In the early hours of 11 July, the waning crescent moon will glide past the Pleiades star cluster, also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters. The pairing will be visible from London looking east-north-east at 3am BST, just as the sky begins to brighten for the coming day.
How to spot the moon and the Pleiades
The moon will be the easiest object to find: a thin crescent, only a few days old, with just 15% of its visible hemisphere illuminated. Its sunlit limb will point down toward the horizon. The compact smudge of the Pleiades will be just off the opposite, dark limb.
With the naked eye, the cluster often resembles a mini version of the Plough. Despite its common name, most people see only six stars without aid. However, binoculars will reveal many more stars within the cluster.
Additional celestial sights
Mars will also be nearby, though even lower toward the horizon in the constellation Taurus, the Bull. It will be a difficult but rewarding spot if you can pick it out of the rapidly brightening sky. The view is also visible from the southern hemisphere, but there Taurus rises in the north-east.
