Astroblog: Thursday July 30 to Thursday August 6

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Thursday July 30 to Thursday August 6

The Full Moon is Thursday July 30, the last Quarter Moon is Thursday August 6. In the morning Saturn and Mars form a long line. Saturn is rising just around 10:30 pm local time and is near the waning Moon on the 4th. Mars is below the red star Aldebaran, pairing with Elnath (Beta Tauri). In the evening, Venus is visible well after the sky is fully dark and draws away from the bright star Regulus.

The Full Moon is Thursday July 30, the last Quarter Moon is Thursday August 6.

North-Eastern horizon on the morning of Tuesday, August 4 as seen from Adelaide at 5:41 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Saturn is high above the northern horizon with the waning Moon nearby. Mars is low in the east, below the bright red star Aldebaran, forming a second tip to the horns of Taurus the Bull pairing with Elnath (Beta Tauri). Saturn is rising before midnight, but is still best for telescopic observation in the morning, and its rings are widening.

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 Saturday, August 1 as seen from Adelaide at 19:01 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus is well above the horizon when the sky is fully dark. 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, August 1 as seen from Adelaide at 19:01 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Venus is prominent in the north-west.

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

The Southern Cross is at its zenith in the Southern sky. The Moon is just past Full and the fainter clusters and nebula are hard 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.

Mars is climbing in the twilight. Mars is below the red star Aldebaran, forming a second tip to the horns of Taurus the Bull pairing with Elnath (Beta Tauri).

Jupiter is lost in the twilight.

Saturn is climbing higher in the morning sky above Mars. It is now rising before midnight, but is best seen in the morning. It is near the waning Moon on the 4th.

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