Sky · Monthly night-sky guide
The Buck Moon on July 29
See what’s in the sky right now →
July eases us toward the busiest stretch of the stargazing year. Earth reaches aphelion in early July — its farthest point from the Sun all year, a neat reminder that our seasons come from Earth's tilt, not its distance. Toward month's end the Southern Delta Aquariids begin seeding the pre-dawn sky with slow, faint meteors, and the first Perseids start to trickle in ahead of their famous August peak. Warm, short nights make this an easy month to simply step outside and look up.
A long, gentle shower with a southern radiant — a good warm-up to the Perseids, best from the south.
Radiant in Aquarius · debris from Comet 96P/Machholz (likely). Rates are the peak ZHR under perfect dark skies — real city skies show far fewer.
Source: International Meteor Organization (IMO) shower calendar (2026). Full meteor-shower calendar & radiant maps →
July’s full moon is the Buck Moon on Wednesday 29 July, 399,621 km from Earth.
| Phase | Date | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|---|
| Last Quarter | Tue 7 Jul | 19:29 UT |
| New Moon | Tue 14 Jul | 09:43 UT |
| First Quarter | Tue 21 Jul | 11:05 UT |
| Full Moon | Wed 29 Jul | 14:36 UT |
Published minutes, UT (USNO, Astronomical Applications Department); traditional names (traditional North American names as popularised by the Old Farmer’s Almanac). Every full moon of 2026→
Where each naked-eye planet sits around mid-month (15 July). These windows change slowly across the month.
Venus is an evening object, best after sunset in the western half of the sky.
Mars is a morning object, best before dawn in the eastern half of the sky.
Jupiter is too close to the Sun to see right now — lost in the glare.
Saturn is a morning object, best before dawn in the eastern half of the sky.
Computed by LiveEarthViewer computed ephemeris (VSOP87-class series; the same engine that drives the planet and events pages). Planets tonight, with rise times for your city →
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| Wed 15 Jul | The Moon meets Jupiter | The Moon passes about 3.1° from Jupiter — an easy naked-eye pairing. |
Computed by LiveEarthViewer computed ephemeris (VSOP87-class series; the same engine that drives the planet and events pages). The rolling events calendar →
The northern and southern lights don’t follow a calendar — they track the Sun’s activity, which no almanac can predict months out. For tonight’s real chances, the live tracker shows the current Kp and the auroral oval. Live aurora forecast →
Every event here happens at one worldwide moment, but rise times and which way to look depend on where you stand. Pick a city for the local timing.
About the data
Moon phases and the seasonal instant are the published minutes from USNO, Astronomical Applications Department; traditional Moon names from traditional North American names as popularised by the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Meteor showers from International Meteor Organization (IMO) shower calendar. Eclipses from NASA Goddard eclipse canon (Espenak & Meeus). Planet placement and conjunctions are computed by LiveEarthViewer computed ephemeris (VSOP87-class series; the same engine that drives the planet and events pages). Times are UTC unless a city page converts them. editorial standards & data sources.