What's Up In The Sky Now?

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"There are more stars in the heavens than all the grains of sand covering

the world's beaches"

- Carl Sagan

MERCURY - on the 4th the little planet has its greatest eastern elongation

which is its highest point above the horizon. This will provide the best time to view in the western sky just after sunset, but it will be quite low. Mercury does begin to dim as the month progresses and finishes the month as it reaches an inferior conjunction with the Sun.

VENUS - has a beautiful pairing with the Pleiades on the 5th with Uranus close by. What a sight! On the 22nd we find Venus teaming up with Jupiter & a thin crescent Moon during the dawn hours.

EARTH - HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

MARS - our red planet spends time in Leo this month, low in the western sky after sunset. Mars enjoys 2 meetups with the Moon this month – on the 1st with a waxing 43% Moon and on the 27th with a thin crescent Moon. But the 27th pairing may be tough to see due to the brightness of twilight.

JUPITER - has moved to join many of the planets in the morning sky this month and rises early month about 2 hours before sunrise and later month about 45 minutes before the Sun. On the 23rd look for the Moon side-by-side with Jupiter in the eastern sky at 5 A.M.

SATURN - Titan, Saturn’s large moon, offers two chances to see its shadow as it transits across the planet during its orbits. On the 16th at about 4 AM, there is a party happening in our eastern sky. Saturn & the Moon are side-by-side, Venus shows brightly, and Uranus is next to the Pleiades. And we find Messier 31 (Andromeda Galaxy) close by!!

URANUS - has become an early riser now and can be found in the constellation Taurus the Bull beginning about 3 AM. It teams up nicely with Venus during the month.

NEPTUNE - stays near Saturn this month as they both rise together about midnight. Neptune, the 8th and farthest planet from the Sun, is known as an “Ice Giant” planet and is the 4th largest planet in our Solar System with a mass 17 times our Earth. Its orbit around the Sun takes 164.8 (Earth) years. It has 14 moons and a set of at least 5 icy rings..

• 02 – 1st quarter
• 10 – FULL at 3:36 PM CDT
• 17 –3rd quarter
• 24 – NEW at 2:11 PM CDT

OUR full Moon this month is known as the "Buck Moon" as male buck deer begin to grow their new antlers. Thunder Moon and Hay Moon are also names for the full moon.

On the 20th, the Moon moves through the Pleiades, but you will need to set your alarm for early morning hours.