We like to know what’s happening in the skies above, and it turns out that July is set to be a pretty busy month in the skies. This weekend, there are not one but TWO astronomical events happening, so eyes to the skies, because both Venus and the Pleiades cluster will be visibly this Friday night into Saturday morning.
When will Venus be most visible?
On the evening of Friday 4th July, Venus and Uranus are in conjunction, although Uranus won’t be as bright as Venus. You’ll be able to find Venus by looking west-north-west, with Venus currently in the constellation of Taurus – and given it will be at its brightest this weekend, you should be able to spot it fairly quickly.
Currently located in the morning sky, Venus rises two hours and 20 minutes before the Sun on July 1, an offset that increases throughout the month until, on July 31, Venus can be seen rising three hours and 10 minutes before sunrise – according to Sky At Night. This should mean that Venus will be most visible at around 2.5 hours before the sunrise (4:48am), which on Saturday 5th July will be 2:18am in the Manchester area.
When will the Pleiades be visible?
On the same date that Venus is at its brightest, Saturday 5th July, a line from Venus through Uranus will eventually bring you to the Pleiades open cluster, 6.7° north of Venus. It will be visible as a blue, bright cluster, and will help you find Venus, if you haven’t already.
Often known as the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades is usually a winter phenomenon, but this early Saturday morning you’ll likely be able to see the beautiful star cluster during the darkest hours.
What other planetary occurrences will be happening in July?
As Uranus will be shining at mag. +5.8 this Saturday, and will only visible under brightening twilight, spotting Uranus 2.4° north of Venus could be something of a challenge. But as Venus dims, Uranus will likely become clearer to the naked eye.
There’s plenty more to look for though, as July will see the Buck Moon, the Perseid meteor shower, and the Moon meeting the Pleiades – so keep an eye on the skies!
