The moon is full July 14, which means 14 days earlier was new moon, so Canada Day starts the monthly cycle: new moon, first quarter (7.4 days later) (watch for Saturn within eight degrees); full moon (14.8 days after new); last quarter (July 22 - 22.1 days since new); and new moon again July 30 (29.6 days after the previous new phase).
July 1 is also a partial solar eclipse marking the beginning of a Saros series (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saros_cycle for an explanation). Since the eclipse is only visible from a small slice of Antarctic Ocean, it may well be that nobody sees it! Two other close grazes to watch for are the early morning on July 23, when Jupiter is within a fist width (five degrees), and July 27, when the moon is within half a degree of Mars.
Mercury is visible in the western evening twilight throughout the month. It may be a tough observation, since the sun's light will keep the horizon bright.
Venus rounds behind the sun early in July, disappearing until the second half of September.
Mars remains an early morning object, rising higher with each successive day. The moon and the Red Planet have a close meeting on the morning of July 27; an occultation in some parts of the South Pacific, where the moon passes in front of the planet.
Jupiter rises early in the morning, visible in the east until sunrise. Like Mars, the giant gas planet rises higher each day, near the constellation Aries, the ram. Watch for the beautiful star cluster, the Pleiades, a bit further east of Jupiter all through the month.
Saturn never fails to give a good show. The ringed planet becomes visible in the southwest as the sun's light fades. It has been in the constellation Virgo, the maiden, all through the summer, hovering near the bright star, Spica. As July opens, Saturn is nearly on top of another of Virgo's brighter stars, Porrima.
Uranus rises shortly after midnight, crossing the sky through the night. The moon will be within a few degrees on the morning of July 21.
This month marks a special day for Neptune, as July 12 can be considered its birthday; the blue gaseous planet has made one complete orbit around the sun since it was first discovered in 1846. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune for more information.
- James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000 and quickly became involved in the society. He is editor's Assistant and a contributor to Observer's Handbook, production manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal, and is the society's national secretary.
