August's night sky will be filled with things to see, including multiple meteor showers, visible planets, and the summer's last full moon. Here's a list of things to check out!
Meteor showers
Perseid meteor shower
The Perseid shower, named for the Perseus constellation, is made of debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet. It will peak on the night between Thursday, August 12, and Friday, August 13. On this night, viewers may see 60 to 100 meteors in an hour if the sky is clear. The shower will continue until August 26, though meteors may be less frequent.
Kappa Cygnids meteor shower
It will peak on the night between Wednesday, August 18, and Thursday, August 19. Viewers could be around 3 meteors per hour if the sky is clear. The shower will start on August 6 and continue until August 25, but meteors will be infrequent.
The moon
Phases for this month are as follows:
- New moon - Sunday, August 8.
- First quarter - Sunday, August 15.
- Sturgeon moon - Sunday, August 22.
- Also known as the 'green corn moon', 'red moon', and 'grain moon', this moon will be seen near stars Aquarius and Capricornus. This full moon is linked with the end of the summer and the start of the harvest.
- Third quarter - Monday, August 30.
The moon will be visible near Venus on August 10, will pass Saturn on August 20, will pass Jupiter on August 21, and will be bright near Uranus on August 27.
The planets and stars
Venus will set around 90 minutes after the Sun all month, with distant giants Uranus and Neptune more visible in the morning sky. Mars will become more difficult to observe.
Planets will be clearly visible on August 2 (Saturn), August 18 (Mercury and Mars together), and August 20 (Jupiter, Uranus).
Jupiter's moons will be visible multiple times this month, on August 8, 15, 22, and 29. On August 29, Jupiter's Great Red Spot will also be visible.
The asteroid belt, Juno, will be visible on August 4, and The Milky Way will be visible on August 6. On August 25, double stars will be within Lyras Parallelogram, and on August 27, the teapot constellation will tilt West.
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