Would you like to see a comet or asteroid tonight?
Comets, asteroids and other Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are a fascinating sight to behold, if you can manage to spot one in the night sky.
Equipment: NikonZ6 Mod camera, Samyang 135mm lens. Comet (stacked): 60 photos (5sec, ISO 640, f2.8 ). Foreground: 5sec , Hdr
Many will remember the appearance of Comet Hale-Bopp in the 1990s, or much more recently, the beautiful sights of Comet NEOWISE and Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF that made headlines around the world and enticed us all to take a look up at the evening sky.
Asteroid Vesta, for example, is one member of the Asteroid Belt that can also be seen, provided you know where and when to look.
But how do you spot comets and asteroids in the night sky? Is there a comet tonight that's visible where you are?
Find out in our guide to which comets and asteroids are visible tonight and over the coming weeks.
For help understanding what our brightness indicators mean, read our guide to stellar magnitude.
If you're a complete beginner, get started with our guide to astronomy for beginners.
Comet 10P/Tempel
The good news is that comet 10P/Tempel continues to be visible and is brightening throughout July 2026.
The less good news is that its declination is dropping as it tracks south through eastern Capricornus, towards the ‘tail’ end of Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish.
But a brightening comet is always welcome and the timing is good, 10P/Tempel increasing in magnitude from +8.4 at the start of July to become a predicted binocular-friendly +7.7 by the month’s end.
The timing is good because this coincides with the night sky now getting a little darker following the lightest period around the solstice on 21 June.
Of course, there’s another major light-giver in the night sky to contend with too: the Moon. At the start of July, the Moon will be big, bright and low, but it will be poorly placed for comet hunting.
It phases into a thin waning crescent by 10 July and shouldn’t interfere that much, then keeping out of the way until 26 July or – if you want to take it up to the wire – you might get a view in on the morning
of 27 July.
After that, the Moon becomes a nuisance again until the second week in August, by which time the comet should be around mag. +7.8 but just starting on its downward fade.
Of course, it will be even lower in the sky by then, but at least the sky will be starting to get properly dark.
Typically for a comet, 10P/Tempel will require a balancing act between sky brightness, position, the Moon and no doubt the weather, to get the best out of it. But to be honest, this challenge is part of the enjoyment when it comes to observing comets.
Asteroid 3 Juno
Minor planet 3 Juno reaches opposition on 27 July when it can be found nestled among the stars of eastern Aquila.
Discovered in 1804 by the German astronomer Karl Harding, Juno is the 13th-largest asteroid, a position it shares with 31 Euphrosyne and 324 Bamberga.
Despite this, it is normally relatively faint, only reaching a peak brightness around seventh magnitude roughly every 10th opposition or every 13 years.
The last time this occurred was in December 2005, when it reached mag. +7.6, and in November 2018, when it was at mag. +7.5.
Opposition this year isn’t particularly favourable, Juno reaching mag. +9.1. That’s too dim for average binoculars, so you’ll need at least a small telescope to see it convincingly.
At the start of the month, you can find Juno 0.6° south of mag. +4.9 star 69 Aquilae.
The good news is that Juno’s track isn’t long throughout July – it moves just a fraction over 6.1° in a direction that takes it west below the eastern wing of Aquila, a point marked by mag. +3.2 Theta (θ) Aquilae.
The asteroid sits 3.8° south of this star on the night of 23/24 July.
Share your comet observations and images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
