Astroblog: Thursday July 9 to Thursday July 16

Tuesday, July 07, 2026

Thursday July 9 to Thursday July 16

The New Moon is Wednesday July 14. In the morning Saturn and Mars form a long line. Saturn is rising near midnight. Mars and Uranus are are drawing apart. On the 12th Mars is near the crescent moon, on the 13th, Mars is closest to the red star Aldebaran, forming a second eye for Taurus the Bull. In the evening, on the 9th Venus is just 1° from Leo’s brightest star, Regulus. Then Venus draws away from Regulus forming a line with the crescent moon by weeks end.

The New Moon is Wednesday July 14. The moon is at perigee, when it is closest to the earth on, the 13th.

Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday, July 11 as seen from Adelaide at 5:53 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Saturn is high above the northern horizon with Mars low in the east. The Pleiades are close to the crescent moon Moon. Saturn is now high enough for telescopic observation, and its rings are widening.

Mars forms a second eye for Taurus the Bull with Aldebaran.

The insets shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time and the binocular view of the Moon and Pleiades.

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

Eastern horizon on the morning of Sunday, July 12 as seen from Adelaide at 5:53 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Mars is near the Moon and forms a second "eye' with the bright red star Aldebaran for Taurus the Bull.

The inset shows the binocular view of Mars, Uranus and the Pleiades at this time.

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

Western sky on the evening of Thursday, July 9 as seen from Adelaide at 18:18 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Jupiter is coming close to the horizon. Venus is closest to the bright star Regulus (Alpha Leonis).

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Western sky on the evening of Thursday, July 16 as seen from Adelaide at 18:22 ACST (60 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

The crescent Moon, the bright star Regulus and Venus form a line. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Whole sky on Saturday, July 11 as seen from Adelaide at 18:50 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Venus is prominent low in the north-west.

Bright Canopus and Sirius are sinking into the west. Scorpius, is readily seen above the south-eastern horizon.

The Southern Cross is at its zenith in the Southern sky. The Moon is new and the fainter clusters and nebula are easier to see to see.

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

Mercury is lost in the twilight.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is now visible when the sky is fully dark. Venus is close to the bright star Regulus (Alpha Leonis).

Mars is climbing in the twilight. Mars is near the Moon and forms a second "eye' with the bright red star Aldebaran for Taurus the Bull.

Jupiter is low above the horizon, setting around civil twilight.

Saturn is climbing higher in the morning sky above Mars.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ACST, Western sky at 10 pm ACST. 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