Venus is setting around 8 pm. It is only visible for a short time right after sunset. It is slowly getting better visible.

Saturn has its opposition on September 7 (opposition means it is opposite of the Sun from Earth, is usually at its closest to Earth, and is visible all night). Its rings are only 4 degrees open..

Neptune is 10 degrees east of Saturn. It comes into opposition September 20.

Uranus is now rising before midnight, 6 degrees south of the Pleiades.

Mars is rising around 1 am. It passes 5 degrees north of Aldebaran on August 4. Both are first magnitude with similar orange color.

Jupiter in Taurus gets passed by Mars only .3 degrees to the north on August 14. This means you can see both planetary disks in a telescope in the same field of view.

Mercury has a good but short morning visibility from August 29 to September 19. On September 9 it passes .5 degrees north of Regulus. While Mercury is easily visible, Regulus is 2 magnitudes fainter and close to the limit of visibility.

The Moon passes 1 degree north of Venus on August 5, 1 degree south of Antares on August 13, .5 degrees from Saturn on August 20. It is near Mars and Jupiter on August 27, near Mercury on September 1, and near Venus again on September 4. It occults Saturn on September 17 from 4:14 to 5:04 am. The same evening brings a small partial lunar eclipse right after sunset, from 7:12 to 8:17 pm (PDT or Tucson MST) September 17. Visible throughout the U.S.

The Perseid meteor shower peaks around August 12. Best viewed from a dark site in the early morning hours, but you may see some during the evening hours.

T Coronae Borealis COULD become a bright nova during these two months. Look for it in the Corona Borealis constellation, which is a curve of stars high to the west early evening (highest at 6 pm and setting around 1:42 am). It is near the constellation of Bootes (which looks like a kite or ice cream cone and is anchored by the bright star Arcturus (find Arcturus by following the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to Arcturus — “Arc to Arcturus”) T Coronae Borealis is to the south of the upper star in the constellation (furthest away from the brightest “Alpha Star” constellation star). If it goes Nova, it will become very bright for a short period of time (probably a few days). It will outshine the Alpha star. Watch for news then go spot it. It will appear very bright. Last time it went Nova was in 1946. T Coronae Borealis is a double star (cool red giant and a hot white dwarf).

Mercury is visible all month at dusk. It is best in the second week of July.

Venus is also visible all month at dusk. If you look before 8 pm, you will see Venus very low in the WNW. If you look after 8 pm, you see Mercury much higher and further left. They could be mixed up if you look at 8 pm because Venus may hide behind the horizon.

Saturn rises around 10 pm. In a telescope it shows its rings almost edge-on.

Mars rises around 1 am and gets 30 degrees high by dawn. It moves closer to Aldebaran which is of the same magnitude and almost the same color.

Jupiter is 40 degrees east of Mars at the beginning of July and thus rises much later, but the distance shrinks to 8 degrees by the end of the month for a close August 14 conjunction.

Uranus is .6 degrees north or Mars on the 15th. Neptune is close to Saturn.

The first minor planet and dwarf planet Ceres is in opposition on the 5th low in Sagittarius. At magnitude 8, one can find it in binoculars.

The extremely thin moon sits between Mercury and Venus on the 6th. It is more difficult to find than Mercury. The next evening the moon is very easy to see above Mercury. On the 30th, the moon joins Mars, Jupiter, and Aldebaran, all close together.

The most impressive event is the occultation of Spica by the moon on the 13th from 7:54 to 9:14 pm. At the disappearance, dusk is still bright so Spica is probably not visible naked eye, but great in a telescopes. At the reappearance, the bright limb of the moon makes it challenging to see Spica at the very moment of the event.

There are NO planets visible in the evening except for Mercury starting June 24th around 8 pm.

Saturn rises around 1 am, and just before midnight by the end of June. It is well up at dawn, visible with a thin ring only 2 degrees tilted.

Mars follows between 1 and 2 am.

Jupiter becomes visible again at dawn after June 5th.

Venus is moving into the evening sky and will become visible in early July.

The Moon shows a thin crescent on June 7th below Castor and Pollux. It occults Saturn on June 27th at 9 am, visible in a telescope since the Moon is easy to find. The exit at 10 will be more difficult because the moon will be only 14 degrees high and the location at the lunar dark limb will be hard to find.