Last week I had everyone up early at stupid-o'clock to try and see a thin waning crescent Moon in the dawn sky.  This week you could try catching a thin waxing crescent Moon in the evening sky.  The phase is now called "waxing" or "becoming brighter" as there was a New Moon on 23rd August and it is now heading towards a Full Moon.

Venture outside at sunset on Tuesday 26th, say from about 8pm and look towards the west south west.  A waxing 12%-lit crescent Moon will be just about to set below the horizon.  Slightly above and to the right of the Moon, it should be possible to spot Mars, shining at a magnitude of +1.6 and because the Sun will have disappeared below the horizon, it would be totally safe to use your telescope for a better view of the Red Planet.

If you have a decent-size telescope and you are feeling the urge for an early morning start, aim it towards the south west just before 5am on Tuesday 27th and locate Saturn.  Saturn's largest moon Titan will be starting to enter the shadow of the gas giant, which means that Titan will be eclipsed by the planet and will gradually become a "quarter" and then "crescent" phase.

Alternatively, point your telescope towards the east around 4am on Sunday 31st to catch the shadow of Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede as it transits in front of the planet.  The transit actually begins at 3.30am and lasts until 6.30am, so you could pick any slot between those times if you oversleep a bit!

I mentioned spotting Mercury in the dawn sky last week.  On Tuesday 19th, the planet reaches its greatest  western elongation, which in practice means that it will be in the best position for viewing, appearing above the eastern horizon about an hour before sunrise.  Mercury will have a magnitude of around +0.1

If you look towards the east around 5am on the Tuesday morning, there will actually be a veritable visual feast for the naked eye, as above and slightly to the right of Mercury, you will be able to see Venus, Jupiter and a 10%-lit waning crescent Moon forming a straight line.  Venus will have a magnitude of -3.9 and Jupiter around -1.8 so everyone will be very bright and easy to spot.

When you've finished with them, look further to the right to catch the whole of Orion, with the bright stars Betelgeuse and Rigel.  The constellation will look like it is on its side at this time of year and be quite close to the horizon.  During the winter months, it appears higher in the night sky and is then better-placed for detailed viewing.

You should be able to notice that Betelgeuse has a reddish tint, while Rigel is more blueish.  This is because Betelgeuse is a big old red giant star, but Rigel is much younger and hotter.

If you repeat the exercise at 5am a couple of days later, on Thursday 21st, the three planets will appear near enough in the same position, but the Moon will now be found just above Mercury and our natural satellite will be a very hard-to-spot 4%-lit crescent as it heads towards a New Moon phase on 23rd.

If you are up very early on Monday 11th, around 4am, it will still be dark, with Jupiter and Venus shining very brightly towards the east north east.  Jupiter will have a magnitude of about -2.0, while Venus, just to the right of Jupiter, will be even brighter at a magnitude of -4.0

Although the two planets look very close together because of the angle you are viewing them at from the Earth, in reality they are many millions of miles apart.  Venus is a rocky planet within what is known as the Inner Solar System that stretches out as far as the Asteroid Belt.  Jupiter, being one of the huge gas giants, lives in the Outer Solar System beyond the Asteroid Belt.

If you look to the right of the pair, you should be able to see the constellation of Orion on its side, closer to the horizon.  The red giant star Betelgeuse will be easy to identify.

Stay outside until about 5am to catch planet Mercury popping up above the east north east horizon.  It will be much harder to observe in the dawn sky with a magnitude of around +2.0 and as the Sun will be rising in the same place, please don't be tempted to risk using a telescope to obtain a better view!

On a completely different note, the evening of Tuesday 12th sees the peak of the annual Perseids meteor shower.  At 11pm, the radiant point where the shooting stars appear to originate from, will be located towards the north east, a little below the obvious "W" shape of the constellation Cassiopeia.  Unfortunately, a waning gibbous Moon rising above the horizon towards the east will create some light pollution.

If you venture outside any night next week, Saturn will be an easy target, shining at a magnitude of around +0.7 and at midnight, the planet will have just risen above the east south east horizon.  It then spends the rest of the night moving across the sky towards the west.

If you've brought your telescope out, planet Neptune can be found just above Saturn.  It's current magnitude of about +8.0 makes is much harder to spot!

While your telescope is aiming in that direction, it should be possible to observe some of Saturn's many moons.  Unfortunately its famous dust rings are not best-placed at the moment for observing from the Earth.

At the end of the week, we have a Full Moon.  The Moon will be visible most of the night as it travels from east to west and the light pollution from it, makes this the worst time possible to go looking for faint deep sky objects.

So instead, why not see if you can experience that "Moon illusion" that I have mentioned before, where as the Moon rises above the horizon, it looks artificially large because your brain plays a trick on you.

On the evening of Thursday 7th, look towards the south east just as it's getting dark, around 9.30pm and our celestial neighbour should be pretty obvious!  If you keep watching the Moon later into the night, as it climbs higher in the sky, it will appear to go back to its normal size.  Of course, it doesn't really change size - it is just an optical illusion!

Just as it's getting dark on the evening of Monday 28th, say around 9.30pm, look towards the west to observe a waxing crescent Moon disappearing below the horizon, with planet Mars a little above and to the right of it.

The evening of Wednesday 30th into the early hours of Thursday 31st sees the peak of the Southern Aquariid meteor shower.  Around midnight, the constellation of Aquarius, where the radiant point (or origin) of the meteor shower is located, will be found towards the south east.  It can be a great shower to watch with a Zenith Hourly Rate of around 25.....in plain English, that means on average there can be up to 25 shooting stars per hour if conditions are working in your favour.

