The Best Celestial Events to Watch for in July
July isn’t the most exciting month of the year for stargazing and plant-hunting, but there are a few celestial events worth putting on your calendar in the coming weeks, including the arrival of several meteor showers leading up to the peak of the Perseids in mid-August.
Here’s when (and where) to look.
July 2–4: Moon and Jupiter conjunction.
Mars and Jupiter come closer from July to mid-August, with the latter being especially bright in the early morning hours of July 2–4 and near the Moon. EarthSky has some helpful charts showing where northern hemisphere residents should look in the hours before sunrise to spot Jupiter, Mars and the Pleiades star cluster.
July 21: Full Moon of Baka.
This month’s full moon is expected to peak at 6:14 a.m. ET on July 21. The Buck Moon, also often known as the Thunder Moon, is believed to get its name from the Native American lunar calendar and corresponds to the times. year in which the deer’s antlers are fully grown.
The 2024 Buck Moon is not a supermoon, but it will still be visible in the southeast after sunset.
July 29–30: Delta Aquariid Peak.
Delta Aquariids will be active from July 18 to August 21, with an expected peak on the night of July 29 to 30. This meteor shower is weaker than some others throughout the year and is usually more visible in the southern hemisphere with its fastest speed. 15–20 meteors per hour. During peak, the Moon will only be 30% full and you will be able to see the Delta Aquarids in the southwestern sky, especially if you are in the southern United States .
Note that the Perseids – usually the best feature of the summer – begin on July 14 with a peak expected in mid-August and may mix with Aquarius.
July 30: Alpha Capricornids peak.
Capricornids, active from July 7 to August 15, are few in number but very bright. You’re unlikely to see more than five per hour even during the peak, but rain is visible in both the northern and southern hemispheres, and the sky will be relatively dark during the peak of the rain (with the moon 20% full). Activity estimates vary, but the best time to observe is in the last days of July , around 4 a.m. Eastern Time .