Astroblog: Thursday July 6 to Thursday July 13

Monday, July 03, 2023

Thursday July 6 to Thursday July 13

The Last Quarter Moon is Monday, July 10. The Earth is at aphelion, when it is furthest from the Sun on the 7th. Saturn is now rising around just before 9 pm local time and is close to the Moon on the 6th and 7th. Jupiter is prominent in the morning sky and is close to the waning Moon on the 12th. Venus is prominent from the evening twilight to early evening. Venus is at its greatest brilliance on the 8th. Venus and Mars are both coming close to the bright star Regulus. From the 9th to 12th Mars is around 1° from Regulus, being closest on the 10th.

The Last Quarter Moon is Monday, July 10. The Earth is at aphelion, when it is furthest from the Sun on the 7th.

Evening sky on Friday, July 7 as seen from Adelaide at 23:00 ACST, Saturn is above the eastern horizon with the Moon below. The inset is the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time.

Morning sky on Wednesday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 05:53 ACST, (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). Jupiter is above the horizon near the Hyades and Pleiades with the Moon close by. The inset is the telescopic view of Jupiter at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

Evening sky on Monday, July 10 as seen from Adelaide at 18:49 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Mars and the bright star Regulus are at their closest. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time (90 minutes after sunset).

Whole sky on Saturday, July 8 as seen from Adelaide at 18:48 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen). Mars is visible above the north western horizon near the bright star Regulus and Venus is just below. Venus is at its maximum brilliance at this time.

Sirius is still prominent low in the western sky. Scorpius is readily visible in in the east. with the waxing Moon near the bright star Antares.

Between the bright star Canopus and the Southern Cross are another wealth of binocular objects to discover. With the Moon waning it will be easier to see them.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is lost in the morning twilight.

Venus and Mars are both coming close to the bright star Regulus. Venus is at its greatest brilliance on the 8th.

Mars and Venus are both coming close to the bright star Regulus. From the 9th to 12th Mars is around 1° from Regulus, being closest on the 10th.

Jupiter is prominent in the morning sky. Jupiter is close to the waning Moon on the 12th.

Saturn climbs higher in the morning skies and is rising just before 9 pm local time. Saturn is close to the Moon on the 6th and the 7th.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky