Night sky July 2026: What you can see tonight

The night sky tonight and on any clear night offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects you can see, from stars and constellations to bright planets, the moon, and sometimes special events like meteor showers.

Observing the night sky can be done with no special equipment, although a sky map can be very useful, and a good telescope or binoculars will enhance some experiences and bring some otherwise invisible objects into view.

You can also use astronomy accessories to make your observing easier, and use our Satellite Tracker page powered by N2YO.com to find out when and how to see the International Space Station and other satellites. We also have a helpful guide on how you can see and track a Starlink satellite train.

You can also capture the night sky by using any of the best cameras for astrophotography, along with a selection of the best lenses for astrophotography.

Monthly sky watching information is provided to Space.com by Jules-Pierre Malartre of Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on X @StarryNightEdu.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Calendar of observing highlights

Wednesday, July 1 — The Summer Triangle and Albireo

High in the eastern sky this evening, you will see three brilliant stars. Use your imagination to connect these stars so that they form a massive triangle. This is the king of the summer asterisms, aptly named the Summer Triangle. The stars anchoring it are Vega (the brightest, in Lyra), Altair (in Aquila), and Deneb (in Cygnus). It is the ultimate summer signpost. Once you find it, you have your bearings for the entire season.

If you trace the shape of Cygnus the Swan (anchored by Deneb), follow its long neck down to its beak, the star Albireo (Beta Cygni). To the naked eye, it looks like a single, solitary point of light, but even under a modest 30x to 50x magnification, it splits into one of the most breathtaking double stars in the night sky. The primary star glows a warm, golden topaz, while its smaller companion shines in a striking, vivid sapphire blue. It is a stunning demonstration of stellar temperatures and a beautiful showpiece of the summer sky.

When observing color in stars like Albireo, don't stare directly at the core of the star for too long. Let your eye wander just slightly around the field of view. This engages the more color-sensitive cells in your peripheral vision, making that gold and blue contrast pop with much more intensity.

You don't need expensive, specialized equipment to photograph the Summer Triangle; it is the perfect target for your first foray into astrophotography. Simply mount your smartphone on a tripod — this is important because your hands will not hold the phone steady enough. Open your camera app, engage "Night Mode" (or use a manual app to set your exposure to 10 or 15 seconds), and use a short 3-second timer so touching the screen doesn't shake the camera. You will be amazed at how easily modern phones can capture Vega, Altair, and Deneb, and you might even pick up the dense, dusty star fields of the Milky Way slicing right through the middle of those stars!

Thursday, July 2 — The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules (all night)

Now that you found the Summer Triangle last evening, look high overhead to find the constellation Hercules. Its central four stars form a shape known as the "Keystone." If you scan the right side of the Keystone with binoculars, you will spot a faint smudge that looks like a tiny piece of cotton. You are looking at M13, the Great Globular Cluster — a massive, spherical mass of hundreds of thousands of ancient stars.

A telescope transforms M13 into an awe-inspiring sight. Under dark skies, an 8-inch reflector (at around 100x to 150x magnification) will begin to resolve the outer edges of the cluster into countless individual pinpricks of light.

Globular clusters are remarkably forgiving targets for your first deep-sky imaging attempts. All you need is a DSLR camera, a telephoto lens (200mm or 300mm) and a sturdy tripod. Open the aperture as wide as it goes (i.e., the lowest f-number) and set a high ISO (around 3200). Since you don't have a tracking mount, keep the exposure short (about 2 to 3 seconds) to prevent the stars from trailing. Take 20 or 30 of these short exposures. You can use free software to "stack" the photos, to reveal the dense core of the cluster.

When observing M13 through a telescope, use "averted vision." Instead of looking directly at the center of the cluster, focus your eye just slightly off to the edge of the eyepiece. This engages the more light-sensitive rods in your retina, causing the fainter stars at the cluster's edge to suddenly pop into view.

Friday, July 3 — The Teapot and the heart of the galaxy (all night)

Around 10:30 p.m. local time, you will find the constellation Sagittarius low over the southern horizon. Its brightest stars form a highly recognizable asterism that looks exactly like a teapot — complete with a handle, a pointed lid, and a spout. But the real magic is what is pouring out of it. Under dark skies, you will see a dense, glowing band of hazy light rising directly from the spout like steam. That "steam" is the dense, bustling center of our own Milky Way galaxy, and it is packed with deep-sky treasures.

Scan the area just above the tip of the Teapot's spout with binoculars or a telescope. You will shortly stumble across a bright, elongated grayish smudge with a cluster of stars embedded in it. This is the Lagoon Nebula (M8), a massive stellar nursery where new stars are being born.

The core of the Milky Way is the holy grail for wide-field astrophotography, and you don't need a telescope to capture it. Put your smartphone on a tripod, point it south toward the Teapot, and engage your camera's "Night Mode" (or use a manual app for a 15- to 30-second exposure). The sensor will pick up the incredible structure, dark dust lanes, and even the faint golden/brown colors of the galactic core that your naked eye cannot see.

Light pollution is the absolute enemy of the Milky Way. Even if you live in the suburbs, ambient light will wash out the faint "steam" of the galactic core. The best way to view this region is to get away from city lights, turn off your phone screen, and give your eyes at least 20 full minutes to adapt to the dark.

