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July 1: Venus in Leo
High in the north late tonight, standing to the right of the North Star Polaris, is the realm of Cepheus the King. This house-shaped constellation holds several deep-sky objects, including NGC 7380, also called the Wizard Nebula. Although the nebula itself is challenging to see visually, it cradles a lovely open star cluster that glows at 7th magnitude.
To find this object, you’ll need to search in southeastern Cepheus, to the upper right of the rightmost point in the W of Cassiopeia. Locate magnitude 3.4 Zeta (ζ) Cephei, which marks the lower lefthand corner of Cepheus’ house shape if the star pattern were set on its base. From here, drop down toward the horizon (east on the sky) about 4.8° to land on NGC 7380. You’ll easily spot the concentration of young stars at the heart of the nebula, but the gas cloud itself (cataloged as Sharpless 2-142) may remain invisible to your eye. It’s a great object for astrophotographers, however, and if you’re a relative beginner looking to up your imaging game, give this object a try.
Sunrise: 5:36 A.M.
Sunset: 8:32 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:32 P.M.
Moonset: 7:53 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (91%)
*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.
