July Astronomy: What's in the North Texas sky this month?

What's happening in the skies over North Texas this month? July holds some spectacular sights in the night and morning sky. Check out the list below.

FULL BUCK SUPERMOON

SHUTTERSTOCK

SHUTTERSTOCK

The July full moon, known as the Buck Moon, will make for a delight at the beginning of the month. This event will also be the first supermoon of 2023.

The name, Buck Moon, originates from the time of year when a male deer reaches full growth of their antlers.

The full supermoon will begin to appear on the evening of Sunday, July 2 and will last through the morning of Tuesday, July 4.

Also, check out other phases of the moon this month. On July 4 at 5:24 p.m. CDT, the moon will be at perigee, its closest to the Earth for this orbit at 223,786 miles. On July 20 at 1:56 a.m. CDT, the moon will be at apogee, its farthest from the Earth for this orbit at 252,456 miles.

WHEN DOES THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLY OVER NORTH TEXAS?

The International Space Station will make flybys across the North Texas sky this month. The ISS appears as a fast-moving star across the night sky.

The ISS rotates around the Earth at a speed of 17,500 mph. The ISS rotates about its center of mass at a rate of about four degrees per minute so that it will complete a full rotation once per orbit. This allows it to keep its belly towards the Earth. One revolution around the planet takes about 90 minutes (16 per day).

Also, the ISS sits at an altitude of 250 miles above the Earth. By the way, that is 1.32 million feet. Most commercial airplanes fly between 33,000 to 42,000 feet.

AN EVENING SHOW: VENUS AND MARS

In July, Venus, the brightest planet, will continue to dominate the western sky after sunset. Mars, nearby, continues to fade in brightness as we race away from it in our orbit around the sun.

Venus's distance from the Earth varies from 24 million miles to 162 million miles. Mars averages a distance from the Earth of 140 million miles. The closest recorded distance to Mars from Earth was recorded in August 2003 when the two were 34.8 million miles apart. According to NASA, the two will not be that close again until the year 2237.

SATURN RISING

Saturn begins its rise in the night at around 11:30 p.m. on July 1st, and by a couple of hours earlier at the end of the month. The planet is well placed for observation in the southern sky a few hours after midnight in late July.

Saturn's distance varies from the Earth. When the two are closest, they lie approximately 746 million miles apart, or eight times the distance between the Earth and the sun.

At their most distant, when they lie on opposite sides of the sun from one another, they are just over a billion miles apart, or 11 times the distance between the Earth and the sun.

A MORNING SHOW: JUPITER AND URANUS

Jupiter and Uranus will be visible above the eastern horizon one hour before sunrise. Uranus is a challenging object to view with a telescope since the low-altitude turbulence of our atmosphere often spoils the image.

Jupiter's distance from the Earth varies from 336 million miles to 600 million miles.

Uranus varies in distance from the Earth from 1.6 billion miles at its shortest, all the way up to 1.9 billion miles depending on the stage of orbit the two planets are in.

MONTHLY METEOR SHOW: THE SOUTHERN DELTA AQUARIIDS

The Southern Delta Aquariids are active from July 12 through the first three weeks of August. The meteor shower may produce 25 meteors per hour at the peak on July 30 if the sky is clear and the radiant is overhead. Try observing the few nights before the end of the month, because a bright Moon lingers all evening until the last few hours before dawn on the last two days of the month.

You are more likely to see them if you have an unobstructed view with clear skies in a very dark place far from any urban light sources.

Look above the southwestern horizon an hour before sunrise.

Please enjoy these events happening in the night sky this month. Until then ... Texans, keep looking up!