New moon of July 2024: Dark skies tonight as Earth is farthest from the sun today

The new moon of July 2024 occurs today as Earth reaches its farthest point from the sun.

Earth 's orbit around the sun is slightly elliptical, or oval-shaped, meaning our distance from our star can vary up to 3% throughout the year .

New moons occur when the moon is directly between the sun and Earth ; in many lunar calendars they mark the beginning of the lunar month .

In mid-northern latitudes, the three naked-eye planets further from the sun than Earth will make a kind of line across the sky from the eastern horizon to the right, starting with Jupiter and ending with Saturn .

By about 10 p.m. Northern Hemisphere sky watchers can see the Summer Triangle in the eastern sky.

By 7 p.m. the Southern Cross is high above the southern horizon, about 65 degrees .

Alpha Centauri , also called Rigil Kentaurus , is our nearest stellar neighbor.

In the southwest, the ship's keel, Puppis, is setting and marked by Canopus , about 20 degrees above the southwestern horizon.

Canopus is the second -brightest star in the night sky after Sirius .