August’s Evening Planets

Find bright Jupiter and Saturn in Sagittarius the Archer all night. Red Mars will be in Pisces the Fish as of midnight every night and rising earlier every night until 10 PM by the end of the month.  Uranus will be in Pisces the Fish around midnight and rising earlier every day. Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer all night. Dwarf Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer 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).

August’s Morning Planets

Bright Venus will be moving between Taurus the Bull and Gemini the Twins throughout July as of 3 AM. Find bright Jupiter and Saturn in Sagittarius the Archer until 4 AM and set earlier every night  until 2M by the end of the month.  In the first week of July, Mercury will be between Gemini the Twins and Cancer the Crab as from 5 AM until sunrise. Find red Mars will be in Pisces the Fish until sunrise. Uranus will be in Pisces the Fish and Neptune is in Aquarius the Water bearer until sunrise. Dwarf Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer until around 3 AM.

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, Betelgeuse 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   3 Full Moon at noon
• Aug   4 Moon, Saturn, Jupiter and Spica line up around 10 PM looking south
• Aug   8 Mars, Moon, Saturn, and Jupiter line up around midnight looking southeast
• Aug   9  Moon at apogee (251,400 miles away)
• Aug 12 Perseid meteor shower peaks, pre-dawn
• Aug 11 Third Quarter Moon at 12:45 PM
• Aug 18  New Moon at 10:40 PM
• Aug 21 Moon at perigee (225,900 miles away)
• Aug 25 First Quarter Moon at 1:57 PM
• Aug 29 Saturn, Jupiter, Moon form a small triangle, under the big Summer Triangle, midnight

Times given in EDT.

Resources

Download Ken Graun’s August 2020 sky chart for reference and observing ideas.
Another equally helpful resource is Skymaps monthly evening sky charts available for different hemispheres. Download The Evening Sky Map for August.