July 5-8, 2025: The moon phase grows as the lunar orb appears farther eastward each night. It passes Scorpius. Find it in the southern sky after sunset.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Waxing Moon, Scorpius
From night-to-night, the moon moves farther eastward and its phase waxes. It passes Scorpius as the Full Buck moon approaches.
Use a binocular to see the starfield in this moonlight. Here’s what to see an hour after sunset:
- July 5: Over 25° up in the south, the lunar orb, 79% illuminated, is 7.3° to Zubenelgenubi’s lower left, Libra’s brightest star. This star’s name means “the southern claw,” from its early affiliation with the Scorpion. Graffias, also known as Beta Scorpii, is 7.7° to the moon’s upper left.
- July 6: The moon, 86% illuminated, is over 20° above the southern horizon. It is 7.7° to the upper right of rosy Antares, placed at the Scorpion’s heart in celestial artwork. Use the binocular to spot the star Pi Scorpii (π Sco on the chart) 0.8° to the lunar orb’s left. Before midnight Central Time, the moon occults or eclipses this star for sky watchers across the US, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
- July 7: The moon, 92% illuminated, is less than 15° above the south-southeast horizon. It is nearly 17° to the lower left of Antares. The moon occults this bright star from southern Africa.
- July 8: Approaching the Full phase, the moon, 97% illuminated, is less than 15° above the south-southeast horizon. It is over 8° to the upper left of Shaula and Lesath – at the Scorpion’s tail and stinger.
Look for the changing place of the moon against the Scorpion as the Buck moon approaches.
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