Saturday, July 4 — A planetary near-miss: Mars and Uranus conjunction (predawn)

If you are an early riser (or staying up very late), look to the eastern horizon a few hours before dawn to spot Mars. Its distinct rusty-orange hue makes it easy to identify with the naked eye. But this morning, the Red Planet has a very stealthy visitor. The icy world of Uranus is sitting incredibly close to Mars. Uranus is generally too faint to spot without optical aid, so grab your binoculars, center them on Mars, and look for a tiny, pale blue-green dot (dimmer than the stars around it) sitting right next to it.

The pair will easily fit into the high-magnification field of view of a telescope. Pop in a medium-to-high-power eyepiece (around 100x to 150x). The color contrast will be spectacular: the vivid, fiery orange of Mars sharing the black velvet of space with the cold, pale aquamarine disk of Uranus.

Capturing this through a telescope is an exciting challenge. Mars is much, much brighter than Uranus. If you expose your camera long enough to capture the blue color of Uranus, Mars will likely overexpose into a bright white blob. Try taking a "bracketed" sequence: some very fast exposures to capture the surface detail of Mars, and some slightly longer exposures to bring out Uranus.

Because Mars is so overwhelmingly bright compared to its distant neighbor, its glare might make Uranus hard to spot at first. Position Mars just outside the edge of your eyepiece's field of view. By hiding the Red Planet just behind the field stop, your eye will adjust to the darker background, making the faint blue disk of Uranus much easier to resolve.

Sunday, July 5 — The Heart of the Scorpion and its neighboring city of stars (evening)

Look toward the southern horizon around 10:30 p.m. local time to find a brilliant, noticeably reddish star. This is Antares, the "Heart of the Scorpion" in the constellation Scorpius. The name Antares literally means "Rival of Mars" (Ares in Greek) because its fiery reddish-orange tint closely mimics the Red Planet. Antares is a red supergiant — if you placed it in the center of our solar system, its outer edge would swallow the orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars!

Antares has a spectacular, often-overlooked neighbor. If you point your telescope at Antares and sweep just 1.3 degrees to the west, you will bump right into M4. While we looked at the massive M13 globular cluster a few days ago, M4 is unique because it is one of the closest globular clusters to Earth. Because it is so close, it appears quite large, and a medium-sized telescope will easily resolve its individual stars, including a distinct "bar" of stars running right through its core.

The area around Antares is one of the most colorful regions of the night sky, making it a dream target. Even with a standard DSLR and a 50mm or 135mm lens mounted on a tripod, you can capture a gorgeous wide-field shot. Take a series of 5- to 10-second exposures and you will capture the fierce orange glare of Antares, contrasting beautifully with the dense, white, fuzzy snowball of M4 sitting right next to it.

Because Antares and M4 never rise very high above the southern horizon for observers in Canada and the northern US, you are looking at them through a very thick layer of Earth's atmosphere. To get the sharpest views of M4 in your telescope, wait until it reaches its highest point in the sky (culmination) right around 10:35 p.m. local time, and make sure you aren't looking over heat-radiating surfaces like paved roads or rooftops.

Monday, July 6 — Earth at aphelion

The Earth reaches aphelion today — the point in its elliptical orbit where it is farthest from the sun. It seems completely backward that we are farthest from the solar furnace during the sweltering heat of July, but it's a great reminder that our seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth's axis, not our distance from the sun!

Because our orbit isn't a perfect circle, the sun's apparent size in the sky actually changes slightly throughout the year. Today, the sun's apparent diameter is about 3% smaller than it is in early January (when we are at perihelion, our closest point). While you should never look at the sun without a certified solar filter, those with proper, safe solar viewing equipment might notice the sunspots look just a tiny bit more tightly packed together today!

Related: How to observe the sun safely (and what to look for)

If you own a dedicated smart solar telescope, today is the perfect day to take a baseline image of the sun. Snap a photo of the solar disk at aphelion, and set a reminder to take the exact same photo six months from now in early January. When you put the two images side-by-side, that 3% difference in the sun's apparent diameter becomes wonderfully obvious.

While the Earth as a whole is furthest from the sun today, the Northern Hemisphere is currently tilted toward the sun. That tilt means the sun's rays hit us more directly and for more hours each day, which easily overpowers the slight drop in solar energy caused by being physically further away!

Tuesday, July 7 — A predawn moon points to Neptune

If you are an early riser, head outside between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. local time this morning. Looking toward the southeastern sky, you will see a half-illuminated moon. While the moon itself is beautiful, astronomers often use it as a giant, unmissable signpost to find fainter objects in the sky. Today, it is parked near the most distant planet in our solar system!

Grab your binoculars and look about 6 degrees to the lower right of the moon to find the tiny, pale blue dot of Neptune. At magnitude 7.9, the ice giant is far too faint to see with the naked eye, making this morning's lunar guidepost incredibly helpful.

Taking a photograph of the moon and Neptune together is a lesson in dynamic range. The bright moon will easily overwhelm your camera sensor, washing out the incredibly faint light of Neptune. You will need to take two separate images without moving your camera — one very fast exposure to capture the details of the lunar surface, and a much longer exposure to capture Neptune and the background stars—and blend them together later in editing software.

When trying to observe Neptune visually this morning, the glare from the moon is going to be your biggest enemy. To find the faint blue planet, position your binoculars so that the moon is just completely hidden right outside the lower left edge of your field of view. Blocking that direct lunar glare will allow your eye to pick up Neptune's faint light much more easily.

