This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2026 July 11 – July 18
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2026 July 11 – July 18
Constellations are not the only stellar figures in the night sky. Any imaginative figure seen that is not one of the 88 constellations is called an asterism. The Big Dipper in Ursa Major and the Sagittarius Teapot are two of the most prominent. Others require binoculars or a telescope, such as the Coathanger and ET star clusters. Near the eastern shoulder of Ophiuchus binoculars will show a large V shape resembling the Hyades cluster, and star maps of a few centuries ago labelled this as the constellation Poniatowski’s Bull. One I read about in Sky & Telescope magazine is a smiley face in Cygnus the Swan. Scan with binoculars just below the swan’s right (western) wing near the brightest star in that wing, and look for a pair of eyes above a semicircle grin of five stars. You will probably smile back.
This summer, spend some time scanning the night sky randomly and let your imagination run wild. Pareidolia is a phenomenon in which your mind sees a familiar pattern where none exists. Just as we imagine figures in clouds by day, we can imagine them in the stars at night.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Saint John is at 5:47 and sunset will occur at 9:11, giving 15 hours, 24 minutes of daylight. Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 5:53 and set at 9:06, giving 15 hours, 13 minutes of daylight.
The Moon is above Mars this Saturday morning, and it is new and at perigee on Tuesday so expect extreme tides later in the week. That evening the very thin crescent sits a few degrees to the right of Jupiter and sets a half hour after sunset. The Moon is just below Regulus on Thursday and near Venus on Friday. Saturn is well-placed for observing in the morning, rising before 1 am. Mercury is at inferior conjunction on Sunday.
The next RASC NB star party takes place at Mactaquac Provincial Park on July 17-18.