right of the Moon.
The Big Dipper is high in the north this evening. If you follow the line of the stars at the outer edge of the bowl toward the horizon you will come to Polaris, the North Star. Follow the curve of the handle away from the bowl to find bright Arcturus.
The Moon will be “new” early tomorrow as it crosses the imaginary line between Earth and the Sun. It will be lost in the Sun’s glare, but will return to view as a thin crescent in the western sky on Tuesday evening.
Scorpius is missing its claws. Those stars were stripped away to form part of Libra, the balance scales. Look for these stars in the southeast at nightfall, to the upper right of the scorpion’s head.
Libra stands to the upper right of Scorpius at nightfall, low in the southeast. Its outline shows a triangle of stars with two lines of stars dangling below. Libra is a set of balance scales held by the Greek goddess of justice, represented by nearby Virgo.
