This week in What’s Up is what you can expect to see in the evenings early in July.

On July 7, the Moon will both be in its first-quarter phase and in the constellation Virgo. First-quarter is, of course, the best time to see the Moon’s surface in detail but is also not the worst time to see the plenty of deep sky objects in Virgo as well. The Moon’s brightness will wash out some details but not as bad as compared to the Full Moon.

A few days later, also in the evening, on July 10, the Moon will pass near Antares in Scorpius. Scorpius is one of my favorite constellations because it has many optical and true double stars including Nu Scorpi and Omega Scorpi. Scorpius also has open clusters aplenty, including Messier 6 and 7. A lot of people consider these boring, but I quite like them at medium power in a small telescope. Scorpius also has two Messier globular clusters – Messier 4 and Messier 80. These are best viewed at higher power.

So whether you enjoy gazing at the Moon, perusing the Messier catalog, or hunting for cataclysmic variable stars, astronomy has something for everyone. Remember to go outside tonight and look up.

More Information

Visible planets and night sky guide: July 2022 (EarthSky)

Scorpius (Sea and Sky)