What to See in the Summer Night Sky - Planets, Meteor Showers and DSO
The summer night sky can be a wonderful time for stargazing and despite the light evenings, there's much to be seen at this time of year.

By Tim Trott | What to See in the Sky at Night | June 14, 2013

1,061 words, estimated reading time 4 minutes.

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Find out what to see in the nights sky this month.

Summer Night Sky Planets

Mercury will be visible in the evening sky from mid-February to early March and in the morning from late March to early May. Mercury returns to the evening sky between early June and mid-July, then back to the morning sky between early August to mid-August. Look for Mercury again in the evening sky between late September and early November. Mercury will be brightest in the evening sky between February and March.

Venus is always brilliant, shining with a steady, silvery light. Mornings in the eastern sky at dawn from early January through to mid-June. Then, because of its proximity to the sun, it will be invisible all through the summer into the early fall. Venus will return to the evening, in the western sky at dusk from Early October through the end of December.

Mars, The Red Planet is visible in the night sky from January to mid-July, then shifts to the morning sky from mid-Oct to the end of December.

Jupiter is a splendid object visible in the southern sky as soon as darkness falls and does not set until early morning. Using higher magnifications you will see the yellowish flattened disc and the four Galilean satellites. You should be able to follow the movement of these moons from night to night. It will be visible in the mornings from January to May, evenings from May to November, and mornings again from mid-December to the end of December.

Saturn shines like a yellowish-white "star" of moderate brightness. The famous rings are only visible in a telescope. Saturn is visible in the mornings from late January to early July, and then in the evenings from July to December.

Summer Deep Sky Objects

The first stunning summer deep-sky object is the rather large summer Milky Way in Sagittarius, Scutum, Ophiuchus and Aquila. It is a particularly awe-inspiring sight, especially from dark sky sites. To get a good view of it from the UK it is best to travel to a site with a very clear southern horizon.

The Milky Way beckons to a sky watcher in the south of France.

Nestled within the Milky Way in the constellation of Sagittarius, just above the spout of the Teapot asterism, you'll find the Lagoon Nebula (M8). It's a great object to look at with binoculars and even better in a small telescope.

About 7° to the East of the Lagoon Nebula lies the magnificent globular cluster of M22. You shouldn't have too much trouble picking it out using binoculars, but for a real WOW, try observing it with a large telescope to see it sitting against the glittering starfields of the Galaxy.

There are several other striking summer nebulae in this region of the sky. The Eagle Nebula (M16) and M17 are excellent targets for 6 to 8-inch reflectors; located in Serpens and Sagittarius respectively. Not far away in Scutum lies the Wild Duck Cluster, M11.

Summer Meteor Showers

Summer is a quiet time for meteor showers, the only one of note is the Perseids which are active from July 13 to August 26, reaching a strong maximum on August 11th - 13th.