August Skies
A brief overview of what to see in the sky with the unaided eye:
Stars and Constellations
● Aquila and nearby smaller constellations of Delphinus and Scutum are
convenient to see during August evenings
● Aquila is high in the southern sky and its brightest star, Altair, is part of
the summer triangle and easy to see from urban skies
● Look for the smaller constellation of Delphinus above and east of Aquila, and
look for Scutum below (south of) Aquila
● The summer Milky Way flows southward through these constellations, and is a
fine sight in dark skies
● Sagittarius is low in the southern sky but prominent and easy to see from
moderately dark skies away from urban areas
Planets
● Mercury is at greatest western elongation from the Sun August 2 and is
visible very low in the east-northeastern pre-dawn sky during the first week of
August, and then becomes not practically visible. It reaches conjunction with
the Sun August 27 and afterward will move into the evening sky
● Venus is brightly visible in the western sky after sunset and reaches
greatest eastern elongation from the Sun August 15
● Mars is visible in the pre-dawn eastern sky moving from the Taurus to the
Gemini constellations
● Jupiter becomes visible very low in the east-northeastern pre-dawn sky in the
Cancer constellation during the last week of August
● Saturn rises before midnight during early August and rises
during mid-evening during late August in the Pisces constellation
Moon Phases
● Last Quarter Moon August 5, 22:21 EDT
● New Moon August 12, 13:36 EDT
● First Quarter Moon August 19, 22:46 EDT
● Full Moon August 28, 00:18 EDT
Noteworthy Sky Events
§ August 12/13: peak night of Perseid meteor shower
§ August 27/28: partial eclipse of the moon during the evening of August 27 with maximum eclipse after midnight (EDT 00:12 August 28)
Some website resources for sky charts, weekly sky events, and more information:
● astrogeo.ca/skylights
● www.heavens-above.com
● In-the-sky.org
● www.skyandtelescope.org
● www.skymaps.com
Monthly Sky Chart for mid-August, mid-evening
(courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):
