Night Sky Highlights for July-September 2026
By Jim Mazur
Solar System
Perseid Meteor Shower (peaking around August 12-13)
With a new Moon occurring on August 12 (and a total solar eclipse visible in some northern parts of the world), this is a great year for viewing the Perseids under dark skies. Remember that the meteors are visible for many days before and after the peak night, so there are plenty of chances to go out and take a look.
Mercury
The best chance to see Mercury this summer will be in late July and early August, when it will be low in the eastern sky just before dawn.
Venus
Throughout the summer, Venus will be a brilliant beacon in the west after sunset, although in September it will be low in the sky for northern hemisphere observers, requiring a good western horizon to observe it.
Mars
At about magnitude 1.3, bright red Mars will be easy to spot in the east during the early morning hours. It will be in Taurus in July, moving to Gemini in September. Through a telescope at high power, a small disk will be visible, only about 4 to 5 arcseconds in diameter.
Jupiter
Jupiter will be too close to the Sun to observe in July, but by mid-August and September is will start to appear as the brightest object in the eastern sky before dawn.
Saturn
Saturn will rise around midnight in July, in the late evening in August, and soon after sunset in September. Therefore the opportunies for observing it in the evening become more favorable as the summer moves along.
Uranus
This greenish gas giant will be near the Pleiades and Hyades throughout 2026. It will be viewable in the early morning hours in July and around midnight by late summer. A unique telescopic viewing opportunity will occur during the pre-dawn hours of July 4, when Uranus will be just 0.1 degrees north of Mars. For other dates, a finder chart can be found at: https://theskylive.com/uranus-info
Neptune
Neptune is close to Saturn, and like Saturn it will be visible in the evening sky in September. A finder chart for Neptune is available here: https://theskylive.com/neptune-info
Deep Sky Objects
With warm nights and the Milky Way high overhead, the summer is a great time to search for deep sky targets. Here are just a few of the many that the sky has to offer.
Messier 4, Scorpius
One of the closest globular clusters, 6800 light years away, just 1 degree from Antares. Star-hop chart
Messier 16 (Eagle Nebula), Serpens
A cluster of bright stars surrounded by a faint nebula. A nebula filter can greatly enhance the nebula’s visibility. Star-hop chart
Messier 21 (Webb’s Cross), Sagittarius
A small open cluster containing a mixture of bright stars and dimmer ones, about a degree to the north of the Trifid Nebula (M20). Star-hop chart
Messier 55, Sagittarius
A large and bright globular cluster to the east of the Sagittarius teapot shape, a good target for even small telescopes. Star-hop chart
Messier 71, Sagitta
A nice, loosely packed globular cluster, magnitude 8, easy to find in the middle of Sagitta, the arrow. Star-hop chart
Messier 108, Ursa Major
An oblong spiral galaxy, magnitude 10, about a degree away from the more famous Owl Nebula (M97). Star-hop chart
NGC 6503, Draco
Another oblong spiral galaxy, magnitude 10.2, about 17 million light years away. Star-hop chart
NGC 6543 (Caldwell 6, Cat’s Eye Nebula), Draco
A nice bright planetary nebula with a distinct blue-green color. Its central star is pretty easy to see. Star-hop chart
Epsilon Lyrae (Double Double)
People with excellent vision can tell, with the naked eye, that Epsilon Lyrae is a double star. With good seeing conditions and high magnification, each star resolves into a close pair, for a total of 4 stars. Star-hop chart
Beta Scorpii
A pretty pair of blue-white stars, magnitudes 2.6 and 4.9, separated by 14″. They are about 400 light years away. Star-hop chart