What to spot in the night sky on a clear July night in the Maritimes

Fair weather extends through mid-week in the Maritimes with a higher chance of rain and showers for Friday.

With a ridge of high pressure moving in from the west generally clear conditions are forecast for Tuesday night into Wednesday morning for the Maritimes.

Along with little cloud cover there is also only a small sliver of the Moon illuminated. It’s a Waning Crescent Moon with only 6 per cent illumination and is below the horizon for much of the night. That means it will be easier to pick out and spot planets as well as possible meteors.

Mars can be seen this evening setting on the western horizon. The best time to view is around 9:36 p.m. If you are up after midnight you can watch Saturn rise above the eastern horizon. In the pre-dawn hours you can find Saturn higher in the sky above the southern horizon. For those early risers the “morning star” Venus will be rising above the eastern horizon in the hours leading up to sunrise.

The Perseid meteor showers is currently active. This meteor shower is created from debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle. It is typically present from mid-July through mid-August. The peak of the meteor shower is predicated to be Aug. 12 and 13 this year.

The radiant point of the meteor shower is, given the namesake, near the constellation Perseus. The constellation rises over the northeastern horizon through the evening and is high in the sky near and after midnight. As with most meteor showers luck and patience is needed to spot shooting stars. Viewers will want to be in a dark location away from community lights. Give your eyes time to adjust and avoid looking at artificial light sources such as phone screens.

It is expected to be a crisper summer night for the Maritimes. A touch cooler than typical for late July. Dress for temperatures that will cool towards the high-singles digits and low-teens overnight.