What’s Up in the Sky – August 2024
AAA Observers’ August Guide
August’s Evening Planets: Bright Venus will be up until around 9 PM moving between Leo the Lion and Virgo the Maiden through August. Mercury will be between Leo the Lion and Sextans the Sextant until around 8 PM in the first week of August. Find Saturn in Aquarius the Water-bearer all night. Uranus will be in Taurus the Bull as of midnight and rising earlier every night. Neptune in Pisces the Fish as of 10 PM and rising earlier every night until 8 PM by the end of the month. 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: Find Mercury between Leo the Lion and Cancer the Crab as of 5 AM in the last week of August. Bright Jupiter and red Mars will be in Taurus the Bull until sunrise. Saturn will be in Aquarius, the Water Bearer, lingering until sunrise. Uranus will be in Taurus the Bull and Neptune in Pisces the Fish 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, 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 4 New Moon at 7:15 AM
- Aug 8 Moon at apogee (251,800 miles away)
- Aug 10 Moon is ¾° north of Spica
- Aug 12 Perseid meteor shower peaks, pre-dawn
- Aug 12 First Quarter Moon at 11:20 AM
- Aug 10 Moon is .004° south of Antares
- Aug 19 Full Sturgeon Supermoon at 2:25 PM
- Aug 20 Moon is ½ ° north of Saturn
- Aug 21 Moon at perigee (223,800 miles away)
- Aug 26 Third Quarter Moon at 5:25 AM
- Aug 29 Pollux, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Aldebaran line up – Predawn
Times given in EDT.
