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 becomes visible low in the pre-dawn sky by about the first week of August and reaches greatest eastern elongation August 19
●    Venus is brightly visible in the eastern sky before sunrise
●    Mars is visible with difficulty low in the western sky after sunset in the Virgo constellation
●    Jupiter rises during early morning and is prominent in the southeastern sky as a bright white light in the Gemini constellation
●    Saturn rises into the southeastern sky during the late evening, and is visible in the southern sky during early morning in the Pisces constellation

Moon Phases
●    First Quarter August 1, 08:41 EDT
●    Full Moon August 9, 03:55 EDT
●    Last Quarter August 16, 01:12 EDT
●    New Moon August 23, 02:07 EDT
●    First Quarter August 31, 02:25 EDT

Noteworthy Sky Events
●    The Perseid meteor shower is at or near peak activity during the night of August 12-13
●    August 12: Venus and Jupiter very close together in the eastern pre-dawn sky (also quite close together  August 11 and 13)

Sky Resources Online
Some website resources for sky charts and more information:
●    astrogeo.ca/skylights
●    www.heavens-above.com
●    In-the-sky.org
●    www.skyandtelescope.org
●    www.skymaps.com

Star Chart for mid-August, mid-evening (courtesy of www.heavens-above.com):