Wednesday, July 8 — The waning crescent meets the ringed planet (morning)

If you look toward the southeastern sky between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. local time this morning, you will notice the moon has moved further east from where it was yesterday, and it has slimmed down to a 42% waning crescent. Sitting just about 10 degrees to its lower right is a bright, steady, yellowish "star." That is Saturn. Because it is so bright, it's a beautiful, easy pairing to enjoy with the naked eye while you have your morning coffee.

Saturn is always a showstopper through a telescope, and this early morning slot offers great viewing as the planet climbs high out of the horizon murk. As we move through 2026, Saturn's rings are beginning to open back up after their nearly edge-on presentation in 2025. Even a small telescope at 50x magnification will clearly show the rings encircling the planet. Look closely for Titan, Saturn's largest moon, which will look like a bright, pinprick of light hovering nearby.

The waning crescent phase is arguably the best time for capturing "earthshine." This is the ghostly glow illuminating the dark, unlit portion of the moon, caused by sunlight reflecting off the Earth's oceans and clouds back onto the lunar surface. Mount your smartphone to a tripod or your telescope eyepiece and use a 2- to 3-second exposure. The crescent will be overexposed, but the dark side of the moon will reveal its hidden craters!

Because our atmosphere tends to calm down and stabilize in the chilly hours just before dawn, this morning slot offers excellent "seeing" conditions. If Saturn looks like it is shimmering or boiling through the eyepiece, just be patient. Keep looking, and wait for those brief, magical moments when the air temporarily steadies, snapping the rings into razor-sharp focus.

Thursday, July 9 — Venus meets the Lion's Heart

If you step outside after sunset and look low toward the western horizon, look for Venus — it is currently the brightest point of light in the evening sky. Look very closely to spot a much fainter star. That is Regulus, the "heart" of the constellation Leo the Lion. Because Venus is so blindingly bright, you might need to block it with your thumb to help your eyes pick out the star!

This evening offers a fantastic study in magnitude contrast. Venus is currently blazing away at roughly magnitude -4.1, making it about 140 times brighter than Regulus, which sits at magnitude +1.4. If you have binoculars, sweep the area. Catching the brilliant white disk of Venus next to the blue-white pinpoint of Regulus against a deep twilight sky is a beautiful sight.

This is a perfect opportunity for a wide-field twilight landscape shot. You don't need a telescope — just a DSLR or a smartphone on a tripod. Wait until about 45 minutes after sunset when the sky turns a deep cobalt blue but still has some color near the horizon. Expose for 2 to 3 seconds to capture both the brilliant planet and the fainter star setting together over the tree line.

Because both objects are quite low in the west, atmospheric refraction will be at play. If you put a telescope on Venus tonight, don't be surprised if its edges look slightly red on one side and blue on the other—the thick atmosphere near the horizon acts like a prism, splitting the planet's light into a miniature rainbow!

Friday, July 10 — The moon approaches the Seven Sisters (predawn)

If you are an early riser, look toward the eastern horizon between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. local time. You will see a beautiful, waning crescent moon. Not too far from the moon, you might notice a tiny, hazy cluster of stars shaped like a miniature Little Dipper. This is the famous Pleiades star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters).

The Pleiades (M45) is a stunning open cluster of hot, blue-white B-type stars. While the cluster contains over 1,000 confirmed members, the glare from the nearby crescent moon this morning will wash out the fainter stars. Use binoculars to cut through the moonlight and reveal the cluster's core structure.

Capturing a bright moon and a faint star cluster in the same frame is a tough balancing act. Try taking a "bracketed" sequence: one fast exposure to capture the sharp details of the sunlit crescent, and a longer 4- to 5-second exposure to capture the stars of the Pleiades and the "Earthshine" illuminating the dark side of the moon.

When looking at the Pleiades this morning, try using a technique called "averted vision." Instead of staring directly at the star cluster, look slightly to the side of it while paying attention to your peripheral vision. Your peripheral vision is much more sensitive to faint light, and the cluster will suddenly appear brighter and more populated!

Saturday, July 11 — The moon meets Mars (predawn)

Sitting below the moon this morning is a bright, distinctly reddish "star." That isn't a star at all — it's the planet Mars!

Mars is currently shining at magnitude +1.3. If you look further down toward the eastern horizon, you will see another reddish star of similar brightness — Aldebaran, the "eye" of Taurus the Bull. This morning offers a great opportunity to compare the steady, rusty light of a planet (Mars) with the twinkling, ruby light of a giant star (Aldebaran).

With the moon, the Pleiades, and Mars all occupying the same general area of the sky, this is the morning to pull out a wide-angle lens (like a 24mm or 35mm). A 10-second exposure on a tripod will capture a magnificent celestial diagonal line rising out of the eastern horizon before the dawn light washes it out.

While Mars is visible to the naked eye, pointing binoculars at the moon-Mars pair is highly recommended. The binoculars will enhance the color contrast, making the pale silver of the sunlit crescent look incredibly striking against the rusty-orange hue of the Red Planet.

Sunday, July 12 — Catch the "old moon" shine (predawn)

If you're up before dawn today, look low toward the eastern horizon about 45 minutes before sunrise. You'll be looking for the thin sliver of the waning crescent. Astronomers affectionately call this an "old moon" because it is in the final days of its 29.5-day cycle before it completely disappears into the new moon phase.

