The Sky Today on Wednesday, July 1: Venus in Leo
Blazing Venus is now in Leo, approaching the Lion’s bright heart, Regulus. Both are visible long after sunset in the west.
July opens with bright Venus approaching Regulus, the heart of Leo the Lion. The planet will quickly close in on the star over the next week. Credit: Stellarium
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June 30: Find distant Neptune
Now shining at magnitude –4.1, Venus continues to dominate the western sky after sunset. Still some 15° high an hour after the Sun has disappeared, the bright planet sits beneath the backwards question mark-shaped Sickle of Leo the Lion, a star pattern that outlines the head of the great cat as it sits in profile, facing down toward the horizon.
At this time, Jupiter is already disappearing behind any trees or buildings that might stand on your western horizon, though you might spot it as a bright point of light low in the sky. But your attention should be on Venus, which is now less than 9° west of Regulus, the brightest star in Leo and the base of the Sickle asterism. Venus will continue east over the next several days, approaching to within 2° of Regulus by July 8, when star and planet will stand close for two nights.
Through a telescope, Venus’ disk stretches 16” across and appears nearly 70% lit. Its phase is now shrinking, and it will lose several percent by the time it passes north of Regulus next week.
Sunrise: 5:35 A.M.
Sunset: 8:33 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:04 P.M.
Moonset: 6:49 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (96%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location.
Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.
