![]() ![]() Venus and Mars lie near each other against the backdrop of Leo. Throughout the month, a telescopic view shows the apparent size of Venus growing from 34″ to 54″. It sets two hours after the Sun, so the brilliant planet remains in the western sky well into a dark evening. Venus reaches its greatest illuminated extent July 7, when its 26-percent-illuminated crescent shines at magnitude –4.7. Summer nights are a perfect time for comfortable evening viewing, and these two targets don’t disappoint. Starting in the evening sky, the two innermost planets of the solar system, Venus and Mercury, provide a good show in July. You can also spot Uranus and Neptune in binoculars, both easy catches for an early-morning observing run. The predawn sky is best for Saturn - which rises soon after sunset - and its giant neighbor Jupiter, appearing after midnight. Set against Leo the Lion and its bright star Regulus, these three planets are the first objects to view this summer. Mercury and Venus put on an evening show - try and spot them both soon after sunset during evenings in late July. Here, the Moon rises beside the red giant Aldebaran. ![]() Taurus the Bull, with its Hyades and Pleiades star clusters, rules the summertime morning sky as a beautiful backdrop for the planets.
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