Your guide to the night sky this month
All Month
Noctilicent cloud season runs from late May through to early August, July being an excellent month to look out for these elusive high-altitude ice clouds.
Monday 4
Happy aphelion day! Earth reaches the point in its year-long orbit when it is farthest from the Sun today.
Wednesday 6
Minor planet 14 Irene reaches opposition today, at the eastern edge of the handle of the Teapot asterism in Sagittarius. Shining at mag. +9.8, it’ll be tricky to identify Irene’s star-like dot against the backdrop of Milky Way.
Friday 8
A view of the Moon through binoculars or a telescope this evening will reveal the illuminated arc of the Jura Mountains curving into darkness at the Moon’s terminator. This Jewelled Handle clair-obscur effect is at its best around 23:10 BST (22:10 UT).
Saturday 9
Our ‘Moonwatch’ target, the ray crater Kepler, is well presented tonight and tomorrow night. A second opportunity occurs during the Moon’s waning phase on the mornings of 23 and 24 July.
Sunday 10
This evening the 88%-lit waxing gibbous Moon sits 2.2˚ from red-supergiant Antares (Alpha (α) Scorpii). Catch them at their closest around midnight, low above the southwest horizon.
Wednesday 13
Today’s full Moon occurs at 19:38 BST (18:38 UT) just 9hrs 29m after lunar perigee (10:09 BST (09:09 UT)), the point in the Moon’s orbit when it’s closest to Earth. This is the smallest gap for 2022, making this the best perigee full Moon of 2022.
Friday 15
As this evening’s 92%-lit waning gibbous Moon rises around 23:30 BST (22:30 UT), look out for mag. +0.5 Saturn 4.8˚ above it.
Tuesday 19
Mag. –2.4 Jupiter appears 2.9˚ above a 65%-lit waning gibbous Moon in the early hours.
Thursday 21
July is a tricky month for deep sky observing due to the brightness of the night sky at the start of the month. From now until the end of July is the best time to attempt this month’s ‘Deep Sky Tour’, as the Moon will be out of the way.
Friday 22
Mag. +0.3 Mars and a 36%-lit waning crescent Moon sit above the east-northeast horizon, separated by 4˚. Both objects are visible from 00:40 BST (23:40 UT on 21 July). Mag. +5.8 Uranus also lies 2.3˚ east of the Moon.
Saturday 23
The 26%-lit waning crescent Moon lies 4.4˚ south of the Pleiades open cluster this morning. See them both above the east-northeast horizon from 02:00 BST (01:00 UT).
Tuesday 26
Mag. –3.8 Venus appears in the early morning sky, near to a beautiful 5%-lit waning crescent Moon. Catch them at their best from 04:00 BST (03:00 UT).
Wednesday 27
Mag. –3.8 Venus appears in the early morning sky, near to a beautiful 2%-lit waning crescent Moon. Catch them at their best from 04:00 BSTzz (03:00 UT).
Thursday 28
With the Moon new today, this is a great time to try and track down eighth magnitude comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS), which has been moving south through Ophiuchus, the Serpent-Bearer, this month.
Friday 29
Saturn forms a triangle with Deneb Algiedi (Delta (δ) Capricorni) and Nashira (Gamma (γ) Capricorni).
Mercury and a 1%-lit waxing crescent Moon are 3˚ apart this evening.
Saturday 30
A thin 4%-lit Moon is 9˚from mag. –0.6 Mercury 30 minutes after sunset.
The peak of the Southern Delta Aquariids meteor shower.
Family stargazing
Noctilucent clouds (NLCs) are excellent targets for youngsters to look out for. Typically seen 90–120 minutes after sunset low above the northwest horizon, or a similar time before sunrise low above the northeast horizon, they just require a flat, clear horizon and keen eyes. They shine with a white/blue-white colour and have a fine wispy structure. Any regular clouds in the area will appear dark against NLCs – high altitude ice-sheet clouds, which are so high that they can reflect sunlight at night even though the Sun is below the horizon for us on the ground. bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/stargazing
NEED TO KNOW
The terms and symbols used in The Sky Guide
Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST)
Universal Time (UT) is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. British Summer Time (BST) is one hour ahead of UT
RA (Right ascension) and dec. (declination)
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’
Naked eye
Allow 20 minutes for your eyes to become dark-adapted
Photo opp
Use a CCD, planetary camera or standard DSLR
Binoculars
10×50 recommended
Small/ medium scope
Reflector/SCT under 6 inches, refractor under 4 inches
Large scope
Reflector/SCT over 6 inches, refractor over 4 inches
GETTING STARTED IN ASTRONOMY
If you’re new to astronomy, you’ll find two essential reads on our website. Visit http://bit.ly/10_easylessons for our 10-step guide to getting started and http://bit.ly/buy_scope for advice on choosing a scope