July 2025 – What’s Up!

Week of 28th July

  • Astronomical Twilight ends at 00:00 at the start of the week and at 23:34 BST by the end of the week.
  • The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks around Wednesday. It is a wide peak, so a chance of meteors all week, though the ZHR is only around 20 meteors. The shower’s progenitor is comet P/2008 Y12 (SOHO).
  • Saturn (+0.9) rises at around 22:50 BST this week, reaching a peak altitude of about 37° just before dawn. Venus (-4.0) rises at around 02:25 BST and Jupiter (-1.9) joins the morning line up, rising at around 03:10 BST.
  • It is a Double Star challenge this week, starting in Serpens with the star Alya, Theta Serpentis (+4.6) at a separation of 22 arcseconds. The difficulty increases with 70 Ophiuchi (+4.2) with a separation of 6.7″. The final pair are a serious challenge being low and close, try and split Xi Scorpii (+4.2) at just 1.1″ separation and an altitude of about 22°.
  • The Moon is First Quarter on Friday.
  • The Sun currently has 10 active regions and the sunspot number is 136.
  • There are no visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 21st July

  • Astronomical darkness returns on Monday with 38 minutes of proper darkness starting at 00:55, by the end of the week astronomical twilight ends at 00:10, giving us 2 hours and 8 minutes of astronomical darkness.
  • Saturn (+0.9) rises at 23:17 BST this week and Venus (-4.0) rises at around 02:20 BST.
  • Dwarf planet Pluto (+14.4) reaches opposition on Friday. You will need a good southerly horizon, a large telescope, and a detailed star map to find Pluto in Capricorn. Good luck!
  • With the return of astronomical darkness and New Moon, we can be push ourselves for this week’s Deep Sky challenge, which is all about nebulae. We start with the relatively easy Dumbbell Nebula, M27 (+7.1), a planetary nebula in Vulpecula. Next to NGC7000, the North America Nebula (+4.0) and IC 5070, the Pelican Nebula (+8.0) in Cygnus – two emission nebulae in the plane of the Milky Way that require binoculars to spot as light and dark patches in the dust lane. We end with the most challenging object, NGC 6960, the Western Veil Nebula (+5.0), which will require a large aperture and a very dark sky to spot.
  • The Moon is New on Thursday.
  • The Sun currently has 9 active regions and the sunspot number is 139.
  • There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 14th July

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July.
  • Spot the Waning Gibbous Moon close to Saturn (+0.9) and Neptune (+7.9) on Wednesday morning. Look further east to see bright Venus (-4.1) which rises at around 02:20 BST this week.
  • You will need a good southerly horizon for this week’s Deep Sky targets as we venture into Scutum, the constellation below and east of the Summer Triangle. Start with M11 (+5.8), the Wild Duck Cluster, described as one of the richest and most compact open clusters in the sky. Head a little further south to NGC 6712 (+8.1), a globular cluster at 22,000 light years from Earth. Finish with another open cluster, M26 (+8.0), though a scan of the area will reveal a plethora of open clusters to choose from!
  • The Moon is Last Quarter on Friday.
  • The Sun currently has 6 active regions and the sunspot number is 93.
  • There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

Week of 7th July

  • Astronomical twilight does not end until 21st July.
  • Early morning astronomers will enjoy the planets this week with Saturn (+1.0) rising at 00:15 BST alongside Neptune (+7.9). Uranus (+5.8) is next up at 02:00 BST, followed by Venus (-4.1) at 02:27 BST. Jupiter (-1.9) rises at 04:15 BST, but is dangerously close to the Sun, which rises at 05:00 BST.
  • Full Moon and no Astronomical Darkness call for bright objects in the eyepiece this week. We enjoy the best Globular Clusters across the night sky, starting in the west with M3 (+6.2) in Canes Venatici, moving to the south to find M13 (+5.8), the Great Hercules Cluster, before finishing in the east with M15 (+6.2) in Pegasus.
  • The Moon is Full on Thursday – the Buck Moon.
  • The Sun currently has 6 active regions and the sunspot number is 82.
  • There are multiple visible evening ISS passes this week (click here for full ISS pass details).

 

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