If you feel a chill in the air on the 4th (I doubt it) it’s because the Earth is at its farthest point from our Sun (Aphelion 152.1-million km). In the southeast on the evening of the 13th, the Full Moon will be bright. It will also be only 357,800 km away (perigee), whereas in January 17 it was 401,000 (apogee) making this full moon has an apparent diameter 12% larger than the one in January earning the name “Super Moon”.
JULY
4 Earth at Aphelion 03:11
6 1st Qtr.Moon
9 Little Dipper standing on handle above Polaris at 10 pm
13 Full Moon, Moon at Perigee 05:06 (Super Moon)
20 Sun enters Cancer, 21:25
26 Moon at Apogee 06:22
28 New Moon
DATES FOR THE PHASES OF THE MOON
Entries are in Eastern Time and only require time zone correction. Do not use the correction from the “Ottawa-Time” table.
Saskatchewan and parts of BC and Ontario do not use daylight savings. In these regions, subtract 1-hour from these times from March 14 to November 7.
Planetary Configurations
When at Opposition, planets will appear on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun – very roughly on the meridian at midnight. Conjunctions are when the planet has the same “longitude” as the Sun. A Superior Conjunction is when the planet is on the other side of the Sun, and an Inferior Conjunction is when it is between the Earth and the Sun. Only Mercury and Venus can be at Inferior Conjunction. Maximum elongation is when Mercury and Venus appear farthest from the Sun in our sky. This occurs either in our morning eastern sky (mor.) or our western evening sky (eve.). Do not apply the Ottawa-correction times to the times in this table.
Prominent Constellations by Seasons
Brightest Stars
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One of Canada’s foremost writers and educators on astronomical topics, the Almanac has benefited from Robert’s expertise since its inception. Robert is passionate about reducing light pollution and promoting science literacy. He has been an astronomy instructor for our astronauts and he ensures that our section on sunrise and sunset, stargazing, and celestial events is so detailed and extensive it is almost like its own almanac.
