The monsoon is not a particularly good time for stargazing. But, when there is a cloudless night sky, you see sharper images of stars and planets due to increased humidity in the atmosphere.

In July, you have a chance to observe Saturn and Venus in the western sky, while the giant planet Jupiter will be high above in the east. It's a good time for stars too, with the Great Summer Triangle (Vega-Deneb and Altair) in the east dominating the night skies for several more months. This will become a familiar sight to the stargazer. The bright star Archuturus will be just overhead in the constellation of Bootes the Herdsman.

A highlight for July is the Great Hercules Star Cluster (also called M-13) in the constellation of Hercules. Located at a distance of 25,000 light years, this object is, without a doubt, one of the finest deep sky objects you'll ever come across. It is extremely accessible using amateur telescopes as it has close to naked eye visibility. (See picture).

Most people are surprised to learn this, but our world is farthest from the Sun in mid-summer. The earth reaches that position in its orbit, the aphelion, on 7 July.

Highlights:
The Sun is in the constellation of Gemini at the start of July, moving into Cancer on Saturday, 21 July.
Mercury reaches its greatest distance west of the Sun on 20 July. It may just be visible in the north-eastern sky at dawn during the last week of July.
Venus is still a brilliant Evening Star, visible in the west as soon as the Sun has set. By the end of the month, it starts disappearing in the glare of the Sun before the Sun itself has set.
Mars is rising in the east around midnight this month, and is well up in the eastern sky at dawn.
The giant planet Jupiter is low in the southern sky at dusk, and sets after midnight.
Saturn is low in the west at sunset at the start of July. On 1 July Saturn and Venus appear close to each other.

Meteors
There are various minor meteor-showers which are active in July, mainly with radiants in the Capricornus-Aquarius area. Towards the end of the month, weather permitting, we may also start to see the first of the Perseids, which peak in mid-August.

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