Astroblog: Thursday July 2 to Thursday July 9

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Thursday July 2 to Thursday July 9

The Last Quarter Moon is Wednesday July 8. On July 7 Earth is at aphelion. In the morning Saturn and Mars form a long line. Saturn is close to the Moon on the 8th. Mars and Uranus are at their closest together in binoculars on the 4th and 5th and the pair are also midway between the Pleiades and Hyades clusters. In the evening, Venus and Jupiter form a line. On the 9th Venus is just 1° from Leo’s brightest star, Regulus.

The Last Quarter Moon is Wednesday July 8. On July 7 Earth is at aphelion, when it is furthest from the Sun.

Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday, July 4 as seen from Adelaide at 5:54 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Mars is closest to Uranus and between the Hyades and Pleiades clusters.

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).

Eastern horizon on the morning of Wednesday, July 8 as seen from Adelaide at 5:54 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Saturn and Mars form a long line in the twilight. Saturn is close to the waning Moon. Saturn is now high enough for telescopic observation, and its rings are widening.

Mars is in between Pleiades and Hyades and forms a second eye for Taurus the Bull with Aldebaran.

The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn 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).

Whole sky on Saturday, July 4 as seen from Adelaide at 18:46 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 waning and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming 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 drawing away Jupiter in the evening sky. Venus is close to the bright star Regulus (Alpha Leonis).

Mars is climbing in the twilight. Mars is closest to Uranus on the 4th and 5th and between the Hyades and Pleiades clusters.

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

Saturn is climbing higher in the morning sky above Mars. Saturn is near to the waning Moon.

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