Because the lit portion of the moon is just a razor-thin crescent, the rest of the lunar disk will be glowing with prominent "earthshine." Since Earth is currently in a nearly "full" phase from the moon's perspective, our planet is reflecting a massive amount of sunlight back onto the lunar night side.

Catching an extreme crescent moon against the pastel colors of early morning twilight makes for a stunning landscape photo. You don't need a telescope — just a telephoto lens (around 200mm to 300mm). Wait until the sky starts turning pink and orange and use a fast shutter speed to keep the crescent sharp against the brightening sky.

Finding such a thin crescent in the brightening dawn can be tricky with the naked eye. Use binoculars to sweep the horizon directly east. Once you spot the moon in the binoculars, lower them and you'll find it much easier to lock onto it with just your eyes!

Monday, July 13 — Hunt for Comet 10P/Tempel 2 (evening)

While the brightest, most famous comets make the evening news, there are often fainter comets drifting through our skies that require a telescope to see. Tonight, a short-period comet known as 10P/Tempel 2 is making its way through the evening sky. While it is completely invisible to the naked eye, amateur astronomers with telescopes will be out tonight tracking this icy visitor from the outer solar system!

Comet 10P/Tempel 2 is steadily brightening as it approaches its early-August perihelion. By mid-July, it should be glowing around magnitude 7 or 8. While Southern Hemisphere observers will get a slightly higher altitude view, Northern Hemisphere observers can catch it in the evening sky after sunset. Look for a soft, fuzzy, grayish patch of light — the comet's glowing coma. Because comets are notoriously unpredictable, it might be slightly brighter or fainter than the mathematical models predict!

Capturing a telescopic comet requires a slightly different tracking strategy than photographing deep-sky nebulas. Because the comet is physically moving against the background stars, long exposures on a standard equatorial mount will result in a sharp star field but a blurred, trailing comet. To get a sharp image of the comet's nucleus and coma, take a series of shorter exposures (30 to 60 seconds) and stack them using comet-alignment software, which will align the comet's core but leave the background stars as trails.

To confirm you are actually looking at the comet and not just a faint background galaxy, make a quick sketch of the exact position of the "fuzzy patch" relative to three or four nearby stars in your eyepiece. Wait about 45 to 60 minutes and look again. If the fuzzy patch has noticeably moved relative to the stars, you've officially bagged the comet!

Tuesday, July 14 — New moon & The Perseids awaken (all night)

Today marks the exact date of the new moon. Because the moon is sitting between Earth and the sun, the side facing us is completely dark. While you can't see the moon tonight, its absence is a gift! Without any moonlight to wash out the sky, tonight is the best night of the month to look for faint stars, the Milky Way, and shooting stars.

Earth is also beginning to enter the Perseid meteor shower! While the absolute peak of the shower doesn't happen until mid-August, Earth is officially entering the outer edges of the massive debris stream left behind by Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. If you are out stargazing tonight, you have a very real chance of spotting a few early "grazers" streaking across the dark sky.

A new moon in July is the holy grail for deep-sky astrophotographers. This is the night to set up your tracking mount and take hours of long exposures on faint summer nebulas, like the Lagoon Nebula (M8) or the Trifid Nebula (M20) in the constellation Sagittarius. Without the moon, your camera will be able to pick up the faintest wisps of glowing hydrogen gas.

If you want to catch an early Perseid meteor tonight, don't stare at a single spot in the sky. Lie back in a reclining lawn chair so you can take in as much of the sky as possible, and let your eyes relax. Early Perseids are often very fast and bright, and they can appear anywhere overhead!

Wednesday, July 15 — The hunt for the young moon

With the new moon officially behind us, the moon is moving back into our evening sky. Tonight offers a fun visual challenge: spotting the incredibly thin "young" moon. Just after sunset, look very low toward the western horizon. If you have an unobstructed view, you might just catch a razor-thin waxing crescent!

Because the moon is only slightly more than 24 hours past its exact new phase, it is trailing very closely behind the sun. This means it will set shortly after the sun does, while the sky is still quite bright with evening twilight. Use binoculars to sweep the horizon directly west about 20 to 30 minutes after sunset.

Capturing a 1-day-old moon is a badge of honor for landscape astrophotographers. You need a clear, haze-free western horizon. Use a telephoto lens (200mm+) on a tripod. Start shooting continuous bracketed exposures as soon as the sun drops below the horizon. The window to catch the crescent against the twilight before it sets is incredibly short!

Don't wait until it gets completely dark to look for the moon tonight. By the time the sky is fully black, this incredibly young crescent will have already set below the horizon!

Thursday, July 16 — Hunting the Da Vinci Glow (evening)

Tonight, look low in the western sky just after sunset. You'll see a delicate, thin crescent moon. But look closely — can you see the rest of the moon's disk glowing faintly in the dark? That isn't moonlight; it's sunlight reflecting off the Earth's oceans and clouds and hitting the moon! This "ghostly" image is often called the Da Vinci Glow.

Earth is currently near "full" from the perspective of the moon, which makes the reflected light (earthshine) particularly bright right now. Use a pair of binoculars to scan the dark portion of the moon — you can pick out the major lunar maria (the dark "seas") even on the unlit side of the lunar disk.

This is the night to try for an "HDR" composite. Set your camera on a tripod and take two different exposures: one short exposure (1/100th of a second) to capture the sharp, bright crescent, and one long exposure (2 to 4 seconds) to capture the faint Earthshine. Combining these in post-processing will give you a stunning, high-dynamic-range image that shows the entire moon as your eyes perceive it!

