Special to CosmicTribune.com, July 17, 2023

Excerpts from weekly Sky&Telescope report.

SUNDAY, JULY 16

■ The tail of Scorpius is low due south after dark, to the lower right of the Sagittarius Teapot. Look for the two stars especially close together in Scorpius’s tail. These are Lambda and fainter Upsilon Scorpii, known as the Cat’s Eyes. Both are blue-white giants, 500 and 700 light years away, respectively.

Between the Cat’s Eyes and the Teapot’s spout are the open star clusters M6 and especially M7, showy in binoculars.

■ Last-quarter Moon (exact at 9:48 p.m. EDT). The Moon rises around 1 a.m. tonight in Pisces. By the beginning of dawn Monday it’s high in the south, with bright Jupiter about two fists to its left and Saturn more than twice as far to its right.

MONDAY, JULY 17

■ New Moon (exact at 2:32 p.m. EDT).

TUESDAY, JULY 18

■ About 20 minutes after sunset, start looking very low in the west-northwest for Venus, lesser Mercury, and the thin crescent Moon as shown below. Regulus and Mars are much fainter. Binoculars will help.

WEDNESDAY JULY 19

■ Now the crescent Moon is easier to spot low in the west early twilight, helping mark the way to three planets as shown above.

THURSDAY, JULY 20

■ As summer progresses, bright Arcturus moves down the western side of the evening sky. Its pale ginger-ale tint always helps identify it.

SATURDAY, JULY 22

■ A twilight challenge. Spot the crescent Moon in the west-southwest about 30 minutes after sunset. Look for Venus about three fists at arm’s length to its lower right. Fainter Mercury, even fainter Regulus, and puny Mars form a straight diagonal line a little way above Venus. The line is about fist and a half long, from lower right to upper left.

SUNDAY, JULY 23

■ The thick waxing crescent is one of the most interesting phases for exploring the Moon’s terminator with a telescope. And this evening, above or upper right of the Moon by a couple degrees is 3rd-magnitude Gamma Virginis (Porrima), a fine close telescopic double star for telescopes. Its components are 3.3 arcseconds apart this year, oriented almost north-south. They’re both magnitude 3.5.

  The sky: July 14-23, The sky: July 16-23