The Sky This Week: July 15 – July 17

 

Friday, July 15
For observers in North America, the Moon appears 3° above Saturn this evening. The ruddy 1st-magnitude star Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion lies 10° below the Moon while Mars blazes well to the trio’s right.

Saturday, July 16
If you like observing challenges, tonight is your night. Mercury passes just 0.5° (the diameter of a Full Moon) north of Venus in the early evening sky. From 40° north latitude, the two lie less than 4° high in the west-northwest 20 minutes after sunset. With a flat horizon and pristine skies, you might just glimpse the pair through binoculars. At magnitude –3.9, Venus will be the easier of the two to spot (Mercury glows at magnitude –1.0).

Sunday, July 17
Observers of the outer solar system should target Uranus this week before the Moon sheds its unwanted light into the predawn sky. The best time to look for it is shortly before twilight begins around 4 a.m. local daylight time. Uranus then lies 40° high in the northeast among the background stars of Pisces the Fish. This morning, use binoculars to find the magnitude 5.8 planet about 4° west of 4th-magnitude Omicron (o) Piscium and 3° north of 5th-magnitude Mu (m) Psc. A telescope reveals Uranus’ blue-green disk, which spans 3.5″.

Reference

Astronomy Magazine

Your Cosmic Weather Report for Friday 15th – Sunday 17th July

Author: Jane Lyle

Friday 15th July – Sunday 17th July:

It’s a bit of a rollercoaster of a weekend. Rebellion, strong desires to reform or reinvent things, plus a focus on what’s unusual or even deeply weird promise to create those familiar, restless feelings all around us.

Compromise, making adjustments, and staying calm will all help smooth the rough edges. We can then find the deep emotional healing and harmony that’s also present over the next few days. This can be especially helpful if you’ve been battling with difficult circumstances, anger, or negativity that’s rooted in the past.

It’s a turning point time if you’ve got planets between 24 – 26 degrees in your natal horoscope. What you’ve been dealing with this year – perhaps particularly in February and June – may have been a real challenge, but here’s an opportunity to find a fresh solution or even a conclusion.

This weekend’s aspects are:

Sun in Cancer square Uranus in Aries, 24 degrees

Mercury conjunct Venus, 5 degrees Leo

Sun in Cancer trine Mars in Scorpio, 25 degrees. They form a grand water trine with Chiron at 25 Pisces, exact on Sunday, 17th July

Reference

The Astrology Room

Moon Phase for the Month of July

First Quarter. July 11, 2016 – 7:51 am
Full Moon, July 19, 2016 – 5:56 am
Third Quarter, July 26, 2016 – 5:59 am
New Moon, August 2 – 3:44 am

Reference

timeanddate.com

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Friday, July 15th

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 104.96° ESE
Sun Altitude: 53.77°
Sun Distance: 94.482 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2016 9:21 AM (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 5:47 AM↑ 62° Northeast
Sunset Today: 8:14 PM↑ 298° Northwest
Length of Daylight: 14 hours, 27 minutes

 

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 37.54° NE
Moon Altitude: -64.96°
Moon Distance: 249074 mi
Next Full Moon: Jul 19, 20165:56 PM
Next New Moon: Aug 2, 20163:44 PM
Next Moonrise: Today4:30 PM
Current Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Illumination: 81.8%

Reference

timeanddate.com