Friday, July 17 — A crescent moon meets Venus

Tonight, look west after sunset to witness a beautiful visual pairing: A crescent moon and Venus rendezvous. A slender, beautiful waxing crescent moon is joined by a brilliantly bright point of light — the planet Venus. While the moon is a delicate sliver, Venus acts as a steady, blazing beacon in the twilight. Together, they form one of the most photogenic pairings of summer.

Venus is currently perfectly placed for evening viewing. If you turn a telescope toward Venus, you'll see a dazzling, broad gibbous disk — a miniature, brighter version of the moon.

This is the ultimate composition challenge for July. The moon, glowing with soft "earthshine" on its night side, sits right next to the brilliant, diamond-like light of Venus. Use a focal length between 50mm and 100mm to capture both objects in the same frame. For the best result, frame them low against a distant tree line or a building silhouette; it adds scale and context to the vastness of the sky.

Grab a pair of binoculars and center both the moon and Venus in your field of view. The contrast is breathtaking: the soft, ghostly, ashen glow of the moon's earthshine sits in perfect harmony with the intense, piercing white light of the "Evening Star." It's a moment of pure celestial symmetry that feels like a private show just for you.

Saturday, July 18 — The Wild Duck Cluster (M11)

This evening, you can enjoy the awe-inspiring sight of one of the most densely packed open star clusters in the galaxy. If you scan the sky above the south-east horizon, near the constellation Aquila (the Eagle) with binoculars, you will spot a bright, fuzzy, golf-ball-shaped patch of light in the constellation Scutum. This is M11, the Wild Duck Cluster.

M11 is a showstopper when seen through a telescope. It earned its nickname because its brightest stars form a distinct V-shape, resembling a flock of ducks in flight. Because the cluster is so compact and bright, it stands up incredibly well to tonight's minor moonlight. Use moderate to high magnification to resolve the "flock" against the background glow of the Milky Way.

M11 sits right in the thick of the Scutum Star Cloud. Use a wide-field refractor or a telephoto lens (around 200-400mm) to capture the cluster. Instead of a tight crop, leave plenty of space around it to frame the incredibly dense, rich star fields and dark dust lanes that surround it.

If you are struggling to find it in the dense star fields of the summer Milky Way, find the constellation Aquila and imagine seeing its mythical figure. M11 lies right off the tail of the Eagle.

Sunday, July 19 — The "Double-Double" Epsilon Lyrae

If you can locate Vega, the brilliant blue-white star that anchors the Summer Triangle, you can also spot one of the most interesting multiple stars in our night sky: Epsilon Lyrae, also known as the "Double-Double." High in the north-western sky late this evening, you can see bright Vega sitting over the Lyra Parallelogram. Less than two degrees away from Vega is a star called Epsilon Lyrae (HIP 91919). If you have sharp eyesight, or if you look through binoculars, you will see that Epsilon Lyrae isn't one star, but two distinct stars sitting side-by-side.

If you point a telescope at those two stars and push your magnification up high (at least 100x), atmospheric seeing permitting, each of those two stars will magically split into another pair of stars! You are looking at a complex, four-star gravitational system.

Imaging the split of all four stars is a classic test of your telescope's resolving power and the night's atmospheric seeing. Instead of standard long-exposure astrophotography, use "lucky imaging." Shoot high-speed video of the star system and use planetary stacking software to pick only the sharpest frames where the atmosphere momentarily steadied.

Focus your telescope on Vega first. Because Vega is so bright, it is much easier to achieve perfect, pinpoint focus. Once your focus is locked, gently nudge your scope over to Epsilon Lyrae for the clearest possible view of the split.

Monday, July 20 — Anniversary of Apollo 11 —The Sea of Tranquility

Tonight is a special night for lunar observation: it is the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969! With the moon being about 10 hours away from its First Quarter phase, it is beautifully placed in the evening sky. Look at the illuminated right half of the moon with just your eyes or binoculars. Look for a large, dark, oval-shaped patch in the upper right. That is the Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis), the region where humans first walked on another world.

While you will not be able to see the Lunar Module descent stage, you can absolutely zoom in on "Tranquility Base." Focus your telescope on the western edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Look for the distinct crater pair of Sabine and Ritter. Just east of them is the tiny, bright, bowl-shaped crater, Moltke. The historic landing site sits right in the smooth basaltic plains between Moltke and the Sabine/Ritter pair.

Instead of focusing purely on terminator shadows tonight, try taking a high-contrast image of the lunar maria. Use a fast shutter speed to capture the distinct albedo (reflectivity) differences between the dark, smooth lavas of the Sea of Tranquility and the brighter, older, heavily cratered highlands sitting to the south.

If the atmospheric seeing is stable, push your telescope's magnification while exploring the Sea of Tranquility. Instead of looking for craters, look for "wrinkle ridges" (Dorsa)—long, subtle, vein-like ripples snaking across the mare's floor, caused by the cooling and contracting of the ancient lava fields.

Tuesday, July 21 — The Ptolemaeus Trio

Tonight, the moon is just past its exact first quarter phase, looking like a slightly thickened D-shape. Because the sunlight is hitting the moon almost perfectly from the side, the craters along the flat edge (the terminator) cast long, dramatic shadows. Look near the center of the moon along that shadow line with binoculars or a telescope to spot three massive, connected craters sitting in a vertical row.

