The Night Sky - July 2026
July is looking pretty quiet this year. The last Full Moon was June 29, making fainter objects hard to see the first week of this month. Mercury is low in ENE in morning twilight after mid-month. Venus is on the other side of the Sun visible low in the W all month during evening twilight. Mars is low in the E during the morning hours. Jupiter is approaching conjunction with the sun, so not really available for viewing.Saturn is rising in the E after midnight and will be high in the S by dawn. Conjunctions are when you can draw an invisible line from Earth, through the object and to or through the Sun.
If you do have a telescope, Uranus will be 0.1 degree N or Mars on July 4th. Earth will be at Aphelion (furthest from the Sun) on July 6th. The 7th is the Last Quarter Moon. Using binoculars or a telescope to observe along the Terminator (division between light and dark) will show mountains and valleys on the Moon. As the Moon wanes toward new there is less glare from the lit side making it easier to physically look. Also the Globular Clusters in Scorpius, M 4 and M 80 will be up all night. If your sky is dark enough, you might not need binoculars to see them. You will need to be ‘dark adapted’ and a very dark, pristine sky. A visit to the Lennox and Addington Dark Sky Preserve or North Frontenac Astronomy Park might be in order. Neptune will be stationary and the Lunar Curtis X visible on the 8th. Mercury will be between the Earth and Sun on the 12th (Inferior Conjunction) so unsafe to try to observe. The Moon is at Perigee (closest to Earth) on the 13th and 25th. This may cause larger tides along with New Moon on the 14th. A thin crescent Moon should be visible at Sunset and Jupiter will be 2 degrees S or the Moon. Remember you can damage your eye by looking at the Sun even if it’s only a small piece. Like the eclipse, damage can happen quickly. Venus will be 2 degrees N of the Moon by the 17th. During the week of the 19th, try looking for the bright red star, Arcturus, unaided before Sunset. First Quarter Moon is on the 21st, lunar Straight Wall visible on the 22nd, Mercury stationary on the 23rd, lunar Jewelled Handle on the 24th with the bright red star, Antares (in Scorpius) just 0.6 degrees N of the Moon. Saturn is stationary on the 27th and Minor Planet, Pluto, will be at Opposition. Birds Shedding Feathers Full Moon is on the 29th along with the S Delta Aquarid meteor shower and Jupiter in Conjunction with the Sun.
There are several double stars that make interesting viewing. Some were used as tests for your vision (Mizar and Alcor in Ursa Major for example). This is the second star ‘in’ on the handle of the ‘dipper’ (or tail of the bear). Children usually see this as the two stars that are there. When you look with a telescope, both stars are really multiple (six) stars!
One of the prettiest sights I have ever seen was of the second brightest star in Cygus (the Swan or Northern Cross). Alberio, beta cygni, has two stars of two colours, the brighter is yellow, perhaps even golden, and the second is blue, almost turquoise. Viewing them together makes them more special. Another special in Cygnus is Omicron Cygni with is actually a triple star! There is a binary (two) with a third that eclipses the other two regularly. The change in brightness is something astronomers keep track of.
Other double stars you might want to find and observe are Beta Scorpii, Alpha Herculi, Kappa Herculi, 95 Her, Omicron and Psi Draco, 59 Serpens and Zeta Lyra.
If you are going to try watching the meteor shower, or the Globular Clusters in Scorpius, you will need to be ‘dark adapted’. That means you keep all lights away for at least half an hour. This lets your pupils expand and allow more light in. This means your eyes are going to be sensitive to bright lights when you do come in. If you can, a red filter on a flashlight will not affect your adaptation as much. Some people have been known to cover a dark adapted eye with a patch! Arghh.
Clear Skies. ■
