Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A predawn meetup between the Moon and planets, a returning comet, dark skies for the Milky Way, and Saturn's unusually thin rings.
Before sunrise on July 11 and 12, look east/southeast for the waning crescent Moon, Mars, and Saturn. Uranus is in the same part of the sky, but you will need binoculars or a telescope to spot it.
Around July 14, use binoculars or a telescope to seek Comet 10P/Tempel 2 under dark skies of the New Moon. Those nights are also a great time to look for the Milky Way, while later in the month Saturn's rings appear strikingly thin through a telescope.
0:00 Intro
0:11 Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Uranus before dawn
0:47 Comet 10P/Tempel 2
1:35 Dark skies for the Milky Way
2:34 Saturn's thin rings
2:57 July Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What's Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up.
— Additional Resources —
Find events and clubs with NASA's Night Sky Network: science.nasa.gov/skywatching/night-sky-network
Skywatching resources from NASA: science.nasa.gov/skywatching
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A predawn meetup between the Moon and planets, a returning comet, dark skies for the Milky Way, and Saturn's unusually thin rings.
Before sunrise on July 11 and 12, look east/southeast for the waning crescent Moon, Mars, and Saturn. Uranus is in the same part of the sky, but you will need binoculars or a telescope to spot it.
Around July 14, use binoculars or a telescope to seek Comet 10P/Tempel 2 under dark skies of the New Moon. Those nights are also a great time to look for the Milky Way, while later in the month Saturn's rings appear strikingly thin through a telescope.
0:00 Intro
0:11 Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Uranus before dawn
0:47 Comet 10P/Tempel 2
1:35 Dark skies for the Milky Way
2:34 Saturn's thin rings
2:57 July Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What's Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up.
— Additional Resources —
Find events and clubs with NASA's Night Sky Network: science.nasa.gov/skywatching/night-sky-network
Skywatching resources from NASA: science.nasa.gov/skywatching
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
