Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, July 23 and 24, 2025, written by Alan French
This is Dudley Observatory’s Skywatch Line for Wednesday and Thursday, July 23 and 24, 2025, written by Alan French.
The Sun rises at 5:38 A.M. on Wednesday and sets at 8:25 P.M. On Thursday it rises at 5:39 A.M. and sets at 8:24 P.M. Thursday lost just under 12 ½ minutes of daylight compared to last Thursday.
The Moon reached last quarter this past Friday and will reach new Thursday afternoon, beginning lunation 1269.
The new Moon of Saturday, June 14,1969, began lunation 569. Two days later, at 9:32 A.M. EDT, Apollo 11 was launched from Cape Kennedy, carrying astronauts Michael Collins, Neal Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon. Around one million spectators were on hand to watch the
historic launch.
Apollo 11 passed behind the Moon at 1:22 P.M. EDT on July 19 and fired its thrusters to enter lunar orbit. At 8:52 A.M. on July 20 Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar lander, Eagle, and began preparations for
descent to the lunar surface. At 1:44 P.M. they separated from the command module, Columbia, and began their descent. Eagle landed at 4:18 P.M. on July 20, 1969, just over 56 years ago. Neal Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface at 10:56 P.M. Buzz Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later.
The estimated 500 million people watching the astronauts land on the Moon remains the largest television audience in history.
The astronaut’s ascent from the lunar surface began at 5:35 P.M. on July 21, and they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 P.M. on July 24, 56 years ago Thursday.
Seven Apollo missions took 21 people to the Moon. A total of a dozen walked on the Moon. An explosion of an oxygen tank on Apollo 13’s Service Module forced the craft to return to Earth without landing.
Eugene Cernan was the last man to walk on the Moon, last setting foot on the Moon on December 14, 1972.
Wednesday and Thursday both feature fine evening passes of the ISS (International Space Station), with it reaching magnitude -3.7 during both.
On Wednesday look for the ISS rising from the west northwestern horizon at 10:11 P.M. By 10:12 it will be close to 20 degrees above the horizon and headed northward. Its path will take it below the Big Dipper and then through Boötes. By 10:14 it will be passing just below Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. It will then travel below Hercules and through Ophiuchus. Just after 10:15, when headed down toward the
southeastern horizon, the ISS will move into the Earth’s shadow and disappear.
On Thursday look for the ISS coming up from the west northwestern horizon at 9:21 P.M. By 9:24 it will be approaching the bowl of the Big Dipper. After passing through the bowl the space station will pass
through Draco, the Dragon, high overhead. Just after 9:26 it will pass close to Vega, the brightest star in Lyra and the fifth brightest in the night sky. The ISS will pass just east of Aquila, the Eagle as it heads
down to the horizon and vanishes from view.