Hi, I'm Sonia,
I have been into astronomy since 1997 when I was 11 years old when comet Hale-Bopp was around. I remember being in the back garden with my dad and he was showing me how to take a photo of it with his old Fujica camera, that I still have now.
Ever since then I've been fascinated with space. I started with a very cheap Tasco telescope from Argos to look at the moon, went onto a Meade goto ETX-90 telescope, which unfortunately due to age stopped working.
I currently use a Skywatcher 10" Dobsonian, to mostly photograph the moon and also the planets. I also have a Seestar S50 which got me into deep sky imaging which I love!
More recently I have also aquired a Seestar S30 and a Vespera II
lastly a Coronado PST for solar imaging.
I have two Bsc (Hons) open degrees in "Introducing Astronomy" and "The Planets"
Elected in 2023 I am a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society
Along with my blog for StarDome, I'm also a freelancer for the BBC Sky at Night magazine
and a "Go Stargazing" Astronomer. I am also the director of the British Astronomical Association (BAA) Equipment and Techniques Section
Clear Skies
Sonia
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JULY 2026
The July night sky is full of bright planets and the glow of the Milky Way arching over the long evenings. The nights might be short, but they are still beautiful.
Seasonal Constellations:
Scorpius is low in the South from the UK, but its red heart Antares is unmistakeable. Sagittarius known as the “teapot” asterism tips toward the horizon; above it lies the densest part of the Milky WayCygnus is flying overhead, marking the northern arm of the Milky WayLyra, home to Vega one of the brightest stars in the SummerAquila has the star Altair that forms the third point of the Summer Triangle.
The Milky Way:
is like a river of light in July, you will need a dark site away from any city glow.You will be able to notice a band running from northeast to southwestDark lanes and patches which are dust clouds blocking starlightThe galactic centre sits low in the South, glowing behind Sagittarius.
Deep Sky Objects:
M13: The Great Hercules Cluster, high overheadM57: The ring nebula in Lyra that looks like a tiny smoke ringM8: The Lagoon Nebula, rich and textured in long exposure times M20: The Trifid Nebula, colourful in astrophotography
Planets:
Mercury is too close to the sun Venus is an evening star at magnitude -4.2 and sets around 11pmMars rises at 2am in the constellation Taurus at a magnitude of +1.3Jupiter at the start of July will be to the lower right of Venus at a magnitude of -1.8 and then disappears.Saturn will be at a magnitude of +0.8 in the constellation Pisces and rises just after midnight.Uranus rises around 1:30am at a magnitude of +5.8, best seen in binoculars.Neptune is 10 degrees to the right of Saturn at a magnitude of +7.7.
Meteors:
The Delta Aquariids begin in early July, a steady shower.The Perseids start to show.
On the 6th July Earth reaches aphelion, this being its furthest point from the sun, every early July, the earth and sun stretch a distance of to about 152.1 million km
This is because of the Earth’s rotation being slightly elliptical than a perfect circle with its orbit. Over the year our distance changes. At aphelion, earth is roughly 4.8 million km further than the perihelion in early January.
Aphelion subtly influences season length, solar intensity and orbital precession.
Earth moves slightly slower at aphelion, so the summer nights are longer
The dates of aphelion shift gradually over centuries due to gravitational interactions.
Happy July Stargazing and clear skies!
Sonia x
