Moon Phase:
Last Quarter 2nd
New Moon 10th
First Quarter 17th
Full Moon 24th
Last Quarter 31st
Earth at aphelion (furtherest from the Sun): 6th
Planets:
Evening Sky
Mars is in the northwestern sky after sunset, moving from the constellation Cancer to Leo in the second week of the month.
Venus: is low in the northwestern sky after sunset. The brilliantly shining planet is on the move, starting the month in the constellation Cancer then in the second week, moving into Leo to join Mars.
Morning Sky
Mercury is low in the northeastern sky just before sunrise. It starts the month in Taurus, then spends two days in Orion before settling in Gemini. The elusive planet will start to disappear into the twilight sky around the middle of the month.
Saturn is visible high in the western morning sky in the constellation Capricornus.
Jupiter is high overhead in the morning sky in the constellation Aquarius.
Worth a Look:
8th: The thin waning crescent Moon is to the east (left) of Mercury in the early morning twilight sky.
12th: The two-day old waxing crescent Moon is just below and slightly to the north (right) Venus. Mars directly above Venus and only one degree separates the pair. With the crescent Moon, the pair will be a good target for wide-field photographers.
13th: Mars and Venus appear at their closest in the sky, separated by 0.5 degrees. The thin waxing crescent Moon is above and to the north (right) of the pair. This provides another opportunity for wide-field photographers, though the best night is the 12th with the Moon closer to the planetary pair. 24th: The full Moon is above and slightly to the north (right) of the ringed planet Saturn.
25th: The waning gibbous Moon is between the two gas giants f our Solar System, Saturn is above and Jupiter below. Both planets are slight to the east (left) of the Moon.
26th: The waning gibbous Moon is below and slight to the north (right) of Jupiter.
You can download a star map for July here.
Clear Skies!
References:
Dawes G., Northfield P., Wallace K. (2020). Astronomy 2021 Australia, Quasar Publishing.
Lomb, N. (2020). 2021 Australasian sky guide. Ultimo, NSW: Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Media.