AstroPlanet (The Blog)

The New Moon for the month of July occurs on July 24^th. This would make the weekend of July 22^nd-23^rd the best weekend for deep sky observing.

The Full Moon of July is known as the “Buck” or “Sturgeon” Moon and occurs on July 10^th.

Earth will reach the “Aphelion” of its orbit of the Sun on July 3rd. The Aphelion is the point in Earth’s elliptical orbit that it is furthest from the Sun. This is the opposite point to the “Perihelion” when the Earth is at its closest point to the Sun, which last occurred on January 6th of this year.

On July 20^th, around 1:45am, the Moon will rise in the open cluster known as Pleiades (M45).

Mercury is visible in the evening until around July 10^th when it disappears into the glare of the Sun and re-appears around July 26th in the morning sky. During the first two weeks of the month Mercury is located in the constellation Cancer (The Crab) until July 14^th when it passes into the constellation Gemini (The Twins).

On July 3rd Mercury starts a retrograde motion and starts moving toward the glare of the Sun after it re-appears in the evening sky it returns to normal motion on July 28th.

Venus is The Morning Star all month and can be seen as a bright star-like object preceding the Sun before sunrise. Venus starts July out in the constellation Taurus (The Bull) until July 16^th when it passes into the non-zodiacal constellation “Orion” (The Hunter). Finally on July 19^th, Venus moves into the constellation Gemini (The Twins).

On July 13th Venus rises within 0° 30′ of the Crab Nebula (also known as M1) and Venus passes the open cluster known as M35 on July 21st.

Mars can be seen in the early evening after sunset all month. On July 2^nd, Mars moves from the constellation Cancer (The Crab) to the constellation Leo (The Lion) where it will reside for the rest of the month.

On July 27th Mars will rise within 1° of the 2 day-old waxing crescent Moon and about 3° behind the star Regulus.

Jupiter can be found in the constellation Libra (The Balance) until December 2006. Jupiter can be observed in the evening until the very early morning hours all month.

Jupiter starts the month in retrograde motion until July 7^th when it resumes moving in the normal East-to-West direction.

Saturn is visible in the evening until around July 25^th when it will disappear into the glare of the Sun. Saturn is located in the constellation Cancer (The Crab) until August 2006.

July 1^st, 2006 - The Sun sets ahead of Mercury, Saturn and Mars - All in the constellation of Cancer.

Uranus is in the constellation Aquarius (The Water Bearer) until the year 2009. Uranus is observable all month from about midnight to morning. Uranus is in retrograde motion all month or July.

July 15^th, 2006 - The positions of Uranus and Neptune in July.

Neptune can be located in the constellation Capricornus (The Sea Goat) until the year 2010. Like Uranus, Neptune is observable all month from about midnight to morning and Neptune is in retrograde motion all month or July.

Pluto is found in the constellation Serpens Cauda (The Snake’s Tail) until September 2006. Pluto is observable all night, for the entire month and is in retrograde motion all month.

July 15^th, 2006 - The position of Pluto in the constellation Serpens Cauda.