Focus your telescope dead center on the terminator to find the "Ptolemaeus Trio." With the terminator now positioned just past the zero meridian, this spectacular vertical chain of three massive walled plains — Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel — is cast in stunning relief. Ptolemaeus is the largest and oldest, featuring a smooth, lava-flooded floor. As you move south to Alphonsus and then Arzachel, the craters get progressively smaller, younger, and deeper, with Arzachel displaying massive, terraced walls and a sharp central peak.

The moon is incredibly bright, so you will want a fast shutter speed (1/250th or faster) and a low ISO. The smooth floor of Ptolemaeus is famous for showing tiny, shallow "ghost craters" and pits when the terminator shadows sweep across it.

While you are looking at the crater trio, scan slightly north along the terminator to find a distinct, V-shaped gash on the lunar surface called the Hyginus Rille. Unlike craters caused by impacts, this is a volcanic fault line that collapsed, creating a deep canyon that looks incredibly sharp under tonight's lighting conditions.

Wednesday, July 22 — Rupes Recta — The lunar Straight Wall

Take a look at the moon and try to find a long, thin, perfectly straight line near the center, bottom of the lunar disk. It looks exactly like a fault line or a cliff face. That is Rupes Recta, or the "Straight Wall." It is a massive geological fault where the lunar surface has shifted, creating a steep cliff that stretches over 60 miles (100 kilometers).

The Straight Wall is a classic "lunar scarp." When the sun hits it at the low angle of the terminator, the cliff casts a sharp, dark shadow, making it look like a black line drawn with a ruler. Near the southern end of the wall, look for a small, curved mountain range known as the "Stag's Horn" mountains. Under good seeing conditions, you can even spot the tiny crater Birt nearby, which has its own smaller, rille-like valley.

This is a high-resolution target for astrophotographers. Since the Straight Wall is a thin, linear feature, you want to use the highest magnification your telescope allows (barring atmospheric turbulence). Use a short, crisp exposure. If you are stacking video frames, focus specifically on the sharpness of the shadow edge — that contrast is what makes the image "pop" as a professional-grade shot.

Don't be fooled by how it looks! While it appears to be a sheer cliff rising thousands of feet, the slope is actually quite gentle — roughly 10 to 20 degrees. It looks dramatic because of the long shadow cast by the setting (or rising) sun, but from an astronaut's perspective, it would be more like hiking a steep hill than scaling a vertical wall.

Thursday, July 23 — The Ring Nebula (M57)

To observe the Ring Nebula (M57), start by finding Vega, the brightest star of the Summer Triangle. The four stars just below Vega form a parallelogram: the "frame" of the musical instrument of Lyra. M57 is tucked exactly halfway between the bottom two stars of this shape.

M57 is a planetary nebula — the expanding, glowing shell of gas blown off by a dying star. Because it has a very high surface brightness, it still holds up well against the waxing gibbous moon. At medium to high power, it looks exactly like a tiny, ghostly gray doughnut floating in the star field.

A high-contrast boost will help to separate that faint, smoky ring from the washed-out, moonlit background sky — and that means using a filter. While an Oxygen-III (OIII) filter is often the gold standard, an Ultra High Contrast (UHC) filter is generally the better choice for the Ring Nebula, especially when dealing with moonlight or light pollution. The Ring Nebula is relatively small and dim. A UHC filter will block the broad spectrum of moonlight and skyglow while letting through enough light to keep the star field visible. This makes it much easier to keep your bearings while you search for that tiny, ethereal "smoke ring."

Planetary nebulas are great astrophotography subjects for moonlit nights, especially if you have an Ultra High Contrast or light-pollution filter. M57 is small, so you will need a longer focal length telescope (1000mm+) to capture its structure. Take 1- to 2-minute exposures and stack them to reveal the vibrant red, green, and blue hues of the ionized gases in the ring.

Use "averted vision" when looking for the Ring Nebula. Do not stare directly at the spot where the nebula should be; instead, look slightly off to the side of the field of view. The rod cells in your peripheral vision are much more sensitive to faint light. So, using averted vision will suddenly make the nebula "pop" into view! Don't be afraid to push the magnification once you've located it. The Ring Nebula is small, and increasing the power darkens the background sky relative to the object, which will increase contrast even further.

Friday, July 24 — The moon and the Scorpion's Heart

As the moon drifts through the heart of Scorpius tonight, you may witness an encounter between the moon and Antares, the red supergiant star that marks the "heart" of the Scorpion. While they won't quite meet in North America, they will be close together, offering a stunning, high-contrast photo opportunity in the evening sky. Keep an eye on them throughout the night as they glide across the southern horizon.

While most of the world will see a close pairing, this event is special for observers in the Southern Hemisphere. From the southernmost regions of South America — such as Punta Arenas, Chile — as well as the northern half of Antarctica and Kerguelen Island, the moon will pass directly in front of Antares, creating a lunar occultation. For lucky observers in these regions, the star will vanish instantly behind the dark, unlit edge of the moon. Watching a bright supergiant "snap" out of existence is one of the most sudden and startling sights in astronomy — a true rite of passage for all sky watchers.

Whether you are capturing the close approach in North America or the occultation in the far south, use a telephoto lens or a telescope with a moderate focal length. If you are aiming for the occultation, focus on the lunar limb where the star will disappear (or reappear). Because Antares is so bright, you'll want to keep your exposures short enough to avoid blowing out the detail on the moon's surface while still capturing the fiery orange glow of the star right up to the very moment of contact.

