Sky Report

This is the Griffith Observatory Sky Report from July 1st through July 31, 2021. Here are the events happening in the sky of southern California.

Mercury is in the morning sky. On the 1^st, Mercury rises at 4:28 a.m., and the sun rises at 5:46 a.m. By July 22^nd, Mercury passes close to the sun and is unobservable. Never observe Mercury when the sun is in the sky, for the risk of damage to the eyes is great.

Venus is in the evening sky. On the 1^st the sun sets at 8:09 p.m., and Venus sets at 9:47 p.m. On the 31^st the sun sets at 7:55 p.m., and Venus sets at 9:33 p.m. Venus presents a small disk in a gibbous phase when viewed through a telescope. On July 2, Venus passes in front of the large open star cluster, cataloged as Messier 44, nicknamed the Beehive. On the 11^th and 12^th Mars and Venus pass each other within half a degree. On the 12^th the sun sets at 8:06 p.m. and Venus sets at 9:47 p.m. Never observe Venus when the sun is in the sky, for the risk of damage to the eyes is great.

Copper-red Mars continues to recede from earth and shrinks slowly. The planet is at magnitude +1.8 and low in the west. Mars presents a small disk, and so surface features will not be visible even when viewed through a telescope. On the 1^st, Mars sets at 10:06 p.m. On the 31^st, Mars sets at 9:04 p.m.

Jupiter rises in the east at 11:00 p.m. on the 1^st and at 8:57 p.m. on the 31^st. A telescope will reveal features on the disk and the four Galilean moons, which travel in a rough line east to west around Jupiter.

Saturn rises in the east at 10:01 p.m. on the 1^st and at 7:57 p.m. on the 31^st. A telescope will reveal Saturn’s disk, its rings, and perhaps its brightest and largest moon, Titan.

The last quarter moon occurs on the 1^st, new moon on the 9^th, first quarter on the 17^th, full moon on the 23^rd, and last quarter again on the 31^st.

The alpha Capricornid and the delta Aquariid meteor showers peak in the morning of July 29. The Capricornid meteors are faint and few with no persistent trails or fireballs. They appear to come from the constellation of Capricornus. The Aquariids have a low peak rate of five meteors per hour but can produce bright fireballs. They appear to emerge from the constellation of Aquarius. The moon will be 74-percent illuminated on the 29^th and will interfere with observations.

Follow All Space Considered and Griffith Observatory on Twitter for updates on astronomy and space-related events.