July is the last month we have Venus in the western sky after sundown. The Earth's closest and bright neighbor is appearing lower in the western sky each night. We watched Venus on Tuesday night, the night of the fireworks and noted the planet no longer commands the height in the western sky of just a few weeks ago. Venus is sinking in our western sky. Each night ahead, Venus appears closer where the setting sun, set previously. Venus is also closer to the Earth. Right now Venus is only 45 million miles away. By the end of the month Venus will only be 29 million miles away, almost too close to the setting sun to be seen amid the sun's brilliant glow.

Enjoy these final weeks of Venus in our night sky. The planet will shift to our morning sky in August.

The red planet Mars is hard to see, near Venus. The two have separated. Mars is a dull red and you'll get a more certain view if you look with binoculars. Right next to Mars is the bright star Regulus, the main star in the zodiacal constellation Leo.