Saturday, July 25 — Lunar ray systems — Tycho and Copernicus

The moon now being in its waxing gibbous phase and approaching full, the sunlight is hitting it almost directly. This washes out the shadows inside the craters, but it reveals something else — lunar rays! Look at the moon with binoculars tonight and you will see bright white streaks radiating outward from a few distinct craters. These are the impact scars from massive asteroids.

The two most prominent ray systems belong to the craters Tycho (in the southern hemisphere) and Copernicus (near the center/north). Tycho's rays are the most spectacular, stretching for thousands of kilometers across the lunar surface. Because these bright streaks of pulverized rock haven't been darkened by space weathering yet, they tell us that these are relatively "young" craters.

Photographing the moon this close to its full phase can be tricky because the bright rays are highly reflective and easily overexposed. Make sure to dial down your camera's exposure compensation (EV) by a stop or two to preserve the bright white details of the ray systems against the darker lunar maria.

If you are observing the moon through a telescope tonight, the glare can be quite intense. Thread a polarizing filter or a standard lunar (neutral density) filter onto your eyepiece to cut the brightness and save your night vision!

Sunday, July 26 — The "Horse and Rider" — Mizar and Alcor (evening)

Since the moon is very bright tonight and washes out faint nebulas and galaxies, it is the perfect time to look at stars instead! Find the Big Dipper in the northwestern sky. Look closely at the star right in the middle of the handle. If you have sharp eyesight, you will see that it is actually two stars sitting right next to each other. Ancient cultures used this as an eyesight test, calling the brighter star the "Horse" (Mizar) and the fainter one the "Rider" (Alcor).

Mizar and Alcor form a beautiful naked-eye or binocular double, but if you point a telescope at them, the system gets even more complex. At medium magnification, you will see that the brighter star, Mizar, is actually a double star itself! This makes it a fantastic, easy-to-find multiple-star system that easily punches through the heavy moonlight tonight.

You don't need a telescope to photograph this pair. A standard DSLR with a 200mm to 300mm lens on a tripod is more than enough to split Mizar and Alcor. Take a 5- to 10-second exposure to capture the color difference — Mizar glows a brilliant white, while Alcor has a slightly more subtle, grayish-blue tint.

Monday, July 27 — Herschel's Garnet Star — Mu Cephei

When the moon is nearly full, faint deep-sky objects disappear, making it the perfect time to go "star-hopping" for colorful stars. Look high in the northern sky for the constellation Cepheus, which looks like a child's drawing of a house. Near the "bottom" of the house sits Mu Cephei. Known as Herschel's Garnet Star, it is one of the deepest, richest red stars visible to the naked eye.

Mu Cephei is a red supergiant nearing the end of its life, and it is huge. If placed in the center of our solar system, its surface would extend past the orbit of Jupiter! Through a telescope, its deep reddish-orange hue is spectacular — especially if you compare it to nearby white stars. It is also a variable star, meaning its brightness slowly fluctuates over a period of roughly two years.

Photographing the true red color of Mu Cephei can be tricky because digital sensors tend to turn bright stars into pure white dots. The best technique is to slightly defocus your camera lens or telescope. This spreads the star's light across a larger cluster of pixels, preventing the sensor from overexposing and allowing that deep, ruby-red color to shine through beautifully.

Your eyes are less sensitive to red light at night. To get the best view of the Garnet Star, look at a bright white star first (for example, Vega), and then immediately swing your binoculars or telescope over to Mu Cephei. The sudden contrast makes the red color leap out.

Tuesday, July 28 — The Summer Triangle

For northern observers, by late July, the "Summer Triangle"—formed by the brilliant stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair — reaches its highest point in the night sky. As the sky darkens, look straight up to find these three luminaries dominating the overhead view. Because this asterism is so expansive and its stars so bright, it remains the ultimate navigation tool for amateur astronomers, serving as a reliable gateway to the constellations Lyra, Cygnus, and Aquila. Even with the encroaching moonlight of the coming nights, these three stars act as the bedrock of the summer sky, anchoring your view before you begin your search for the fainter, elusive streaks of the upcoming two meteor showers.

Wednesday, July 29 — The Southern Delta Aquariids and full Buck Moon (morning & evening)

Morning: Southern Delta Aquariids

This morning is a good time to be on the lookout for the Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower. Named for the constellation Aquarius, these meteors originate from debris left behind by Comet 96P/Machholz. While the shower favors the Southern Hemisphere, observers in North America can still catch a glimpse by looking toward the southern horizon in the predawn hours.

This year's peak is a challenge. With a nearly full moon flooding the sky with light, only the brightest of these "shooting stars" will be visible. Because these meteors tend to be faint, the moonlight will hide many of the streaks that would normally be visible in a dark, moonless sky.

If you're determined to see some meteors, don't look directly at the radiant. Instead, scan the sky roughly 45 degrees away from the constellation Aquarius. By keeping your back to the brightest part of the sky and shielding your eyes from the moon's direct glare, you maximize your chances of spotting the occasional, brighter-than-average meteor. It's a "needle in a haystack" hunt, but there's nothing quite like the thrill of catching one against the bright backdrop of a summer full moon!

