So when you do find the time, you’ll need to know what’s visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.<\/p>
Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners<\/a> and astronomy for beginners<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> Here’s our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.<\/p> Our guide is centred around what’s visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.<\/p> In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT<\/p> We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).<\/p> These coordinates are the night sky\u2019s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial \u2018globe\u2019.<\/p> For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates<\/a>.<\/p> For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze<\/a> or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter<\/a> for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.<\/strong><\/em><\/p> If you’re south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p> Noctilucent cloud<\/a> season continues throughout July and into the start of August. What will 2024\u2019s season hold?<\/p> Only time will tell, but 2023\u2019s was poor in terms of display counts. One possible reason for this is the rise in solar activity<\/strong>.<\/p> On the plus side, with the Sun high in the UK\u2019s sky at the moment, if you have the means to view it safely there\u2019s potential to see a lot of activity.<\/p> The next solar cycle peak is predicted for July 2025 with an uncertainty of eight months either way.<\/p> The UK\u2019s bright summer skies hinder views of the stars and planets at the start of July, but it\u2019s worth holding on because things are changing.<\/p> Jupiter<\/strong> is currently in Taurus<\/a>, the Bull, 5\u00b0 north of Aldebaran<\/a> (Alpha (\u03b1) Tauri) on 4 July.<\/p> On 30 July, with Mars approaching Jupiter\u2019s position and Uranus located south-southwest of the Pleiades<\/a> open cluster in Taurus, a 28%-lit waning crescent Moon<\/strong> joins the scene.<\/p> Given clear skies, this is a perfect photo opportunity.<\/p> Mars\u2019s movement towards Jupiter takes it close to Uranus mid-month.<\/p> On 15 July both planets appear separated by 39 arcminutes, Mars<\/strong> at mag. +0.9 and Uranus<\/strong> +5.8.<\/p> Again, this is a great photo opportunity, as both planets are 6\u00b0 south-southwest of the Pleiades at this time.<\/p> On 17 July, the red supergiant star Antares<\/a><\/strong> (Alpha Scorpii) lies 43 arcminutes north of the 84%-lit waxing gibbous Moon\u2019s centre at 21:00 BST.<\/p> If you struggle to see Antares under daylight conditions, it\u2019s still visible close to the Moon as the sky begins to darken.<\/p> For reference, the Moon\u2019s apparent diameter is approximately 30 arcminutes.\u00a0<\/p> As darkness begins to set in later in the month, the summer stars and constellations burst into view.<\/p> The giant Summer Triangle<\/a><\/strong> asterism is evident, and with dark skies you should be able to see the Milky Way<\/strong> passing south-southwest through it.<\/p> The star in the northeast corner (upper-left from the UK) is Deneb<\/a><\/strong> (Alpha (\u03b1) Cygni), a bright and distant star which sits at the top of another asterism known as the Northern Cross<\/strong>.<\/p> The beautiful telescopic double star Albireo<\/a> (Beta (\u03b2) Cygni) sits at the southern end of the Cross, the Milky Way appearing to flow down through the pattern. <\/p> This asterism is unlike the Southern Cross, Crux, which is the smallest constellation of them all and one which can\u2019t be seen from the UK.\u00a0<\/p> The part of the Milky Way passing down the Northern Cross is bright from the UK and appears to split in two due to a dark dust lane. This is known as the Cygnus Rift<\/strong>.<\/p> The brightest part of the Milky Way should be further to the south, in the direction of our Galaxy\u2019s core, but atmospheric attenuation reduces its presence.<\/p> This is where you\u2019ll find the upper part of the truncated constellation Sagittarius<\/a>, the Archer<\/strong>, best identified by another asterism known as the Teapot<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p> Dwarf planet Ceres<\/strong> reaches opposition on 6 July.<\/p> Shining at a binocular friendly mag. +7.3, it moves west into the lower part of the Teapot asterism, passing just to the north of the star Zeta (\u03b6) Sagittarii on 8-10 July.\u00a0<\/p> Shining at mag. +1.0, Mars rises nearly three hours before the Sun. The 25%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 7\u00b0 west of the planet this morning, decreasing in phase to 17%-lit on 2 July, when it appears 6\u00b0 northeast of Mars.<\/p> A 9%-lit waning crescent Moon lies 4.6\u00b0 northwest of Jupiter this morning.<\/p> Jupiter currently appears 5\u00b0 north of Aldebaran.<\/p> Earth is at the furthest point in its orbit from the Sun, a position known as aphelion.<\/p> Venus provides an opportunity to locate a less than 1%-lit Moon, just 3.3\u00b0 to the northeast.<\/p> Dwarf planet Ceres reaches opposition at a binocular-friendly mag. +7.3 in Sagittarius\u2019s Teapot.<\/p> Mag. \u20130.1 Mercury lies 2.2\u00b0 to the south of this evening\u2019s 3%-lit waxing crescent Moon.<\/p> The clair-obscur effects known as the Lunar X and Lunar V are visible on the Moon today. The catch is that you\u2019ll need to find the Moon at 14:10 BST (13:10 UT) in daylight to be able to see them. The Eyes of Clavius clair-obscur effect is visible on the Moon this evening. It\u2019s best seen before sunset at 19:40 BST (18:40 UT).<\/p> Mars and Uranus appear in conjunction today and tomorrow morning. This morning, the separation is just 39 arcminutes. Both planets are just 6\u00b0 south-southwest of the Pleiades.\u00a0<\/p> See a double shadow transit as the shadows of the moons Io and Europa cross Jupiter between 02:06 and \u200b02:31 BST (01:06\u201301:31 UT).<\/p> Mars and the Pleiades are in conjunction, Mars sitting 4.8\u00b0 south of the star cluster in the early morning sky.<\/p> Dwarf planet Pluto reaches opposition, shining at mag. +14.4 in Capricornus.<\/p> Shortly after rising around 23:00 BST (22:00 UT), the 83%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 1.3\u00b0 east of Saturn.<\/p> As the 29%-lit waning crescent Moon rises, it will sit 1.5\u00b0 east-southeast of the Pleiades.<\/p> This morning, the waning crescent Moon begins its passage through some wonderful celestial real estate, including Mars, Jupiter and the stars and clusters of Taurus.\u00a0<\/p> Alpha Capricornid meteor shower peaks (ZHR 5). This morning\u2019s 19%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 5.3\u00b0 from Jupiter. Mars, Jupiter and Aldebaran form a tight triangle in Taurus.<\/p>What’s in the night sky tonight?<\/strong><\/h2>
July astronomy highlights<\/strong><\/h3>
Noctilucent clouds<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/06\/planets-jupiter-mars-july-2024.jpg\")
Planets<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2022\/05\/summer-triangle-star-chart-72509d9.jpg\")
Stars<\/strong><\/h3>
![\"The](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2021\/07\/teapot-asterism-kaus-3750395.jpg\")
![\"Dwarf](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/01\/ceres-opposition-july-2024-1024x771.jpg?fit=800%2C602\")
Night sky in July 2024, night-by-night<\/strong><\/h2>
Monday 1 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Wednesday 3 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Thursday 4 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Friday 5 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Saturday 7 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Sunday 8 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Saturday 13 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Sunday 14 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Monday 15 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Wednesday 17 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Sunday 21 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Tuesday 23 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Wednesday 24 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Monday 29 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Tuesday 30 July<\/strong><\/h3>
Wednesday 31 July<\/strong><\/h3>