The brightest planets in July's night sky: How to see them (and when)

July 2025 might be considered a "slack month" so far as planet viewing is concerned.

In the evening sky, Mercury is available during the evening — though with some difficulty — low in the west-northwest sky — but it will have somewhat formidable competition as viewed against the bright background of evening twilight. The best chance of catching a glimpse of it will come during the first 10 days of the month; binoculars will be beneficial in finding it. Scan low near to the horizon beginning about 45 minutes after sunset.

Meanwhile, Mars continues to fade as it moves away from Earth. In terms of brightness, it now only ranks with stars of second magnitude and even in moderately-large telescopes it appears as nothing more than a tiny disk (or dot) with a yellow-orange tinge.

Saturn starts the month rising after midnight, but by late July it will be rising during the late evening hours. The famous ring system has opened slightly from its edge-on appearance last spring; however, the rings are still tilted less than 4 degrees toward us. Beggars can't be choosers though, for this will be our best view of the rings in 2025, before they begin to close again during the fall and early winter.

Venus continues to dazzle in the predawn morning sky, shining amidst the stars of Taurus the Bull. Nearby will be the Bull's brightest star, orange Aldebaran, fairly conspicuous in its own right, yet still shining only a fraction as bright as Venus.

Finally, after being out of sight for more than a month, Jupiter begins to become evident around midmonth, emerging from out of the bright morning twilight. It will lift a little higher above the east-northeast horizon with each passing morning and will begin to noticeably approach Venus by month's end, on into early August.

In our schedule, remember that when measuring the angular separation between two celestial objects, your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees. Here, we present a schedule below which provides some of the best planet viewing times as well directing you as to where to look to see them.

If you're looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe the planets up close, our guides for the best binoculars deals and the best telescope deals now can help you find the optical gear you need.

Our guides on the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography can also help you prepare to take your own photos of the planets ro any other celestial wonder.

Mercury

Mercury reaches its greatest elongation, 26 degrees east of the sun on July 4. From latitude 40 degrees north, the +0.6-magnitude planet is low in the west-northwest and sets during twilight about 1.5 hours after sunset, and only an hour after the sun on July 12 when the planet will be of magnitude +1.2.

Use binoculars to help you see Mercury on the latest possible date; more southerly observers will succeed longer. On July 31, Mercury passes through inferior conjunction — between the sun and Earth — and transitions into the morning sky.

Venus

Venus, the most radiant of planets, hangs at almost the same place above the dawn horizon through July and August as the background stars slide upward behind it. Even though it is closer to the sun in angular separation compared to June, the ecliptic is inclined at a steeper angle to the horizon in July and August making Venus appear at a greater altitude. During this two-month interval it rises 2.5 to 3-hours before sunrise.

On the morning of July 21, about 1.5 hours before sunrise, look low in the east-northeast sky for the slender waning crescent moon and situated about 8 degrees below it will be Venus. The bright orange star Aldebaran in Taurus will be also nearby; the trio will form a broad isosceles triangle.

Earth

Earth arrives at aphelion, that point in its orbit farthest from the sun; a distance of 94,502,939 miles (152,087,738 km) on July 3 at 3:55 p.m. EDT.

Mars

Mars at magnitude +1.6, has — through binning — fallen into the ranks of a second magnitude object. On the evening of July 28, about 1.5 hours after sunset, look very low in the west-southwest and you'll find this yellow-orange planet positioned about 3.5 degrees to the upper right of a waxing crescent moon.

Jupiter

Jupiter finally emerges from the glare of the rising sun during the third week of July. Search for it very low in the east-northeast about 45 minutes before sunrise. On the morning of July 23, look about 5 degrees to its left to also glimpse a hairline (2 percent illuminated) waning crescent moon.

Binoculars will prove beneficial in making this sighting. Ascending Jupiter pulls ever closer to descending Venus as July ends.

Saturn

Saturn begins rising in the east around 12:30 a.m. local daylight time at the start of the month; two hours earlier by month's end. But it's best seen telescopically before and during morning twilight, when it's much higher in the south. Saturn is in Pisces to the lower left of the small, dim star pattern known as the Circlet and Pegasus's large, bright Great Square.

But, of course, it's the telescopic view of Saturn that we long for. This July we see the famous rings tipped toward Earth at just about their maximum inclination for 2025, only 3.5 degrees. During the predawn hours of July 16, Saturn will appear as a bright yellowish-white "star" a few degrees below the moon.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, Sky and Telescope and other publications.

Editor's Note: If you get a great photo of any of the planets and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.