Current Night Sky: July 2020

Earth reaches aphelion – its furthest distance from the Sun – at 8:00 am on July 4. The planet is then 94.5 million miles from the Sun – 3.4% further than at its closest approach in January. Seasons are caused not by variation in our planet’s distance from the Sun but by its axial tilt causing differential solar lighting on its Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

There is a penumbral lunar eclipse on July 5, visible over the Atlantic and most of the Western Hemisphere. However, it is a very shallow eclipse and will not be noticeable to most observers.

The Moon & Planets: 
Sky chart with Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn

On the night of July 5-6, the Moon forms a tight triangle with Jupiter and Saturn. Mars lies far to the left. Each day the Moon’s motion carries it further eastward (to the left); by the 11th, it will be passing below Mars (July 6, 2020, 1:30 am EDT).

Jupiter

Jupiter reaches opposition on July 14; it lies directly opposite to the Sun in our sky. It rises at sunset, stays up all night, and sets at sunrise. In the months that follow, Jupiter will rise earlier and earlier, gradually becoming an object conveniently viewable in our evening skies. Opposition is also the time it makes the closest approach of the year to Earth; it will be "just" 384 million miles away; at that distance, light from Jupiter takes about 35 minutes to reach our planet (July 14, 2020, 10:00 pm EDT).

Saturn

It’s rather unusual for two outer planets to reach opposition during the same month, but Saturn has its turn on July 20. It, too, will gradually become more of an evening object over the next few months. Saturn is further from us than Jupiter; at its closest, it will be 836 million miles away; the light-speed travel time from the ringed planet is 75 minutes (July 20, 2020, 4:10 am EDT).

Evening Planets (after sunset): 
  • Jupiter, SE
  • Saturn, SE
Morning Planets (before sunrise): 
  • Jupiter, SW
  • Saturn, SW
  • Neptune, S
  • Mars, S
  • Uranus, E
  • Venus, E
  • Mercury, E
Comets: 

There are no naked-eye comets currently visible.

Meteors: 

There are no significant meteor showers in July.

Phases of the Moon: 
Full Moon July 5 12:44 am EDT
Last Quarter Moon July 12 7:29 pm EDT
New Moon July 20 1:33 pm EDT
First Quarter Moon July 27 8:33 am EDT

Text, graphics, and animations by John Sheff. Graphics courtesy of Starry Night(©) Pro Plus 7 / Imaginova(©) Corp. Starry Night images are used with permission from Imaginova Corp. Starry Night is a registered trademark of Imaginova Corp. Star charts generated by Starry Night Pro Plus 7 © Imaginova Corp. All rights reserved. www.StarryNight.com