![\"How](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/GettyImages-636231684-36c9826.jpg?quality=45&resize=620,413\" "\\"How")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Jupiter rises five hours before the Sun on 1 July<\/strong> 2021 and manages to reach a peak altitude of 25<\/span>\u02da<\/span> at 04:50 BST (03:50 UT) in <\/span>a bright pre-sunrise dawn sky.<\/p>\n Although this may appear low, it\u2019s a considerable improvement over the 14 or so degrees Jupiter was able to achieve in 2020.<\/p>\n Indeed, an increase in altitude of 10\u02da<\/span> can make a huge difference to the appearance <\/span>of the planet through a telescope.<\/p>\n Two of the main effects that hinder viewing are reduced. The first is the result of the thicker layer of atmosphere between <\/span>us and the planet when it\u2019s low down.<\/p>\n As the planet rises higher, the thickness reduces and this translates directly to a reduction in the instability of the view.<\/p>\n When viewed through a telescope, Jupiter looks more stable when it\u2019s close to its highest position in the sky, due south.<\/p>\n Another effect that impacts low altitude objects comes from the atmosphere\u2019s ability to disperse light.<\/p>\n Much like the way white light is spread into its component colours through a prism, the same happens with our atmosphere.<\/p>\n The thicker the atmospheric layer the <\/span>light has to pass through, the greater the dispersion.<\/span><\/p>\n This manifests as colour fringing around a bright planet\u2019s edge; with red at the bottom and blue\/green at the top. Jupiter\u2019s altitude will also reduce this.<\/p>\n Jupiter is close to equinox and there are a number of mutual events visible between its moons as a result.<\/p>\n A 94%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 5\u02da<\/span> south of Jupiter on 26 July<\/strong>, when both objects are due south at 03:00 BST (02:00 UT).<\/p>\n On 31 July<\/strong>, Jupiter reaches its highest position in the sky, due south, at 02:40 BST (01:40 UT) just after true darkness ends.<\/p>\n Mercury is a morning object, rising about an hour before the Sun on 1 July<\/strong>. It ascends in the northeast, shining at mag. +1.0 and showing an 8 arcsecond disc that is 27% lit.<\/span><\/p>\n On 8 July<\/strong> a 3%-lit waning crescent Moon lies 2.9<\/span>\u02da<\/span> to the north of the now mag. +0.2 planet.\u00a0<\/span>Mercury rises 80 minutes before the Sun from 8\u201315 July<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n Over the rest of the month, it heads nearer the Sun, rising 25 minutes before sunrise on 31 July<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n It also brightens and this should help to keep it visible. On 15 July<\/strong> it shines at mag. \u20130.6, increasing to mag. \u20131.6 on 27 July<\/strong> when it rises 45 minutes before the Sun.<\/span><\/p>\n Venus is an evening planet, suffering due to poor placement. Shining at mag. \u20133.9, it sets 1.5 hours after the Sun on 1 July<\/strong>, a figure reducing to 70 minutes after the Sun on 31 July<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n It lies 30 arcminutes from mag. +1.9 Mars on 13 July<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n Mars appears tiny through the eyepiece, less than 4 arcseconds across. It is struggling to keep ahead of the evening twilight and is barely visible in the west-northwest after sunset.<\/span><\/p>\n At mag. +1.8, Mars is outshone by Venus, which passes half-a-degree to its north on 13 July<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n Saturn is a morning planet, which is able to reach its highest position above the southern horizon in relative darkness in July.<\/span><\/p>\n Opposition occurs on 2 August<\/strong> and the end of July<\/strong> is a time when Saturn\u2019s rings should be starting to increase in brightness due to the opposition effect.<\/span><\/p>\n A full Moon sits to the southeast of Saturn on the night of 24\/25 July<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n Saturn increases in brightness by a small amount: on 1 July<\/strong> it shines with an off-white, straw-yellow hue Uranus is slowly crawling away from the Sun but is not well positioned at the moment. It does manage to reach an altitude of 22\u02da<\/span> above the eastern horizon under dark-sky conditions by the month\u2019s end.<\/p>\n Neptune may be seen under dark-sky conditions towards the month\u2019s end, although it isn\u2019t able to achieve its highest <\/span>altitude due south. Neptune is in Aquarius, close to the border <\/span>with Pisces; find it south of the Circlet asterism in Pisces.<\/span><\/p>\n Pete Lawrence is an experienced astronomer and a presenter on <\/strong><\/em>The Sky at Night<\/strong>. This article originally appeared in the July 2021 issue of <\/strong><\/em>BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jupiter rises five hours before the Sun on 1 July 2021 and manages to reach a peak altitude of 25\u02da at 04:50 BST (03:50 UT) in a bright pre-sunrise dawn sky. Although this may appear low, it\u2019s a considerable improvement over the 14 or so degrees Jupiter was able to achieve in 2020. Indeed, an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Jupiter rises five hours before the Sun on 1 July 2021 and manages to reach a peak altitude of 25\u02da at 04:50 BST (03:50 UT) in a bright pre-sunrise dawn sky. Although this may appear low, it\u2019s a considerable improvement over the 14 or so degrees Jupiter was able to achieve in 2020. Indeed, an…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/19323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} ![\"In](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/How-to-see-planets-July-2021-b25a812.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C484\" "\\"In")
<\/div>\n ![\"Jupiter](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/12\/12-Rouzbeh-Bidshahri-Jupiter-027424d-e1624365704819.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C449\" "\\"Jupiter")
<\/div>\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2020\/07\/Planets-July-2021-5264150.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C206\" "\\"The")
<\/div>\nHow to see the planets in July<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Jupiter<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Mercury<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Venus<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Mars<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Saturn<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nat mag. +0.4 and by July\u2019s close<\/strong> it increases to mag. +0.2.<\/span><\/p>\nUranus<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Neptune<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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