July is the best month to see the southern constellations. Scorpio and Sagittarius to observe. From Germany, they can be found very close to the horizon. However, if you are on vacation in the Mediterranean region, you can see them much higher in the sky. The inconspicuous constellations are hidden above Scorpius and Sagittarius Serpent bearer,Snake and above it the Hercules. The particularly bright stars in the sky are Arcturus in the Boats, Wega in the LyreDeneb in the Swan and Atair in the Eagle.
The ribbon of Milky Way stretches across the sky. However, as it doesn't get completely dark at night in July, it's better to wait until August to see the Milky Way. The Big bear is only partially visible on the star map. It sinks increasingly towards the horizon and can now be found in a north-westerly direction.
The moon phases in July 2025
The planets in July 2025
Mercury takes a sunbath in July and is therefore not to be seen.
Venus greets all early risers above the eastern morning sky. On 22.7. the narrow moon joins Venus once again.
Mars roams through Leo and can still be seen in the evening. On July 28, the thin, waxing crescent moon passes by the red planet.
Jupiter reappears in the morning sky from mid-July. The narrow crescent moon is above it on 23.7.
Saturn in Pisces becomes the observation target for the second half of the night. On July 16, the waning crescent moon points the way to Saturn.
Uranus in Taurus can be seen in the morning sky from mid-July.
Neptune in Pisces is not far from Saturn. You can photograph both together with a telephoto lens.
With the kind permission of VdS e.V. (Association of Friends of the Stars)
Following the crash of two Starlink satellites, one of which could be seen over parts of Germany, the suspected release of fuel from a rocket stage and another crash of parts of a SpaceX rocket, both of which were also observed over parts of Germany, there seems to be a noticeable increase in sightings of satellites and rocket stages burning up recently.
The following four recordings are from the Allsky camera of a member of the observatory in Schönenberg-Kübelberg. They show a trail of light moving from the south (top left) via the west (bottom left) to the north-northwest (bottom). The bright, cloud-like tail surrounding them is striking. Clouds can also be seen at the top right, moving away from the tracer. The total duration of the flyover was about three minutes.
24.06.2025 02:12:16
24.06.2025 02:13:16
24.06.2025 02:14:17
24.06.2025 02:15:18
Below is a slowed-down animation over several exposure cycles. Noticeable is a brighter satellite that can be seen shortly before the actual event on almost the same apparent orbit.
The following animation suggests that it could be a rocket stage with possibly escaping fuel. It was created with a Allsky camera of the observatory, which is a member of the Allsky network is. On the left, the movement of the tracer cloud from top to bottom can be faintly seen. The clouds in the atmosphere, on the other hand, move from left to right.
Mercury in the evening sky, Summer solstice Due to the short nights, the observatory will remain closed at night in June. However, a few Sundays are planned on which the observatory will open between 14:00 and 16:00 for solar observation. The dates cannot be planned in advance due to the weather. The times will be announced via a ticker on our main page.
SUN AND MOON
The longest day of the year 2025 is on June 21. At 04:42, the sun reaches its greatest northern latitude due to the tilt of the earth's axis by 23.45 degrees. At 13:32 on this day, the sun is 64.18 degrees above the horizon in Zweibrücken. The length of the day is 16 hours and 23 minutes. From an astronomical point of view, it is no longer really dark at our latitude. Astronomical night only falls when the sun is lower than 18 degrees below the horizon. This is not the case between June 7 and July 4. We can look forward to long, bright days and, due to the full moon on June 11, brighter nights. However, the full moon in summer does not appear quite as bright as in winter. Its maximum height on this night is only 12.3 degrees.
Mercury can be observed in the evening sky for the second and last time this year in the last half of the month. Its best observation days are between June 19 and 27. Here is the view of the sky at 22:15 from the observatory hill.
Venus reaches its greatest angular distance from the sun on the 1st of the month at just over 45 degrees. It therefore dominates the eastern morning sky with its brilliance.
The red planet Mars is receding further from the evening sky. It is no longer an attractive object for visual and telescopic observation. On the evening of the 17th, it passes by Regulus, the main star of Leo, by only 0.8 degrees.
The giant planet Jupiter has withdrawn completely from the evening sky. It will gradually reappear in the morning sky in mid-July.
Saturn can be observed in the morning sky. The ring of the gas planet shows only a small aperture in the telescope.
Uranus was in conjunction with the Sun in the middle of the previous month and therefore cannot be observed.
Neptune is not yet a worthwhile object in the morning sky.
STARRY SKY
In the East the summer constellations have already risen. Among them are the Swan with the star Deneb, the Eagle with the main star Atair, which is still close to the horizon, and Lyra with its bright star Vega, which is also the brightest star in the northern sky. This means that the summer triangle, which consists of the three stars mentioned above, is completely above the horizon, even if it is not yet too high.
Summer Triangle 15.06.2025, 23:00 - Created with Guide 9.1
Deep in the South is Scorpio with its main star Antares, which means "opposite Mars". Because of its reddish color, it has already been confused with Mars, which is also reddish. The bright star to the west of Scorpio is Spica, the main star of Virgo.
The lion is already approaching the western horizon. Cancer is already on the verge of extinction.
High above us the inconspicuous constellation of Hercules can be seen. A little further to the southwest is the equally inconspicuous constellation of the Northern Crown and Bootes, which has also been called an ice cream cone because of its shape.
