What’s Up in the August Sky

Looking south from NYC on Friday, 09 August 2019, a little past 9:00PM EDT. Sky Safari star map annotated with Annotable by Peter Tagatac.

August’s Evening Planets:

Find bright Jupiter between Scorpius the Scorpion and Ophiuchus the Serpent bearer all until 2AM at the beginning of August and setting earlier every night until midnight by the end of the month. Saturn and dwarf Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer all night. Uranus will be in Pisces the Fish around midnight and rising earlier every day. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer all night.

August’s Evening Stars:

Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle all night. See Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion, Capella in Auriga the Charioteer,  and Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman. Also, find the stars of constellations Ophiuchus, Libra, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Hercules, Aquarius, Andromeda, Draco, Pegasus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

Looking north from NYC on early morning 13 August, 2019, a little past midnight EDT during Perseid meteor shower. Sky Safari star map annotated with Annotable by Peter Tagatac.

August’s Morning Planets:

Bright Venus will be in Cancer the Crab in the first week of August as of 6 AM. Mercury will be between Gemini the Twins and Leo the Lion as of 5 AM. Uranus will be in Pisces and Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer until sunrise.

August’s Morning Stars:

Look for Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull,  Castor and Pollux in in Gemini the Twins, Beetlejuice and Rigel in Orion the Hunter, as well as the stars of constellations Lyra, Aquarius, Cetus, Orion, Pisces, Aries, Draco, Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Perseus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

August Skylights

  • Aug   2 Moon at perigee (223,300 miles away)
  • Aug   7 First Quarter Moon at 1:30 PM
  • Aug   9 Saturn, Moon, Jupiter and Spica line up around 9 PM looking south
  • Aug 13 Perseid meteor shower peaks, pre-dawn
  • Aug 15 Full Moon at  8:30 AM
  • Aug 17  Moon at apogee (252,400 miles away)
  • Aug 23 Third Quarter Moon at 10:55 AM
  • Aug 25 Moon in the Middle of the Winter Hexagon – dawn
  • Aug 30  New Moon at 6:37 AM
  • Aug 30 Moon at perigee (221,900 miles away)

Times given in EDT.