Look out for these stargazing highlights in July with Astro Dog

Now that the June summer solstice has passed, our nights are slowly becoming longer. The nights are still short and bright throughout July, but the milder temperatures mean it is a little more comfortable when out enjoying the night sky.

July is still a great time to photograph the Milky Way core, there’s some meteor shower peaks to look out for at the end of the month, and July is one of the best times to see the beautiful phenomena known as noctilucent clouds.

Check out these astronomy highlights for July:

• July 4, Bright planet Mars appears close by to faint planet Uranus.

• July 7, Last quarter moon.

• July 8, Moon appears close by to bright planet Saturn.

• July 9, Bright planet Venus appears close by to the bright star Regulus.

• July 11, Moon appears close by to the Pleiades Star Cluster and bright planet Mars.

• July 14, New moon.

• July 17, Moon appears close by to bright planet Venus.

• July 20, Moon appears close by to the bright star Spica.

• July 21, First quarter moon.

• July 24, Moon appears close by to bright the star Antares.

• July 29, Full Buck Moon.

• July 30, Peak of the Alpha Capricornids and Delta Aquarid meteor showers.

• July 31, Moon appears close by to the bright star Deneb Algedi.

For information on these events watch our Night Sky Guide video for July at www.youtube.com/@astrodoguk, visit www.astro-dog.co.uk or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/astrodoguk) and Instagram.

If you head out to enjoy the night sky, we wish you all good luck and clear skies!