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.
Alnilam is the “buckle” in Orion’s Belt, a compact line of three bright stars that rolls across the south on winter nights. It’s the most impressive member of the belt. It consists of a single supergiant star that is nearing the end of its life.
The Moon is new at 5:57 a.m. CST today, as it crosses the line between Earth and Sun. It is lost in the Sun’s glare, but will return to view as a thin crescent, low in the southwest, by Wednesday evening.
One of the most remarkable sights in the night sky is M42, the Orion Nebula. It looks like a hazy patch of light in Orion’s Sword, which is to the right of the hunter’s three-star belt in early evening.
The story of Jason and the Argonauts is retold in the stars in the fragmented remains of the constellation Argo Navis. Parts of the constellation are visible from the United States just above the southern horizon beginning in late evening.
The planet Mercury is quite low in the southeast as the dawn twilight gets brighter. Although it looks like a fairly bright star, it can be hard to spot against the bright sky. It will be close to the upper left of the crescent Moon tomorrow.
The star Antares and the planets Venus and Mercury encircle the crescent Moon during early dawn twilight tomorrow. Antares is the closest of the three, Venus is the brightest, and Mercury is the farthest, well to the lower left of the Moon.
Pollux and Castor, the brightest stars of Gemini, are in the east-northeast in early evening. It’s a long way from the twins to Gemini’s third-brightest star, Alhena. It’s to the right of the twins, by about twice the width of your fist held at arm’s length.
Delta Geminorum has one claim to fame: It was just half a degree from Pluto when it was discovered, in 1930. Pluto has moved on since then, but Delta Gem has stayed put. The seventh-brightest star in Gemini connects the body and legs of one of the twins.
Spica, the brightest star of the constellation Virgo, stands to the upper right of the Moon at dawn tomorrow. Spica actually consists of two stars. The more massive member of the binary is destined to explode as a supernova.
The Quadrantid meteor shower should be at its best tonight. Unfortunately, “best” doesn’t mean great. That’s because the last-quarter Moon gets in the way. It’s in view during the expected peak hours, so its glare will wipe out all but the brightest meteors.
