Sun rises at 5:43am.
Sun sets at 6:52pm.
Moon phase: First Quarter, Waxing Crescent.
Moon rises at 10:25am.
Moon sets at 10:49pm.
This is a great weekend for getting out those binoculars and gazing at the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and even Venus!
Early Evening
Just after sunset, as the sky darkens about 7:15pm, you’ll see the Crescent Moon high in the western sky. The sliver of silver is a delicate arc that will offer amazing close-up views of the lunar surface. Study the shadow line to see the relief of the craters – you’ll be transfixed by the details visible with even an inexpensive pair of binoculars.
Just to the right of the Moon, Jupiter will be gloriously obvious as the brightest “star” in the sky. Enjoy viewing Jupiter now, as it is wandering night by night closer to the sun and will be lost in the sun’s glare by late August. The four major moons of Jupiter – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto – are quite easy to behold through good binoculars or a small telescope. Observe them at 7:15 and again at 8:15. Within one hour, you will actually be able to detect movement in the relative positions of the moons as they orbit the giant planet. Galileo first observed these moons revolving around Jupiter in the year 1610!
The lovely pair of the Moon and Jupiter will be setting by 8:25pm so at that time, or before, cast your eyes eastward to the next brightest celestial bodies: the longstanding trio of Mars, Saturn and Antares. Binoculars might not offer super impressive views of these planets, but a humble backyard telescope can show you the rings of Saturn and some surface features of Mars. The sky will be very dark after moonset, for optimum star-gazing, especially if GEBE keeps going out! Mars sets at 1:45am and Saturn sets about 3:00am.
Back to the early evening, it’s worth mentioning that Venus is climbing away from the glare of sunset, albeit at a snail’s pace. Every night this month, check after sunset for The Evening Star which is actually not a star at all, but the second planet from the sun, Venus. It will set a bit later every night until July 25 when it will begin its retrograde motion, which means that instead of traveling away from the sun, it will begin to shift nightly closer to the sun. This weekend, Venus sets by 7:30pm.
So get out whatever scope you have and give it a try! And by the way, the next few nights are a wonderful time to try, in part because the lighted face of the waxing crescent moon will be pointing directly toward Jupiter and follow that line farther – the moon and Jupiter line up with Venus. Let the moon be your guide.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. Comments and feedback are always welcome. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
