1 New Moon at 6:21 UT. Start of lunation 1261. 3 Mars 2.1° NNW of Beehive Cluster (M44) at 23h UT (morning sky). Mag. −0.6. 5 Moon near Venus at 1h UT (evening sky). Mag. −4.2. • Venus (Wikipedia) 6 Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 2h UT. The innermost planet passes

1 New Moon at 12:47 UT. Start of lunation 1260. 3 Moon near Mercury at 7h UT (19° from Sun, evening sky). Mag. −0.3. Use the Moon to help find the elusive planet Mercury. • Mercury (Wikipedia) 4 Moon near Antares at 2h UT (28° from Sun, evening

2 Annular Solar Eclipse from 16:50 to 20:39 UT with greatest eclipse at 18:45 UT. Path of annularity extends across southern Chile and southern Argentina. Partial eclipse in the Pacific Ocean and southern South America. • Annular Solar Eclipse of 2024 October 2 (GIF) (NASA)

1 Moon near Mercury at 14h UT (17° from Sun, morning sky). Mag. 0.5. • Mercury (Wikipedia) 3 New Moon at 1:56 UT. Start of lunation 1258. 5 Mercury at greatest elongation west at 2h UT (18° from Sun, morning sky). Mag. −0.2. 5 Moon near Venus at 10h UT (25° from Sun,

The Perseid meteor shower, one of the most anticipated celestial events of the year, will reach its peak in 2024 during the nights of August 11th and 12th. This year, conditions are particularly favorable for stargazers in Orange County, California, as the crescent