In the Sky This Month

Jupiter stands high in the east at daybreak. It’s the brightest point of light in the sky at that hour, so you can’t miss it. Through binoculars, its four largest moons look like tiny stars near the giant planet.

The Summer Triangle is high in the eastern sky at nightfall. It’s easy to see even through the glare of the almost-full Moon. Vega is the highest and brightest of the three stars. Deneb stands to the lower left of Vega, with Altair farther to the lower right.

Scorpius and Sagittarius are in the south at nightfall. Look for the curving body of the scorpion just above the horizon, with bright Antares in its middle. Sagittarius is to the left, close to the upper right of the Moon, and looks a teapot.

As the Sun sets tonight, the constellation Capricornus is just rising in the southeast. Its brightest stars form a wide triangle that resembles the bottom of a bikini bathing suit. The sea goat is bright enough to see even from mildly light-polluted areas.

Mars and Jupiter appear to just miss each other early tomorrow. Jupiter is the brightest point of light in the sky in the hours before dawn. Mars will stand just a fraction of a degree from Jupiter. It’s much fainter than Jupiter, but still easy to see.

The Moon creeps up on the bright star Antares this evening. Depending on your location, you might see them pass less than a degree from each other, which is less than the width of your finger held at arm’s length.

The Moon is just past first quarter tonight, so the Sun illuminates a bit more than half of the lunar disk. The bright star Antares, the leading light of the scorpion, stands well to the left or upper left of the Moon as twilight fades.

Mars and Jupiter are staging a close encounter in the early morning. They climb into view by 2 or 2:30 a.m., and are high in the east at dawn. Jupiter is the brighter of the two. Mars will be just above Jupiter tomorrow. They will be closest on Wednesday and Thursday.

Eltanin, the brightest star of Draco, the dragon, is high in the north-northeast at nightfall. The moderately bright star stands well to the left of brilliant Vega, one of the brightest stars in summer’s night skies.

Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, stands close to the upper left of the Moon at nightfall. It actually consists of two stars. The heavier star, Spica A, is so massive that it will blast itself apart as a supernova in a few million years.