Derekscope

Close approach of the Moon and Mars

• The Moon’s crescent will act as an excellent guide to finding Mars.
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• Best time
  About 2:30 – 4:30am BST, before morning twilight becomes too bright.
  The Moon makes a close approach to Mars, creating an attractive pre-dawn pairing.
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• Direction
  Look toward the east to east-northeast.
  The Moon makes a close approach to Mars, creating an attractive pre-dawn pairing.
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• Appearance
  The thin crescent Moon will lie very close to Mars, making the reddish planet easy to identify.
  The Moon makes a close approach to Mars, creating an attractive pre-dawn pairing.
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• Binoculars
  The pair will fit comfortably within the same field of view in most 7×50 or 10×50 binoculars.
  The Moon makes a close approach to Mars, creating an attractive pre-dawn pairing.
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Venus near Regulus

• You should be able to see Venus shining close to Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo.
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• How to identify them:
  – Find the brightest object low in the west—that will be Venus.
  – Look nearby for the fainter bluish-white Regulus.
  – Binoculars (7×50 or 10×50) will enhance the view, but both objects are easily visible with the naked eye if you have a clear western horizon.
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The constellation of Aries (The Ram)

• Look toward the eastern to east-northeastern horizon.
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• You’ll see a 30% illuminated waning crescent Moon rising in the early morning sky.
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• The constellation of Aries will be just above and to the right of the Moon.
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• The Moon is close enough to make the constellation much easier to locate.
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Last Quarter Moon

• At the exact moment of Last Quarter, the Moon is in the constellation Aries, while the Sun is in Gemini.
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Moon & Saturn

• If you’re observing from the UK, look toward the southeastern sky after midnight and before sunrise.
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• Binoculars will easily show both objects in the same field of view.
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Earth at aphelion

• Despite being farthest from the Sun, the Northern Hemisphere experiences summer at this time because the seasons are caused by Earth’s axial tilt, not by its distance from the Sun.
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• In fact, Earth receives only about 7% less solar energy at aphelion than at perihelion, and this difference has a much smaller effect on climate than the tilt of Earth’s axis.
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Conjunction of Mars and Uranus

• Mars and Uranus will appear in a close conjunction, with both lying below the Pleiades (M45) in the pre-dawn sky.
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Your guide to the night sky this month,
and a guide for binoculars, and telescope deaf owners,
compiled by Derek Rowley

2026 July

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Noctilucent clouds

• The best time to see noctilucent clouds is during this month ~ July, although they can sometimes be seen from late May to early August.
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• They are easiest to spot on clear evenings or early mornings in the northern sky after sunset or before sunrise.
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• They are made of tiny ice crystals and glow with a beautiful blue-white colour because they are still lit by the Sun after it has set.
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• You can sometimes see them on summer nights, low in the northern sky.
  Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds on Earth.
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• They look like shiny, wavy ribbons and are one of nature’s most amazing sights!
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(See my astrophotography – Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs)

• The Teapot is a well-known asterism (an easily recognized pattern of stars) within the constellation Sagittarius.
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• Although it isn’t an official constellation itself, it’s one of the easiest star patterns to spot in the summer sky.
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