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 Moon will pass through Earth’s shadow tomorrow, creating an eclipse, although it won’t be visible from the U.S. Our consolation is that the Moon will be close to Mars. It looks like a brilliant orange star, to the lower left of the Moon at nightfall.
Mars is at opposition this week, passing closer to Earth than it will for many years. It is in the southeast as night falls. It looks like a brilliant orange star, outshining all but the Moon and the planet Venus.
The planet Saturn is the bright star-like point of light just below the Moon at nightfall. Its broad, bright rings are tilted into good view, so they reflect a lot of sunlight, enhancing the giant planet’s luster.
Mars blazes across the sky this week. It rises around sunset and is in view all night. It is brightest for the year, too. In fact, for the next couple of months it will be the third-brightest object in the night sky, after the Moon and Venus
Vega, the fifth-brightest star in the night sky, is enthroned at the top of the sky tonight. The name Vega is from an ancient Arabic name that means “swooping eagle.” Vega is in the constellation Lyra, the harp.
The Northern Cross is another name for Cygnus, the swan, which sails high overhead on summer evenings. When we look at Cygnus, we’re looking down the spiral arm that contains our own solar system, so we see many amazing celestial objects.
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, stands just below the Moon this evening and looks like a brilliant star. Binoculars reveal Jupiter’s biggest moons, which look like tiny stars near the planet.
Spica is the bright star to the lower right of the Moon tonight. Although it looks like a single star, it is at least two stars. One of them is more than 11 times the mass of the Sun, while the other is about seven times the Sun’s mass.
Skywatchers at far-southern latitudes can see Lupus, the wolf, leaping low across the sky on summer evenings. You need dark skies and a clear horizon to find him. The wolf is below the more prominent constellation Scorpius.
Cassiopeia the queen sits low in the north-northeast at nightfall, then wheels high to the north at first light. Its stars form a bright letter W, so it’s one of the easiest constellations to pick out.
