Today:
Low in the east-northeast, tomorrow morning holds a curious view for early risers. A thin Crescent Moon will rise above the horizon at around 2:45 AM. By 4:20 AM, the planet Mercury will do the same, appearing just below Pollux, of the Gemini Twins. It’s best view comes from 4:30 to 4:40, before fading into the growing twilight.
Tuesday:
The next two nights mark the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower, centered around the constellation Perseus, which rises in northeast after dark. A few Persieds are visible by the middle of July, but rates go from 10 meteors per hour to 50 per hour tonight, and up to 100 meteors per hour tomorrow night. Ideally, the Moon will be new, meaning that no moonlight will interfere. That new Moon creates a partial eclipse during tomorrow afternoon.
Wednesday:
Some daytime astronomy today features a partial solar eclipse. While nothing as dramatic as the Total Eclipse of April, 2024, if you have a pair of eclipse glasses from that event, you can watch the Moon “take a bite” out of the Sun starting at 12:54 PM, reaching its maximum near 28 percent at 1:49 PM, finishing a little less than an hour later.