Night Sky for July 2022

This page includes the July Sky Watch from The 2022 Old Farmer’s Almanac—plus more detail since space has no boundaries online! 

July 2022 Sky Watch

• Earth reaches its annual solar far point, or aphelion, on the 4th.
• In the predawn eastern sky, the lineup is still happening, but Mercury is now lower and harder to see and the other planets are now farther apart and less eye-catching. After the 4th, Mercury is too low to see.
• The good news is that the planets start returning to the dark night skies! As of the 4th, Saturn, rising comes up by 11 p.m. and will rise a half hour earlier each week.
• Giant Jupiter, in Pisces, follows the Ringed Planet to appear low in the east after midnight. Both giant planets are now at their highest at dawn.
• Mars, too, is gaining in visibility at a very bright magnitude 0.3, as it rises at 2 a.m. in Aries.

Image: Summer Triangle. Credit: NASA

Stargazing for July

• July’s best constellation is the Summer Triangle, shining bright and high in the evening sky! See our free star chart and have fun spotting the Summer triangle this month!
• The Delta Aquariid meteors peak July 28 to 29. Their hourly rate at peak is 10 meteors per hour. Always look towards the darkest part of the sky to see a shooting star. See tips for viewing meteor showers.