Live coverage of the partial solar eclipse

Our Sun is a volatile star, producing giant clouds of solar particles called coronal mass ejections. Now scientists may finally have a tool to predict the magnetic configuration of a CME from afar, enabling forecasters to give utility grid and satellite operators a day’s advance warning to protect their systems.

With the transit of Mercury just two days away, interest in this comparatively rare event is growing fast. Given the favourable timing of this 7½-hour phenomenon for the UK, many will be able to view it at lunchtime or after work. If you don’t have suitably equipped telescope, join one of the many transit-viewing activities hosted by astronomical organisations nationwide.

Outermost planet Neptune reaches opposition on 2 September 2016, this year marking the 170th anniversary of the gas giant’s discovery. But you don’t have to wait six week to observe the farthest known planet of the solar system, because the waning gibbous Moon drops close by in the small hours of Saturday, 23 July as seen from the British Isles.