This single 30-second image of the Milky Way was taken at ISO1600 with a smartphone leaning against a drink bottle under beautiful dark skies. You don’t always need fancy equipment to capture what’s right in front of you. Photo: MPAS member Nerida Langcake
Highlights this month
- 1SatMercury in superior conjunction with the Sun — lost in the glare. (2:53pm)
- 1SatNeptune is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (4:37pm)
- 1SatVenus and Mars in conjunction — 4° apart. (5:26pm)
- 7FriThe Moon passes Saturn — 2° apart. (3:04pm)
- 12WedThe Moon passes Jupiter — 2° apart. (5:48am)
- 21FriVenus is stationary — begins retrograde (westward) motion. (8:51am)
- 21FriThe Moon passes Mars — 3° apart. (4:57pm)
- 30SunSouthern Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks (up to 25/hr). A bright 91% Moon interferes badly this year.
- 30SunAlpha Capricornids meteor shower peaks (up to 5/hr). A bright 91% Moon interferes badly this year.
Looking north in July, the wonderful globular cluster M5 is high in the sky. It is roughly 25,000 light-years away from Earth, towards the constellation Serpens Caput. A small telescope brings many of its outer stars into focus. A short hop east over Ophiuchus into Serpens Cauda and you will find the open cluster M16 surrounded by the much fainter Eagle Nebula.
Sitting high in the southern skies, Scorpius is easy to spot this month. Nearby is the constellation Sagittarius, which is famous for the ‘Teapot’ asterism formed by some of its brightest stars. When you look towards Sagittarius and Scorpius, you are peering towards the centre of the Milky Way galaxy. This whole region is full of rich and beautiful star fields that are great to explore using binoculars.
At this time of the year the constellation Sagittarius offers some exceptional deep-sky objects. The globular cluster M22 is visible to the naked eye if you have good observing conditions. The Lagoon Nebula, or M8, lying above the spout of the Teapot, is a glowing cloud of gas. Other famous deep-sky objects in Sagittarius are visible through a telescope, including the Trifid Nebula, or M20. Beside Sagittarius, Scorpius contains the bright open clusters M6 and M7, which remain high in the sky this month. To the north in the constellation Serpens Cauda, the Tail of the Serpent, lies the open cluster M16 in the much fainter Eagle Nebula.
Venus and Mars will make a close approach, passing within just over 3 degrees of each other on July 1. They will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, but will be visible to the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars. Then on July 12 there will be a close approach of the moon and Jupiter, passing within just over 1 degree of each other.
July 5 will see Venus at its highest altitude in the evening sky, and July 10 at its greatest brightness.
The peak of three meteor showers – the Piscis Austrinids, Alpha Capricornids, and Southern Delta Aquariids – will occur on July 29 and 30.
By Nerida Langcake
This article appeared in the July 2023 issue of the Mornington Peninsula Magazine.
The sky in detail — July 2023
Sun & twilight
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Astro. dark begins | ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 1 | 7:37am | 5:10pm | 9h 32m | 6:45pm | 6:03am |
| Mon 10 | 7:36am | 5:15pm | 9h 39m | 6:49pm | 6:02am |
| Thu 20 | 7:31am | 5:22pm | 9h 51m | 6:54pm | 5:58am |
| Mon 31 | 7:22am | 5:30pm | 10h 08m | 7:02pm | 5:51am |
Days lengthen by about 36 minutes over the month.
The Moon
- Full MoonMon 3, 9:44pm
- Last QuarterMon 10, 11:51am
- New MoonTue 18, 4:31am
- First QuarterWed 26, 8:06am
Perigee 5 Jul (360,100 km) · Apogee 20 Jul (406,100 km)
The planets
Rise/set for mid-month at The Briars.
| Planet | In | Mag | Rise | Transit | Set | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | Cnc | −0.8 | 8:34am | 1:31pm | 6:28pm | Hidden |
| Venus | Leo | −4.5 | 9:17am | 2:45pm | 8:13pm | Evening |
| Mars | Leo | 1.8 | 9:44am | 3:10pm | 8:36pm | Evening |
| Jupiter | Ari | −2.0 | 2:11am | 7:28am | 12:44pm | Morning |
| Saturn | Aqr | 0.6 | 8:46pm | 3:26am | 10:02am | Morning |
| Uranus | Ari | 5.8 | 3:07am | 8:10am | 1:12pm | Morning |
| Neptune | Psc | 7.8 | 10:31pm | 4:44am | 10:52am | Morning |
Meteor showers
- Southern Delta Aquariids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Aquarius (up to 25/hr). A favourite southern shower with a high radiant — steady rates through the small hours; overlaps the Alpha Capricornids. A bright 91% Moon interferes badly this year.
- Alpha Capricornids — peaks 30 July, radiant in Capricornus (up to 5/hr). Low rates but noted for slow, bright fireballs; radiant well placed from the south. A bright 91% Moon interferes badly this year.
Computed for The Briars, Mt Martha. Times are local (Melbourne).
Generated automatically from the MPAS sky engine on 15 July 2026.
The solar system — July 2023
Evening sky Morning sky Up much of the night Lost in the Sun’s glare
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