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What’s up in the night sky: July 2026

Welcome to our night sky monthly feature, where we focus on easy and fun things to see in the night sky, mostly with just your eyes. This month: In the evening sky, Venus, the brightest planet, brings us another month of beauty, and we’ve got planets near planets and planets near bright stars.

All month: Super bright Venus dominates the early evening western sky.

Early in the month: Very bright Jupiter is very low in the glow of dusk in the evening west, dropping below the horizon as the days pass. 

All month: Reddish Mars is in the east before dawn. 

All month: Yellowish Saturn rises in the east in the middle of the night and is high in the sky before dawn. 

July 1, 2026 night sky snapshot
July 1, 2026 night sky snapshot In the early evening west, super bright Venus is near Leo, and you might be able to see very bright Jupiter far below it, but you’ll need a clear view to the western horizon. (Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees North.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium.

July 4: In the pre-dawn east, Mars is very close to Uranus. Mars will be easy to see, but you’ll likely need binoculars or a telescope to spot bluish Uranus. The Pleiades star cluster is above them.

July 4, 2026 night sky snapshot
July 4, 2026 night sky snapshot In the pre-dawn east, reddish Mars is very close to Uranus. Mars will be easy to see, but you’ll likely need binoculars or a telescope to spot bluish Uranus. The Pleiades star cluster is above them. (Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees North.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium.

July 9: Venus is very close to the star Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation Leo.

July 9, 2026 night sky snapshot
July 9, 2026 night sky snapshot In the early evening west, super bright Venus is very close to Regulus, the brightest star in Leo. (Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees North.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium.
July 11, 2026 night sky snapshot
July 11, 2026 night sky snapshot In the pre-dawn east, the crescent Moon lines up with reddish Mars and reddish Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus. The subtle Pleiades star cluster is higher up. (Pasadena, California. Latitude: about 34 degrees north.)Image: Bruce Betts/The Planetary Society using Stellarium

July 14: New Moon.

July 29: Full Moon.

The Milky Way over Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park

Learn more about the Night Sky

Our journey to know the Cosmos and our place within it starts right outside our windows, in the night sky. Get weekly reports on what's visible and learn how to become a better backyard observer.

Bruce Betts

Bruce Betts

Chief Scientist / LightSail Program Manager for The Planetary Society
Read more articles by Bruce Betts