Venture back outside again on the Thursday evening, around 11pm, to catch Saturn popping its head above the eastern horizon.  Aquarius will be to the right, so although past its peak, you may still catch a few meteors from the shower if you keep an eye in that direction.

Moving into August and swapping over to an early morning,  look towards the east around 5am on Sunday morning to see Jupiter and Venus rise above the horizon.  Both will be very obvious, with Jupiter around a magnitude of -1.8 and Venus to the right of it, shining at -3.9 which is even brighter.  No telescope required for this one and also not recommended as the Sun will be rising in the same area of the sky and you must never risk catching an accidental glimpse of it in your eyepiece!

We'll start with a bit of a visual challenge for early risers, around 4am on Wednesday 23rd.  Look towards the north east to see a very bright, magnitude -1.8 Jupiter.  Not much of a challenge there, but just above Jupiter will be a hard-to-spot thin 3%-lit waning crescent Moon.  Look further to the right to find an incredibly bright, magnitude -4.0 planet Venus.

A constellation is a group of visible stars that form a perceived shape - often animals or mythological creatures and they can date back thousands of years.  In 1922, the International Astronomical Union formally adopted the current list of 88 different constellations.  There are other patterns of stars that form easily-recognisable shapes that astronomers use to find their way around the night sky - these are called "asterisms" and they may be part of a larger constellation.

One such example is known as the "Teapot" and it is part of the constellation Sagittarius.  Towards the end of the week, if you look towards the south around midnight, Sagittarius will appear close to the horizon and the "Teapot" asterism should be obvious......it looks like a teapot with the handle, lid and spout!

A little to the right of the teapot's lid are a couple of Messier objects to aim your telescope towards - M8 "The Lagoon Nebula" and M20 "The Trifid Nebula".  M8 is classed as an emission nebula, where stars are created and with a magnitude of about +4.6 you might just be able to make out a faint fuzzy blob with the naked eye from a very dark location.  M20 is another emission nebula, but with a magnitude of +6.3 you will definitely need your telescope or binoculars for that one!

If you pop outside around 1am on Wednesday 16th, a 71%-lit waning gibbous Moon will have risen above the horizon towards the east south east.  A little below and to the left of it, you should be able to locate Saturn shining quite brightly and a much harder-to-see planet Neptune.  Neptune has a magnitude of around +7.0 so you would need a telescope to spot that one.

During the week, the Moon will have gone through its last quarter phase, when it is 50%-lit, so if you go back outside around 2am on Sunday 20th (what will then be) a 27%-lit waning crescent Moon rises above the horizon towards the east north east.  A little below and to the left of the Moon will be the Pleiades open cluster of stars and below that, planet Uranus.  Uranus will have a similar magnitude to Neptune, so it's "telescope time" again!

Talking of telescopes, at the beginning of August, I am running a "Telescope Masterclass" at the Ham Hill Visitor Centre, due to popular demand after the annual series of "Stars Over Somerset" evenings.  The date for your diary is Saturday 2nd August, 10am to 4pm.

The day is suitable for anyone thinking of investing in a telescope or wanting to get to grips with an instrument they already have collecting dust in the cupboard!  It will include talks about the different types of telescopes and accessories available, together with practical demonstrations.  You are welcome to bring your own telescope along for a health-check and to acquire tips on how to use it successfully.

To reserve places, please contact Paul McNeil at Ham Hill on 07973 887129 or via email to  countryside@somerset.gov.uk   Tickets are £10.

At the very beginning of the week, there is an excellent opportunity to spot the International Space Station.  At 1am on Monday 7th, the ISS will appear towards the west south west and pass just to the left of the red giant star Antares, before travelling directly overhead and then disappearing towards the east seven minutes later.

Antares has a magnitude of near-enough +1.0 which makes it the fifteenth brightest star in the night sky.  It is actually classed as a variable star and it's magnitude does slowly change a bit.  By contrast, the ISS will have a magnitude of about -3.9 on Monday evening, making it far brighter than Antares.

If you go back outside at 11pm on the Monday evening, Antares will now be located more towards the south and this time, it will appear very close to a 91%-lit waxing gibbous Moon.

Repeat your observing at 11pm again 3 days later, on Thursday 10th, to see what will then be a Full Moon rising above the horizon towards the south east.  Because it will be close to the horizon, you will experience the phenomenon called "moon illusion" that I mentioned the other week, where our neighbour appears much larger than it really is.

Change your gaze to the west a few minutes later to catch the ISS rising above the horizon again at 11.22pm.  This time it passes very close to the fourth brightest star in the night sky, the red giant Arcturus, before disappearing towards the east six minutes later.

A little challenge for telescope users around 2am on Monday 30th June.  Look towards the east south east to see Saturn shining at a magnitude of around +0.7 - no telescope needed for that one!  Just above and to the left of Saturn will be Neptune at a much fainter +7.9 which would be invisible to the naked eye.

Aiming your telescope towards Saturn should show its rings of dust at a 45 degree angle and some of the gas giant's many moons.

Although Neptune is the third-largest planet in our Solar System, its huge distance from us makes it appear very small and it is so far away from the Sun, that it is poorly illuminated.  In fact, Neptune is the only planet that was not first discovered by direct observation!

In the early 1800s, an astronomer named Alexis Bouvard tabulated the orbit of Uranus and noticed irregularities, concluding that they must be caused by the gravitational pull of another unknown planet.  Various other astronomers made calculations of where Neptune would be and it was finally observed using a telescope in 1846.  Neptune's largest moon Triton was discovered shortly afterwards, but it was not until the 20th century that we identified its other moons.

The Voyager 2 space probe flew past Neptune in 1989 and images of the planet reveal a large dark spot.  The planet appears pale blue due to the presence of Methane in its upper atmosphere.....I guess if you could visit Neptune, it wouldn't smell too good!