The Sky This Week - Thursday July 12 to Thursday July 19

The New Moon is Thursday July 19. Mars is in the western evening sky closing in on Saturn. Saturn is visible near the star Spica in the north-western sky. In the morning skies Jupiter and Venus can be seen near each other, The Moon visits Jupiter and Venus on the 15th and 16th. Mercury is visible low in the evening twilight.Morning sky on Sunday July 15 looking east as seen from Adelaide at 6:30 am local time in South Australia. Jupiter is near Venus in the Hyades, making a line with the red star Aldebaran.The the Pleiades cluster is close by. The left inset shows the telescopic view of Venus. The right insert shows the locations of the asteroids Vesta and Ceres at this time. Similar views will be seen elsewhere at the equivalent local time (click to embiggen). Jupiter climbs higher in the morning sky and is now easy to see. Jupiter moves closer to the Hyades over the week. Jupiter and Venus form a triangle with the red star Aldebaran.With the Pleiades cluster and the constellation of Orion close by, this is a beautiful morning sight. Bright white Venus climbs higher above the horizon this week. Venus is ...