Jupiter (lower left) blazes just above the treetops in this 2019 astroimage. Credit: Paul (Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
As July begins, three planets adorn the early evening sky. Look toward the northwest and you’ll see Venus. The planet shines brilliantly at magnitude –4.1 and shows up easily 30 minutes after sunset. It creeps slowly away from the Sun and into a darker sky as July progresses.
Venus also becomes more attractive through a telescope this month. On July 1, its disk measures 16″ across and is 69 percent lit. By the 31st, it spans 21″ and appears 56 percent illuminated. The planet’s gibbous phase shows up nicely in small scopes, though the view will improve noticeably in the next few months.
