The Visible Planets
Mercury attains inferior conjunction on July 12 and hence will not be visible in the sky for most of this month. By the end of the month, it slowly begins to emerge above the east-northeast horizon before sunrise by July 26.
Venus shines brilliantly very low above the western horizon after sunset throughout the month. Venus can only be seen for about 1.5 hours after sunset before it too descends below the western horizon. After sunset on July 16 and 17, look for the waxing crescent Moon to join Venus in the western sky.
Mars rises above the east-northeast horizon at around 2:50 a.m. at the beginning of the month and then by 1:57 a.m. by the end of the month. Throughout the month, Mars is found traversing the zodiac constellation of Taurus, the bull. On July 11, Mars can be found just below the slim waning crescent Moon and above the bright red star, Aldebaran, the eye of the bull.
Jupiter is seen just above the west-northwestern horizon immediately after sunset at the start of the month, but then slowly descends into the light of the setting Sun and disappears from view by the middle of July. On July 29, Jupiter is at its point of conjunction.
Saturn rises above the eastern horizon a little after 1:00 am early in the month and by 11:30 p.m. by the end of the month. By sunrise at the end of the month, Saturn is found about 39° above the southern horizon as seen from Edmonton’s location. Saturn is situated amongst the faint stars of the constellation of Pisces, the fish, and will remain in this constellation until the first week of September. On July 27, Saturn is at its first stationary point, beginning the start of its 4-month retrograde (western) motion through the stars of Pisces. On July 7, look for Saturn near the Last Quarter Moon in the predawn sky.
Moon Phases
July 7 Last Quarter Moon
July 14 New Moon
July 21 First Quarter Moon
July 29 Full Moon (The Buck Moon or the Bird’s Shed Feathers Moon)
Special Events
International Space Station (ISS) Observable Passes
During the month of July there will be numerous observable passes of the ISS, from July 1 to July 22, throughout the evening hours. Exact times of these passages for your location can be found by visiting the website http://www.heavens-above.com or by using satellite tracking smart phone apps like Sputnik or Spot-the-Station.
Noctilucent Clouds
From June to late July, noctilucent clouds can be seen from the Edmonton area. Look for these extremely high, pearly blue clouds, in the northern sky this month.
July 1 Canada Day!
TELUS World of Science – Edmonton’s 42nd Birthday!
July 6 Earth at aphelion (furthest distance from the Sun) at 152,087,774 km
July 9 Nunavut Day
July 20 Viking 1 lander made the first soft landing on Mars 50 years ago today!
57th anniversary of the first step on the surface of the Moon (Apollo 11).
July 22 Lunar straight wall visible tonight.
July 27 Pluto at opposition
July 29 The south delta-Aquariid meteors peak (zenith hourly rate of 20 meteors)