Low on the Northern sky the "celestial W" is Cassiopeia, wife of Cepheus, who can be found a little further west.
The following sky view is valid for June 1 at midnight, June 15 at 11 p.m. and June 30 at 10 p.m.
Due to the increasing length of the day, the useful observation times will be reduced from five hours at the beginning of May to just two hours at the end of the month. This would mean that the start of observations of galaxies and similar faint objects would shift from 23:00 CEST to 0:30 CEST. For this reason the observatory is only open from the beginning of May to the end of August under certain conditions. These include, for example Observation of the sun and moon on some weekends. The times are displayed via a ticker on our main page and our public WhatsApp channel announced.
SUN AND MOON
In the spring month of May, the day length for Zweibrücken increases from 14 hours and 46 minutes at the beginning to 16 hours and 4 minutes at the end of the month. The maximum elevation of the sun on May 31 is already 62 degrees.
At around 1:00 a.m. on May 4, the narrow crescent of the waxing moon will pass just over one degree north of Mars. The full moon on May 12 will affect the observation of fainter objects.
The planet closest to the sun, Mercury, is in superior conjunction with the sun on May 30. It is therefore in the daytime sky. Superior conjunction means that the Earth, the Sun and the object, in this case Mercury, appear to be in line. The term upper and lower conjunction is only used for Mercury and Venus.
Venus continues to expand its position as the morning star. It rises around an hour earlier over the course of the month. However, the sun also rises earlier and earlier.
Mars is long past its best observation time, having been in opposition to the Sun in mid-January.
Jupiter gives its farewell performance in the evening sky. Towards the end of the month, it is barely visible to the naked eye. It is overtaken by the sun in mid-June.
Saturn is gradually reappearing in the morning sky, but is not yet a worthwhile object for observations.
Uranus and Neptune are still not observed.
STARRY SKY
Direction West the twins are already in the process of setting. Cancer can only be observed in the haze layers near the horizon, if at all possible.
A little higher up is the lion. In Greek mythology, the lion is often associated with the hero Hercules (Heracles). According to one source, it is said to be the Nemean lion, who was up to mischief near the city of Nemea and harassed the inhabitants there. The first of Hercules' twelve tasks was to defeat the lion. However, every weapon bounced off his fur, so the Greek hero had to face the lion with his bare hands in order to defeat him. From then on, the skin protected Hercules from his enemies. At Hera's request, Zeus moved the lion to heaven.
About us are the hair of Berenice with a multitude of galaxies, although a medium-sized telescope is required to observe them. A little further to the east is the Bear Keeper with its bright main star, Arcturus. A little trick makes it easier to find. If you extend the three pole stars of the "Big Dipper" in an arc, you will come across a bright star, Arcturus. To the left above the Bear Keeper is the inconspicuous constellation of the Northern Crown, where a nova has been expected since March 2024. See also the article Nova expected in the constellation of the Northern Crown. According to the latest observations, this should now appear by September 2025. Here are two graphics for orientation:
Source: Guide 9.1
Source: Guide 9.1
Next Eastbound you come across the inconspicuous constellation Hercules with its bright globular cluster M13, which is already a magnificent sight in binoculars. In the image above on the left.
Just above the southeastern horizon the summer constellation of Scorpius appears towards the middle of the month. The first summer constellations can be observed in the north-east.
Low on the northern night sky you can see the "celestial W", Cassiopeia, on the other side of the pole star as seen from the Great Bear.
The following sky view is valid for May 1 at midnight, May 15 at 11 pm and May 30 at 10 pm.
In the morning hours of March 29, a partial solar eclipse occurred that could be observed in parts of North America, Greenland and Europe.
A closed cloud cover was forecast for Zweibrücken this morning. The first signs that these could still disperse or at least show gaps came shortly after 8 a.m. from the direction of Saarbrücken Airport. From there, a break in the clouds was reported at 2200 feet (667 m) and a break in the clouds at 2600 feet (788 m). A short time later, the first gaps appeared, which continued to increase over the course of the morning.
At 11:18 the moon slowly moved in front of the sun, the maximum with an eclipse of approx. 18% was reached at 12:08. In astronomy, a partial eclipse is also referred to as a
first contact (entry) and a
fourth contact (exit). This was reached at 12:59.
Not included, as not applicable, are the
second contact, in which the sun's disk is completely covered (total solar eclipse) or the moon is completely in front of the sun (annular solar eclipse) and the moon is in front of the sun.
third contact at which the new moon releases parts of the solar disk and the partial phase occurs again.
To mark Astronomy Day and the partial solar eclipse, we opened our observatory in the morning shortly after 10 am. Over the course of the day, we welcomed around 70 interested visitors - including, fortunately, many children. It is always impressive to see the astonishing knowledge they have and the detailed questions they ask at such a young age. Many thanks for this and to all the visitors!
After the eclipse was over, our member Dr. Schad gave a lecture on solar observation, which met with great interest and raised interesting questions.
Here are some impressions of the day, please click to enlarge:
K. Portscheller
M. Heims
Time lapse O. Becker
Time lapse T. Lutz
Seestar 50 image with ND filter 580-630nm in the green-yellow to orange-yellow range. Collage T. Lutz
Photograph of the sun taken with a refractor 900 mm focal length and a Herschel wedge and filter at 540 nm This wavelength is in the green spectral range. Time: 11:54. Photography M. Heims
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