Evening: Full Buck Moon

If you feel hunting for the rare meteor is not worth your observing time, tonight also brings us the full "Buck moon." This traditional name, originating from Algonquin cultures, marks the time of year when male deer — or bucks — begin to grow their new, velvety antlers.

A full moon is always a spectacle, and the Buck moon is no exception. Because it's so bright, you won't need a telescope or binoculars to enjoy it; in fact, the moon is best viewed with the naked eye. As it rises near the horizon at dusk, watch for the "moon illusion," where it will appear remarkably large as your brain processes it against trees, buildings, and distant silhouettes. It's the perfect backdrop for a quiet evening, reminding us that even when the sky is too bright for deep-space hunting, there is still plenty of beauty to be found just by looking up.

Thursday, July 30 — The fireballs of Capricornus (predawn)

If the bright moonlight made meteor hunting a challenge during the Southern Delta Aquariid peak last night, don't pack away your reclining chair just yet. Tonight marks the peak of a second, more exclusive shower: the Alpha Capricornids.

While the Aquariids provide a steady trickle of fainter stars, the Alpha Capricornids are known for something much more dramatic: slow-moving, brilliant fireballs. Because these meteors enter our atmosphere at a more leisurely pace and can be exceptionally bright, they stand a much better chance of cutting through the glare of the waning gibbous moon. It's a wonderful example of "quality over quantity" — a reminder that when it comes to the night sky, it only takes one spectacular, glowing streak to make the entire evening worthwhile.

Friday, July 31 — The return of the ringed planet

As July comes to a close, we finally welcome the "Lord of the Rings" back to the evening sky! By 11:30 p.m. local time, look low toward the eastern horizon to spot a bright, steady, yellowish point of light. Unlike stars, which twinkle rapidly, planets tend to shine with a steady, piercing light. That golden beacon is Saturn, making its way back to its late-summer and autumn prime time.

If you have a telescope, Saturn is always the ultimate showpiece. However, in 2026, Saturn's rings are still relatively narrow but opening back up to our line of sight! Instead of the wide, glorious "brim" of the rings we usually see, the rings currently look like a razor-thin line cutting straight through the planet's equator. It is a rare and fascinating perspective that only happens roughly every 29.5 years.

Saturn is now well placed for late-night observing, showing off its iconic ring system to even modest telescopes. However, with a nearly full moon gracing the sky tonight, the increased background light may dim your view of Saturn's fainter moons and subtle ring details. If the sky appears washed out, a neutral density or polarizing filter can help cut through the glare, significantly improving the contrast and comfort of your viewing session.

Planetary imaging requires a completely different technique from deep-sky photography. Instead of taking long exposures, attach your planetary camera to your telescope and shoot a high-speed video clip of Saturn (about 2 to 3 minutes long). You can then use stacking software to extract only the sharpest, clearest frames from the video to create a single, incredibly detailed image of the planet and its narrow rings.

The moon might make it difficult, but if you are using a filter, you have a greater chance of spotting Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

Skywatching terms

Gibbous: Used to describe a planet or moon that is more than 50% illuminated.

Asterism: A noteworthy or striking pattern of stars within a larger constellation.

Degrees (measuring the sky): The sky is 360 degrees all the way around, which means roughly 180 degrees from horizon to horizon. It's easy to measure distances between objects: Your fist on an outstretched arm covers about 10 degrees of sky, while a finger covers about one degree.

Visual Magnitude: This is the astronomer's scale for measuring the brightness of objects in the sky. The dimmest object visible in the night sky under perfectly dark conditions is about magnitude 6.5. Brighter stars are magnitude 2 or 1. The brightest objects get negative numbers. Venus can be as bright as magnitude -4.9. The full moon is -12.7 and the sun is -26.8.

Terminator: The boundary on the moon between sunlight and shadow.

Zenith: The point in the sky directly overhead.

Night sky observing tips

Adjust to the dark: If you wish to observe fainter objects, such as meteors, dim stars, nebulas, and galaxies, give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the darkness. Avoid looking at your phone's bright screen by keeping it tucked away. If you must use it, set the brightness to minimum — or cover it with clingy red film.

Light Pollution: Even from a big city, one can see the moon, a handful of bright stars, and the brightest planets — if they are above the horizon. But to fully enjoy the heavens — especially a meteor shower, the fainter constellations, or to see the amazing swath across the sky that is the disk of our home galaxy, the Milky Way — rural areas are best for night sky viewing. If you're stuck in a city or suburban area, use a tree or dark building to block ambient light (or moonlight) and help reveal fainter sky objects. If you're in the suburbs, simply turning off outdoor lights can help.

Prepare for skywatching: If you plan to be outside for more than a few minutes, and it's not a warm summer evening, dress more warmly than you think is necessary. An hour of winter observing can chill you to the bone. For meteor showers, a blanket or a lounge chair will prove to be much more comfortable than standing or sitting in a chair and craning your neck to see overhead.

Daytime skywatching: On the days surrounding the first quarter, the moon is visible in the afternoon daytime sky. At last quarter, the moon rises before sunrise and lingers in the morning sky. When Venus is at a significant angle away from the sun, it can often be spotted during the day as a brilliant point of light — but you'll need to consult an astronomy app to know when and where to look for it. When large sunspots develop on the sun, they can be seen without a telescope — as long as you use proper solar filters, such as eclipse glasses. Permanent eye damage can occur if you look at the sun for any length of time without protective eyewear.