July Skies
A brief overview of what to see in the sky with the unaided eye during July evenings:

Stars and Constellations
● Scorpius is transiting the meridian during July evenings. The southern part of the constellation is low in the southern sky and might not be visible from suburban neighbourhoods, but is easily
visible in dark skies and from lakeshore locations. The bright red star Antares is also low in the southern sky, but near the northern end of the constellation and easy to find even in light-polluted skies
● The Summer Triangle of 3 bright stars (Altair, Vega and Deneb) and their constellations (Aquila, Lyra and Cygnus) is overhead during the evenings
● The summer Milky Way extends north-to-south through Cygnus and Aquila, high in the eastern sky during evenings

Planets
● Mercury appears low in the evening sky after sunset during July and reaches greatest eastern elongation July 22
● Venus is visible very low in the western sky after sunset
● Mars rises around midnight and is visible low in the eastern sky before sunrise, moving from the Aries to the Taurus constellations
● Jupiter rises after midnight and appears low in the eastern sky during early morning in the Taurus constellation
● Saturn rises near midnight in early July and during late evening later in July and appears in the southeastern sky during early morning in the Aquarius constellation

Moon Phases
● New Moon July 5, 18:57 EDT
● First Quarter Moon July 13, 18:49 EDT
● Full Moon July 21, 06:17 EDT
● Last Quarter Moon July 27, 22:52 EDT

Noteworthy Sky Events
● July 5: Earth at aphelion (farthest from the sun during the year)
● July 30: Mars, Jupiter and the waning crescent moon appear close together in the eastern sky before sunrise

Sky Resources Online
Some website resources for sky charts, weekly sky events, and more information:
● astrogeo.ca/skylights
● www.heavens-above.com
● In-the-sky.org
● www.skyandtelescope.org
● www.skymaps.com

Star Chart for mid-July, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):