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 brightest star with a known planet climbs high across the sky on winter nights. Pollux is the brighter of the “twin” stars of Gemini. It is about a third of the way up the eastern sky as night falls, with the other twin, Castor, to its upper left.
Aldebaran, the brightest star of Taurus, stands to the lower left of the Moon at nightfall. Over the following few hours the Moon will move ever closer to the star. At their closest, they will be separated by less than the width of your finger at arm’s length.
Gemini is in the east at nightfall. The constellation is marked by its two brightest stars, Pollux and Castor, which represent Gemini’s twins.
The Northern Cross is in the west and northwest at nightfall. A star system near its center is home to the hottest planet yet discovered. Dayside temperatures on KELT-9b soar to 8,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hotter than most stars.
Look northeast in late evening for the Big Dipper. The handle points toward the horizon, with the bowl high in the sky. The second star from the end of the handle is Mizar. If you look carefully, you might see its faint companion, Alcor.
The story of Jason and the Argonauts is told in the remains of the ancient constellation Argo Navis, which in modern times has been split into four constellations. Parts of these constellations pass low across the south on winter nights.
Many stars travel through our galaxy as members of large families. The closest of these star families is called the Hyades. It’s a collection of more than 100 stars, the brightest of which form the V-shaped face of Taurus, the bull.
Sirius, the Dog Star, is in the southeast this evening. It’s the night sky’s brightest star. It is led into the sky by Procyon, the little dog star, which is to the left of Sirius and a little higher.
The Moon was new on Tuesday as it passed between Earth and the Sun. Today the Moon has moved away from the Sun, but it still lines up in the Sun’s general direction. At that angle, the Moon form a thin crescent, which is low in the southwest at sunset.
Winter nights abound with some of the brightest stars in the sky: Rigel and Betelgeuse in Orion, Aldebaran in Taurus, Sirius in Canis Major (the big dog), and Procyon in Canis Minor (the little dog), to name but a few.
