The Sky Tonight: July 2025

The Casual Observer 

July continues nan play of Makuru and pinch it continues nan fantastic, cool weather. Ironically, this is nan champion and worst clip of nan twelvemonth to spot nan Milky Way postulation because Earth’s position astir nan Sun gives america an fantabulous position of it astatine night, if only you tin drawback a spread betwixt nan clouds. 

Image: The Milky Way stretches crossed nan entity during July.
Credit: Stellarium 

As usual, nan further you are from metropolis lights, nan amended your position of nan entity will be. The magnificent position of nan billions of stars successful nan Milky Way visible from Australia has been amusingly explored by xkcd arsenic a what-if? “If each country’s airspace extended up forever, which state would ain nan largest percent of nan postulation astatine immoderate fixed time?”  

Australia emerges arsenic a clear winner. You really should click this link to publication nan details. 

Image: The caller Australian flag.
Credit: xkcd/what-if 

Earth reaches aphelion connected July 3. This is nan constituent successful nan orbit wherever we are furthest from nan Sun. A seasonal reminder that this is not why it is wintertime (remember, it’s summertime successful nan bluish hemisphere correct now!). It is existent that nan region from nan Sun does has immoderate effect connected nan temperature, but astir of nan somesthesia quality betwixt summertime and wintertime is caused by nan tilt of nan Earth. Currently, Earth’s tilt is pointing nan confederate hemisphere distant from nan Sun, making it cooler. That this happening astatine nan aforesaid clip arsenic aphelion is axenic coincidence. 

Image: The tilt is nan logic for nan seasons!
Credit: © Time and Date  

Venus continues to radiance brightly successful nan greeting entity earlier sunrise. It has a adjacent brushwood pinch Uranus connected July 4 earlier threading nan spread betwixt Aldebaran and nan Pleiades a fewer days later arsenic it continues to move done Taurus. 

Image: Venus moves done Taurus this month.
Credit: Stellarium 

See nan International Space Station from Perth 

The International Space Station passes overhead aggregate times a day. Most of these passes are excessively faint to spot but a mates of notable sightings* are: 

*Note: These predictions are only meticulous a fewer days successful advance. Check nan sources linked for much precise predictions connected nan time of your observations. 

Moon phases 

July 3: First Quarter 

July 11: Full Moon 

July 18: Last Quarter 

July 25: New Moon 

Dates of interest 

July 3: Earth astatine aphelion 

July 4: Venus adjacent to Uranus 

July 11: Venus adjacent to Aldebaran 

July 21: 56th day of nan Neil and Buzz stepping connected nan Moon. 

Planets to look for 

Mercury is visible successful nan westbound for an hr aliases truthful aft sunset for nan first fewer weeks of this month. Mars is besides looming successful nan northwest, and they are joined by nan Moon connected nan first time of nan month. 

Image: Mercury, Mars and nan Moon connected July 1.
Credit: Stellarium 

Saturn rises astir midnight this month, moving crossed nan ENE entity earlier it fades distant astatine sunrise. 

Jupiter makes a return to nan eastbound entity earlier sunrise, joining Venus successful a agleam display. This will proceed to get much awesome arsenic nan period goes on. 

Image: Jupiter and Venus successful nan greeting entity during July.
Credit: Stellarium 

Constellation of nan month 

Sagittarius – nan Archer Centaur 

Sagittarius is an tremendous constellation, some successful size and successful scope. Lying crossed nan centre of nan Milky Way galaxy, its borders are filled pinch countless millions of stars and state clouds. The brightest stars that we tin spot from Earth trace retired nan intelligibly defined style of a centaur firing a front and arrow and hahaha nary not really, they look thing for illustration that. They are nevertheless drawn to look for illustration a centaur anyway. 

Image: Sagittarius nan Archer Centaur, I guess.
Credit: Stellarium 

More pragmatic observers attraction connected uncovering nan teapot, discernible successful nan supra image and presented decently below. Easily visible moreover from metropolis skies, by imagining steam coming from nan teapot you tin find nan nonstop centre of nan Milky Way galaxy. 

Image: The teapot tin beryllium utilized to find nan centre of nan Milky Way galaxy.
Credit: Stellarium, Markup by Smith/Scitech. 

At nan centre of nan Milky Way postulation is simply a supermassive achromatic spread called Sagittarius A*. It is pronounced ‘Sagittarius A star’ but it is decidedly not a star. 

By studying orbits of existent stars astatine nan centre of nan galaxy, scientists were capable to find that nan only point that could person capable gravity to predominate stellar orbits for illustration this would beryllium a compact entity weighing 4 cardinal times arsenic overmuch arsenic nan Sun, squashed into an area smaller than nan orbit of Mercury. The only point that fits this criterion is simply a ace monolithic achromatic hole. This find yet won nan 2020 Nobel Prize successful physics. 

More recently, nan Event Horizon Telescope imaged Sagittarius A*, revealing nan ghostly glow of basking plasma opinionated retired from nan acheronian arsenic it spirals astir nan achromatic hole, yet to beryllium consumed. 

Image: The achromatic spread astatine nan centre of our galaxy.
Credit: EHT 

Object for nan mini telescope 

A Close Encounter of nan Uranus and Venus kind 

Venus and Uranus will walk wrong 2.5 degrees of each different successful nan entity connected July 4. Joined by nan Pleaides, this will coming an breathtaking situation to keen observers arsenic nan fainter Uranus will beryllium difficult to bring into attraction successful nan chilly pre-dawn sky.  

Image: Venus and Uranus person a adjacent brushwood connected July 4 while nan Pleiades watch on.
Credit: Stellarium 

Please Look Up. The beingness is amazing!