In the sky tonight

The most striking object in the night sky tonight will be the crescent moon. We are a few days removed from the new moon, so it won’t be an ultra-thin crescent. However, it will be much easier to spot than recent nights as it will be a bit higher in the sky and brighter (25% illuminated). 

View looking west and up this evening around 11 p.m. local time. Graphic made using Stellarium

The Big Dipper will be shining brightly in the northwestern sky, not all that far from the moon. You can easily spot the North Star (Polaris). The bottom two stars of the Big Dipper line up with Polaris, which is off to the right. The North Star is also the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper, which appears to pour into the Big Dipper. 

However, not all of the action is in the western sky. 

Looking east after sunset, you can spot Jupiter and another constellation made up of bright stars. Scorpius rises during the evening. It never makes it very far above the horizon, but it is easy to spot most of the night. 

View looking south and east during the evening hours over the next several days. Graphic made using Stellarium

Scorpius is probably most famous for being in the path of the Milky Way. In fact, it is used to mark one end of the Milky Way. Cassiopeia in the northern sky marks the other end. 

The Milky Way will be located between Scorpius and Jupiter, which has been rising higher in the evening sky each night. Soon, it will be in the sky the entire night. During the night after the next full moon, July 5, Jupiter will be as close to the moon as it gets all month. Over a week later, on July 14, Jupiter reaches opposition. This is the point at which the Earth will be directly between Jupiter and the sun. It will be in the sky all night. 

Saturn will reach its opposition on July 20, only six days after Jupiter. Saturn will be much brighter than it has been all year. It is brighter than nearly all of the stars, but it will look much dimmer since it will be so close to Jupiter. 

During the full moon, there will be an eclipse. It will be a penumbral eclipse, so it will not be very impressive. The moon will pass through only the outer shadow of the Earth. The darkening of the moon is not noticeable to the casual observer. Eclipse specifics can be found here.

At the end of the month, two minor meteor showers peak on the same night (July 28). They produce around 20 meteors per hour combined. Read a little more about them on the American Meteor Society meteor shower calendar. 

It is almost time to start getting excited for the best meteor shower of the year. The Perseids peak on the night of Aug. 12-13 with over 100 per hour. The Perseids feature a number of very bright meteors that will be easily visible from areas with significant light pollution. 

That's it for now. Thanks for reading! Just look up; you never know what you will see.