Astronomy

PATHOF THE

PLANETS

The planets

in the sky

These illustrations show the size, phase, and orientation of each planet and the two brightest dwarf planets at 0h UT

for the dates in the data table at bottom. South is at the top to match the view through a telescope.

The planets in July 2018

AND

TRI

ARI

PSC

CET

PEG

SCL

SGE

EQU

LAC

AQR

CAP

PsA

GRU

SGR

MIC

SCT

SER

AQL

CYG LYR

VUL

PER

TAU

FOR

ERI

AUR

ORI

CAE

LEP

COL

LYN

GEM

CNC

CMi

CMa

MON

PUP

PYX

DRA

Objects visible before dawn

Path of

the Mo

on

Celestial

equator

Path

of th

e (^) Sun
(^) (ecli
ptic)
Sun
Moon phases Dawn Midnight
Uranus
Saturn
Neptune
A partial solar eclipse occurs July 13
across southeastern Australia
Juno
Mars appears at its best
in 15 years in late July
Pluto appears at its best
for the year in July
Asteroid Thisbe reaches
opposition July 20
A total lunar eclipse
occurs July 27/28 across
parts of Europe, Africa,
Asia, and Australia
Vesta
14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
31 30 29 28 27 26 25
Venus
Mars
Mercury
Ceres
Uranus
Saturn
Neptune
Pluto
10"
S
WE
N
Jupiter
40 ASTRONOMY • JULY 2018
Planets MERCURY VENUS MARS CERES JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE PLUTO
Date July 31 July 15 July 15 July 15 July 15 Jul y 15 Jul y 15 Jul y 15 Jul y 15
Magnitude 0.5 –4.2 –2.6 8.8 –2.2 0.1 5.8 7.8 14.2
Angular size 8.4" 17.5" 23.2" 0.4" 39.8" 18.3" 3.5" 2.3" 0.1"
Illumination 38% 64% 99% 98% 99% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Distance (AU) from Earth 0.801 0.953 0.404 3.186 4.948 9.093 20.030 29.330 32.586
Distance (AU) from Sun 0.463 0.724 1.409 2.568 5.395 10.065 19.881 29.941 33.601
Right ascension (2000.0) 9h22.2m 10h29.9m 20h43.9m 10h46.1m 14h44.0m 18h18.8m 2h00.4m 23h10.2m 19h25.2m
Declination (2000.0) 14°22' 10°4 4' –24°17' 17 °01' –14°47' –22°33' 11°41' – 6°24' –21°50'