If you look to the eastern sky in the hours just before dawn, you’ll likely notice two stars shining brightly. The two “stars” are actually planets: Venus and Jupiter.

Venus is the third brightest object in the night sky, behind the sun and the moon. Right now Jupiter is the next brightest object in the sky behind Venus.

The planets shine especially brightly at the end of July and will continue shining vibrantly this week in the morning hours from about 3:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.

By the way, you can also catch a glimpse of two other planets in the evening sky. Mars and Saturn are visible at the end of July if you look to the southwest just after sunset.

A heads-up for shooting star enthusiasts: the Delta Aquarids meteor shower will peak around July 28-29. The well-known Perseid meteor shower will peak on the mornings of August 12 and 13.