Early August: Comet NEOWISE Fading. Get in your photos while you can, because comet NEOWISE will be gone in a matter of days, and it won’t be around again until about 6,200 years in the future.
August 1: Close Approach of Moon & Jupiter. Look to the skies during the sunset of August 1st to see Jupiter and the Moon getting up close and personal. If you watch for a few hours, you’ll see Jupiter become even clearer as the light pollution fades.
August 2: Close Approach of Moon & Saturn. It’s Saturn’s turn! Saturn is a little less bright, but is still extremely visible in the sky right now. Saturn and Pluto have also been sharing the same section of the sky for the last few years, so you can use the Moon and Saturn as a guide to spot the dwarf planet as well.
August 9: Close Approach of Moon & Mars. After a few days, Mars will sail in and take a seat right next to the moon. They’ll be the closest in the pre-dawn hours of the 9th, so you’ll probably be able to see them late on the 8th as well.
August 12: Peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. This meteor shower peaks annually in the middle of August, and it’s back again! During the peak, you can expect to see around 150 meteors per hour! That’s tons opportunities for wishes. To find them, look towards the northeastern sky, where their trail will begin.
August 15: Close Approach of Moon & Venus. Lots of planet sightings this month! The peak time for viewing Venus will be right after sunset on the 15th.
August 17: Peak of the K-Cygnid Meteor Shower. This shower will be a lot more tame than Perseid shower, but there are still plenty of opportunities to see some shooting stars. There will be around 3 meteors an hour for this one. To find them, look towards the northeastern horizon.
August 28: Ceres and Massalia visible, Close Approach of Moon & Jupiter. A busy day in the heavens! The dwarf planet Ceres, which isn’t always easy to spot, will be extremely visible in the center of the constellation Aquarius. The asteroid Massalia will be right beside it in the sky! At the same time, Jupiter will edge close to the moon again and will appear even brighter than earlier in the month.
August 29: Close Approach of Moon & Saturn. This time around, they’ll get even closer! The light conditions will be fairly similar, though, so this is a great chance to see Saturn if you missed it on the 2nd.
August 31: Peak of the Augrid Meteor Shower. The final event of August will be quite spectacular if you’re able to avoid the brightness of the near-full moon and if your on the southern half of the northern hemisphere. This meteor shower will average around 6 meteors per day in the morning of the 31st, so it will be great way to start your morning commute. Unfortunately, though, people who are too far north will be too far to see anything.
