Attention, stargazers! July 2025 offers some exciting stargazing opportunities for both casual observers and professional astronomers around the globe. Starting with the conjunction of Antares and the Moon, the month will end with the peak of the Delta Aquarids meteor shower.
This article serves as a clear and reliable guide to help you navigate the celestial events of July, offering detailed insights into each event so you can make the most of your stargazing experience.
Key astronomical events in July 2025
- July 1-7: Mercury appears bright and easy to see low in the western sky 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. A clear horizon is required for visibility before it sets.
- July 3: Mercury lies near the Beehive Cluster in the western sky after sunset, visible until around 8:20 p.m. At the same time, Spica appears close to the Moon and remains in view until midnight.
- July 4: Earth reaches its farthest distance from the Sun (Aphelion): 152 million kilometers. Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation, offering its widest separation from the Sun in the evening sky.
- July 21-22: A crescent moon appears close to Venus and Jupiter in the eastern sky just before sunrise. Several bright stars remain visible in the same region.
- July 28: A crescent moon appears near Mars in the western sky after sunset.
- July 30-31: The Delta Aquariids meteor shower peaks, with as many as 25 meteors per hour visible from 9:30 p.m. until dawn. (Check Radiant Point.)
The Buck Moon
According to Forbes, the Buck Moon (Full Moon of July) will reach its full phase at 4:38 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 10. While it will appear full the night before and after its peak, the most breathtaking view will be during moonrise at dusk on July 10. That is when the full moon will hang low on the horizon, appearing larger, brighter, and more dramatic.
According to Farmer’s Almanac, the name comes from Native American traditions, referring to the time of year when male deer, or bucks, begin to grow new antlers covered in soft velvet. The term has since become widely recognized in modern lunar calendars.
This year’s Buck Moon does not coincide with the Delta Aquariids peak, allowing clearer views of the meteor shower later in the month.
Planets and constellations visible in July 2025
- Venus shines brightly in the eastern sky during the two hours before sunrise, appearing near the Pleiades star cluster, Aldebaran, and Capella throughout the month.
- Mars appears low in the west after sunset and remains visible for a couple of hours. Its brightness gradually fades as the month continues.
- Jupiter begins rising in the east around an hour before sunrise from mid-July onward, climbing higher each morning.
- Saturn rises around midnight and stays high in the southern sky through the early morning hours.
- The Aquila constellation is visible in the eastern sky during the first half of the night. Its brightest star, Altair, forms one corner of the Summer Triangle and remains easy to locate, even from areas with light pollution.
Space History
The month of July 2025 marks 60 years since NASA’s Mariner 4 performed the first successful flyby of Mars in July 1965. It was the first mission to send back close-up images of another planet and revealed that Mars has a very thin, cold atmosphere.
Moon phases for July 2025
- First quarter: July 2
- Full Moon: July 10
- Third quarter: July 17
- New Moon: July 24
Darker skies around the new moon offer ideal conditions for viewing faint stars, planets, and meteor showers. Topped with multiple conjunctions, July remains a rewarding month for skywatching.
