July 2025

Mercury and Mars are nice evening objects at the start of July. Look west at dusk. Mercury is at greatest elongation on the 4^th at 25.9° east of the sun. It passes right by Asellus Australis that evening. That’s the southern donkey star in Cancer. It’s said to be one of the two donkeys feeding from the manger that is M44, also known as the Beehive Cluster and Praesepe. After that, the messenger planet pulls to the south and heads into the sunset. Inferior conjunction is on the 1^st of August. But you’ll lose sight of Mercury early in July in middle and high northern latitudes. Southern hemisphere observers will have an easier time seeing it evening to evening until about a week before the month ends.

Mars starts the month under Leo’s belly. It steadily marches eastward and will be approaching Virgo’s head in the last days of July. It will be very close to Zavijava on August 2^nd.

Saturn is nearly stationary all month alongside Pisces, rising in late evening, earlier each night of course. The ringed planet is nearly stationary because it’s starting the month in direct motion but will go retrograde on the 14^th. Planets seem to slow down before changing direction.

Venus is right of the Pleiades as the planet and asterism rise in the early morning in early July. On the 12^th, Venus will be by Ain, the star opposite Aldebaran on the Hyades. Venus speeds along out of Taurus and to the feet of Gemini at the end of the month. It will be on track to pass by Jupiter in the middle of next month. Jupiter spends all month in Gemini, first starting by Tejat in the legs of Castor. That will not be visible to most northern hemisphere observers. But the view of the planet and constellation gets easier as the month goes along and they rise earlier. About 20 days into the month, Jupiter is passing Mebsuta and should be an easy sight for just about everyone.

For the planets seen in binoculars, you have a fair chance of finding them with the help of naked eye planets early this month. Venus is 2.4° from Uranus on the 4^th. And Saturn is 1.0° from Neptune on the 5^th. Use a finder chart or planetarium program to help you hop from the bright object to the dim one in each case.

And Pluto is at opposition on the 25^th. It’s not near any bright objects to help you find it.

The moon’s over the equator going south on the 1^st. First quarter phase is on the 2^nd. Luna passes Spica on the 3^rd and occults the star for observers in a swath from the Falkland Islands to the Weddell Sea and Queen Maud Land regions of Antarctica. The moon’s at apogee on the 5^th at 404,700 kilometers away. The moon will occult another star, Antares, on the 7^th. The visibility area is from southern Africa to the Kerguellen Islands to far western Australia. The Enderby Land and American Highland parts of Australia get the view too.

Southern lunistice occurs on the 9^th at 28.4° south. Full moon is the next day. The moon’s over the equator going north on the 16^th. Also that day, it passes 3.4° from Saturn and 2.4° from Neptune. Last quarter is on the 18^th. On the 20^th, apogee happens at 368,000 kilometers away. The moon’s also 5.0° from Uranus that day. This month’s Venus-moon pairing is on the morning of the 21^st with a 7.1° separation.

We have northern lunistice on the 22^nd at 28.5° north. The moon’s 4.9° from Jupiter on the 23^rd. And then 2.5° from Pollux on the 24^th. That pairing won’t be visible, however, because of new moon being the same day. You’ll have some chance of spotting the moon close to Mercury in the evening sky with a 7.5° separation on the 25^th. The best viewing will be from the southern hemisphere.

Regulus gets a visit from the moon on the 26^th. They’re 1.2° apart. Then the moon is 1.1° from Mars on the 28^th. Luna crosses the equator southward again on the 29^th. Spica gets a second occultation in July when the moon’s center passes 0.9° from the star. The view is limited to parts of Antarctica. August 1^st brings the first quarter phase and apogee at 404,200 kilometers away.

Earth is at aphelion on the 3rd at 19:55 UT at 1.017 astronomical units from the sun.

Mercury is at aphelion on the 14^th at 0.47 astronomical units from the sun.