A great eagle soars high overhead on summer nights: the constellation Aquila. Its brightest star, Altair, forms the lower right point of the summer triangle. Look for the wide triangle of bright stars high in the east in the early evening.
Weekly Stargazing Tips
Provided by StarDate.org. Unless otherwise specified, viewing times are local time regardless of time zone, and are good for the entire Lower 48 states (and, generally, for Alaska and Hawaii).
July 18: Aquila
July 19: Moon and Pleiades
The Moon and the Seven Sisters huddle up in the wee hours of tomorrow morning. The Moon will "occult" some of the sisters, which are the brightest stars of the Pleiades star cluster. The stars form a tiny dipper at the shoulder of Taurus, the bull.
July 20: Moon and Venus
Venus is shining as the brilliant Morning Star now. It lines up close to the crescent Moon before dawn the next couple of days. Venus looks so bright in part because it's blanketed by clouds that reflect most of the sunlight that strikes them, hiding the surface.
July 21: Moon and Planets
The brightest objects in the night sky team up early tomorrow: the Moon and the planets Venus and Jupiter. Venus is the Morning Star, to the upper right of the Moon. Slightly fainter Jupiter is to the lower left of the Moon. You will need a clear horizon to spot it.
July 22: Moon and Jupiter
Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, stands close to the crescent Moon in tomorrow's dawn twilight. It looks like a bright star, but it's so low in the sky that you will need a clear horizon to spot it.
July 23: Subtle Glow
The glowing band of the Milky Way arches high across the sky on summer nights. At nightfall, it stretches from almost due north, high across the east, to almost due south. It stands directly overhead by midnight. You must avoid city lights to see it.
July 24: New Moon
The Moon is new today, so it is lost from sight as it crosses between Earth and the Sun. It will return to view in a couple of nights as a thin crescent low in the western sky shortly after sunset.