Starwatch: The July night sky

What to look out for in the night sky over the month ahead

Our notes for June concluded with advice to watch for noctilucent clouds low in the N sky between the NW after dusk and the NE before dawn. This proved timely, for the first decent display of these "night shining" electric-blue clouds of ice were sighted widely from Britain within a couple of days and there have been others since. Expect more until mid-August.

Although the Sun has turned southwards, Britain's summer twilight is slow to subside and we must wait until late in July to savour true darkness with no interfering moonlight.