Sky Events July 2014

Moon Phases

Saturday, July 5, 7:59 a.m. EDT

First Quarter Moon

The First Quarter Moon rises around 1:45 p.m. and sets around 1:15 a.m. It dominates the evening sky.

Saturday, July 12, 7:25 a.m. EDT

Full Moon

The Full Moon of July is known as the Hay Moon, Buck Moon or Thunder Moon. It rises around sunset and sets around sunrise, the only night in the month when the Moon is in the sky all night long. The rest of the month, the Moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky.

Friday, July 18, 10:08 p.m. EDT

Last Quarter Moon

The Last Quarter Moon rises around 12:30 a.m. and sets around 2:30 p.m. It is most easily seen just after sunrise in the southern sky.

Saturday, July 26, 6:42 p.m. EDT

New Moon

The Moon is not visible on the date of New Moon because it is too close to the Sun, but can be seen low in the East as a narrow crescent a morning or two before, just before sunrise. It is visible low in the West an evening or two after New Moon.

Observing Highlights

Friday, July 4, 4 a.m. EDT

Pluto at opposition

Dwarf planet Pluto reaches opposition with the Sun in eastern Sagittarius. It is moving away from the richest part of the Milky Way, so is not quite as lost amongst rich star fields as it has been in recent years.

Saturday, July 5, 9 p.m. EDT

Mars and the Moon

The waxing gibbous Moon will pass just north of the planet Mars. Observers in Hawaii, western Central America, and northern South America will see the Moon occult Mars.

Monday, July 7, 10 p.m. EDT

Saturn and the Moon

The Moon will pass just south of the planet Saturn. The Moon will occult Saturn as seen from French Polynesia, southern South America, and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Saturday, July 12, dawn

Mercury at greatest elongation

Not a particularly good apparition of Mercury, though slightly better as seen from the Southern Hemisphere here. Look half an hour before sunrise with binoculars, using Venus and nearby bright stars to locate Mercury.

Saturday, July 12, dusk

Mars and Spica

Mars passes less than 2 degrees north of the bright star Spica, Alpha Virginis. Look for the pair about an hour after sunset.

Tuesday, July 22, dawn

Aldebaran and the Moon

The Moon passes just north of the bright star Aldebaran in Taurus. Look for Venus and Mercury below and to their left, and follow the shrinking crescent Moon over the next few nights as it slides below Venus and Mercury.

Planets

Mercury will be low in the dawn sky all month. This is not a very good apparition of Mercury, though being close to Venus will help you to find it. This is the view half an hour before sunrise in the Northern Hemisphere.

 

Venus is low in the eastern sky, rising just before the Sun.

 

Mars is now fading rapidly in brightness as it moves towards the far side of the Sun.

 

Jupiter is too close to the Sun to be observed, being in conjunction on July 24.

Saturn, in Libra, is well placed in the evening sky.

 

Uranus is located in the constellation Pisces, rising near midnight.

 

Neptune is in Aquarius all month, rising in the late evening.

Geoff Gaherty
Starry Night Software Support
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