• July 1 – The waxing gibbous moon is in the constellation of Virgo. Spica, the brightest star in Virgo is just a few degrees to the south of the Moon while the bright planet Jupiter is a few degrees to the west. Together, the three celestial bodies form a lovely broad triangle upon the sky.
• July 3 – The planet Earth is at the furthest point in its orbit from the Sun for the year (its “aphelion”) at a distance of 94.5 million miles, 3 P.M. CDT.
• July 6 – The Moon is at the furthest point in its orbit from the Earth this month (its “apogee”) at a distance of 252,236 miles, 11:28 P.M. CDT. Look for the waxing gibbous Moon just a few degrees above the planet Saturn.
• July 9 – Full Moon officially occurs at 11:07 P.M. CDT.
• July 13 – During the dawn hours look for Venus (our “morning star” all summer long) just above the star Aldebaran in the constellation of Taurus the Bull.
• July 16 – The Moon is at last quarter phase at 2:26 P.M. CDT
• July 20 – During the dawn hours look for a waning crescent moon and the planet Venus to make a picture perfect pairing in the eastern sky.
• July 22 – Free public star party at Woolly Hollow State Park, 82 Woolly Hollow Road, Greenbrier, AR with the members of the Central Arkansas Astronomical Society, 9PM-11PM. Star parties are where astronomers bring out their telescopes and invite the public to come look through them as they tour the objects in the current night sky. Family friendly.
• July 23 – The Moon is at last quarter phase at 2:26 P.M. CDT
• July 27 – The Delta Aquariid Meteor Shower reaches its peak. From a dark sky location, you may see up to 10 to 20 meteors per hour during the pre-dawn hours. Some of the meteors that you see will leave what it is known as “persistent meteor trains”, trails of glowing, ionized gas created as the meteoroid slams into our atmosphere.
