Venus and Mars will be close to one another in the western sky just after sunset throughout July. The two have been edging closer toward each other in June but Venus will now start tearing away from Mars getting closer to the horizon.
And in the second week of July, the Red Planet will have a new companion in the night sky — the star Regulus. Mars is currently about as far as it can be from Earth and this means Regulus and Mars will be about the same brightness. But NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory says it should be quite easy to spot Mars’s red glow versus Regulus’s blue glow using a pair of binoculars or even with the naked eye.
Regulus and Mars will be closest together on July 9 and 10 and then on July 20, the Moon will pass through the pair. Mercury will also appear in the same area of the sky but will be very close to the horizon.For those who would rather go to bed after the sun sets, gas giants Jupiter and Saturn will be visible before sunrise. On July 11, Jupiter will shine brightly beneath a crescent Moon.
Saturn will also be visible in the sky at the same time, but Jupiter will be far brighter and that’s because Saturn is significantly further away from Earth and the Sun. But Saturn won’t be alone, with it just before sunrise will be the bright star Fomalhaut. The young whippersnapper of a star was