What to see in the summer sky

June, July and August

Short nights, warm ones, and the Milky Way at its best: in summer you are looking straight into our own galaxy.

Everything below is highest in the evening in these months. South of the equator the months are the same, but they fall in the opposite season.

With your own eyes

VegastarNaked eyeThe galactic bar and bulgepart of the galaxyNaked eye

With binoculars

RR LyraeRR Lyrae variableBinocularsThe Dumbbell Nebulaplanetary nebulaBinocularsThe Lagoon Nebulaemission nebulaBinocularsThe Hercules Cluster (M13)globular star clusterBinoculars

With a small telescope

The Ring Nebulaplanetary nebula150 mm telescopeThe Eagle Nebulaemission nebula150 mm telescopeSco X-1X-ray binary150 mm telescope

And the planets?

Planets do not keep to seasons — they wander, which is what the word means. Each one has its own page with a month-by-month table saying when to look for it.