🔭 Astronomical Events
July 20 – 26, 2026
🔭 Astronomical Events
July 20 – 26, 2026
Written by Mia Astrology ✨🌌
As July moves into its second half, the night sky becomes richer with every passing evening. The Moon grows from a slender waxing crescent to a bright waxing gibbous, the Milky Way stretches high across the sky after darkness falls, and the Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower continues building toward its annual peak. While the brightest meteor nights are still a few days away, this week offers an excellent balance between moonlight, deep-sky observing, and comfortable summer evenings.
Whether you’re searching for distant nebulae, photographing the Moon, or simply relaxing under the stars, there’s plenty happening overhead.
🌙 Major Astronomical Highlight
🌓 First Quarter Moon — July 21, 2026
The Moon reaches First Quarter on Tuesday, July 21.
During this phase:
- Half of the Moon’s visible surface is illuminated.
- Craters and mountain ranges cast dramatic shadows.
- The terminator (the line dividing light and darkness) provides the best lunar detail of the month.
For anyone with binoculars or a small telescope, this is one of the finest evenings of July to explore the lunar surface.
⭐ Best lunar observing: July 21–22