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.
Some of the most interesting objects in the constellation Ophiuchus look like dark holes in the sky. Instead, though, they are immense clouds of cold gas and dust. They absorb the light of the stars behind them, so they look almost black.
The year’s earliest sunrises in the northern hemisphere occur over the next few days. The date varies by latitude, with southern locations getting that extra sunlight first. The longest day of the year is the summer solstice, June 21.
The constellaton Ophiuchus is low in the eastern sky on June evenings. Its stars are faint. Under a dark sky, though, they form a pattern that resembles an old coffee pot, which is on its side in early evening, and upright later on.
Look for Mars leading the Moon across the sky late tonight. The planet looks like a bright orange star, and rises to the upper right of the Moon. Mars will grow brighter over the next few weeks, reaching its peak in late July.
The planet Mars is in great view late tonight. It looks like a brilliant orange star. It stands just below the Moon as they climb into good view after midnight, and even closer to the Moon at first light tomorrow.
The Omega Centauri star cluster puts in a late-evening appearance. It stands highest above the southern horizon around 10 p.m. and looks like a faint smudge of light. It is about 17,000 light-years away, and contains a million stars or more.
The bright planet Saturn rises shortly before the Moon late tonight, and precedes the Moon across the sky. It will stand close to the upper right of the Moon as they rise, and a bit farther to the lower right at first light.
Saturn is in good view the next couple of nights. The planet looks like a bright star, and stands to the lower left of the Moon as they climb into view late this evening. It will stand closer to the right of the Moon tomorrow night.
Antares, the leading light of the constellation Scorpius, is in good view tonight, to the right of the full Moon as darkness falls. Antares is a supergiant — one of the biggest and brightest stars in the galaxy.
Three bright lights line up parallel to the western horizon this evening. The center light is also the brightest: Venus, the “evening star.” The star Capella is far to the right of Venus, with the star Procyon about the same distance to the left of Venus.
