Summer’s signature star pattern, the Summer Triangle, stands well up in the east on July evenings. Its brightest member is Vega, at the top of the triangle, with Deneb to the lower left and Altair to the lower right. At the same time, the curving body of Scorpius and the Teapot of Sagittarius scuttle low across the south, anchoring the summer Milky Way.
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In the Sky This Month
July 15: Pluto at Opposition
Pluto shines at its best this week. It lines up opposite the Sun, so it rises near sunset and stays in view all night. It’s brightest for the year as well. Even so, it’s so faint that you need a good-sized telescope to see it, in Sagittarius.
July 16: Moon and Spica
Spica, the leading light of Virgo, stands to the lower left of the Moon as night falls. It’s one of the brighter stars in the night sky. It’s actually a binary, which consists of two stars locked in a mutual orbit around each other.
July 17: Leaping Gazelle
In western culture, the stars of the Big Dipper and those around it form the great bear. The dipper outlines his body and tail, while three faint pairs of stars represent his feet. In ancient Arabia, though, those pairs represented the leaps of a gazelle.
July 18: Moon in Balance
The gibbous Moon is in “balance” tonight. It passes through the middle of Libra, the balance scales. One of its brighter stars, Zubenelgenubi, is close to the right of the Moon at nightfall. It may be difficult to spot through the Moon’s glare, though.
July 19: Moon and the Scorpion
Delta Scorpii stands close to the lower right of the Moon as night falls. It’s the middle star in the “head” of the scorpion. The scorpion’s brightest star, Antares, is farther to the lower left of the Moon.
July 20: Moon and Antares
The brightest star of the scorpion, Antares, stands to the right of the Moon as night falls. Antares is one of the biggest, brightest, and most massive stars in our region of the galaxy. It is fated to explode as a supernova.
July 21: Dolphin
Delphinus, the dolphin, is in the east at nightfall and glides high over head during the night. Its brightest stars really do form a shape that looks like a dolphin. The brightest star in the pattern, Sualocin, represents the dolphin’s dorsal fin.
Last July 1, 4:11 pm
New July 9, 8:17 pm
First July 17, 5:11 am
Full July 23, 9:37 pm
Last July 31, 8:16 am
Times are U.S. Central Time.
Apogee July 5
Perigee July 21
The full Moon of July is known as the Hay Moon or Thunder Moon.