SKY GUIDE: This map represents the night sky as it appears over Maine during July. The stars are shown as they appear at 10:30 p.m.
early in the month, at 9:30 p.m. at midmonth, and at 8:30 p.
m. at month’s end. Mercury is shown at its midmonth position.
To use the map, hold it vertically and turn it so that the direction you are facing is at the bottom. Sky Chart prepared by Seth Lockman The month of July is named after Julius Caesar and was once the fifth month of the year when March was the first month. July always marks the first full month of summer for us in the northern hemisphere and the nights remain quite short.
There are a few interesting highlights this month that will be worth looking for even with the short nights, potential heat and bugs that will try to diminish your experience of the celestial beauty of the night sky. However, there no more epic celestial adventures like the epic April 8 total solar eclipse and the May 10 fantastic display of the northern lights – visible all the way down to parts of Texas and Florida – scheduled for this month. Some events are accurately and mathematically predictable for over 100,000 years into the future, like all the different kinds of eclipses.
Some events are just more likely to occur at certain times, like northern lights when the sun is more active. Then there are even less predictable events, like when a new comet might appear and become visible to the naked eye. Then there are extremely short-term unpredictable.