Transient Events That Can Give Us a Good Enough Reason
to Get Outside and Do a Little Observing
August 2026
All month: the planets are almost exclusively morning targets again this month, with Venus the lone evening attraction – but Saturn and Neptune are moving into the late night slot, with Uranus not far behind, promising more interesting evenings ahead. Venus still sets more than an hour after sunset, at 9:59 pm as August begins and at 8:50 pm when it ends. During the month, it brightens from mag -4.4 to -4.6, while its disk grows from 21 to 30 arcseconds and its phase narrows from 56% to 39%. Neptune is the next planet to appear, rising at 10:25 pm on August 1 and 8:25 pm on August 31, its 2¼ arcsecond blue disk glowing at mag 7.8 as it heads towards opposition next month. Saturn rises a half hour later, shining at mag +0.5 with a disk 19 arcseconds wide. The rings remain tilted 9° from our perspective, exposing the planet’s south pole. Next up is Uranus, peeking above the horizon a minute before 1 am as the month opens and just after 11 pm as it ends, its mag 5.7 blue-green disk spanning 3½ arcseconds. Mars follows at 2:06 am at the beginning of August and 1:33 am at its end, seemingly stuck at mag +1.3 and under 5 arcseconds just like last month, and still too small to reveal surface details. Mighty Jupiter won’t emerge from its July 29 solar conjunction until mid-month, rising an hour or more before the Sun beginning on August 14, at mag -1.8 with a 31 arcsecond disk. Mercury reaches greatest western elongation on August 2 at 19° from the Sun. It will be 5° above the horizon an hour before sunrise that morning. It reaches superior conjunction on August 27, but will remain a viable morning target until August 18 or so, brightening from mag +0.3 to -1.4 as its diameter shrinks from 8 to 5 arcseconds and its phase increases from 35% to 92% illuminated. Among the asteroids, 324 Bamberga is one of several that’s brighter than mag 10 throughout August. This month’s charts will show you where to find it.
Aug 7: the crescent Moon (37% lit) rises a couple minutes before midnight tonight, hand in hand with The Pleiades (M45), and accompanies them across the sky for the remainder of the night. At moonrise, two of the Pleiades are hiding behind the Moon’s disk. Mag 4.3 Taygeta (19 Tauri) emerges from behind the dark edge at 12:32 am CDT, followed by mag 3.9 Maia (20 Tauri) at 12:43 am. Both events occur at less than 10° elevation, so you’ll need a clear view down to the ENE horizon in order to see them. As with all occultations, start watching several minutes early, to be sure you don’t miss it.
Aug 9: night owls and early risers get a treat as the thin crescent Moon, 15% lit, rises in tandem with mag +1.3 Mars just before 2 am CDT. They’re 4° away from each other at moonrise. They slowly separate as the morning goes on, and are 5½° apart when morning twilight washes over them around 5:30 am.
Aug 11: early risers get another great view today, as a vanishingly thin crescent Moon, 2% illuminated, rises with mag -0.9 Mercury 1½° to its lower right. You’ll need binoculars to spot either of them in the twilight: look for Mercury first, then find the crescent to its upper left. The planet will be 3° above the horizon by 4:53 am CDT (an hour before sunrise). Jupiter will join the group later, crossing the horizon at 5:04 am 6° below left of Mercury, and reaching 2½° elevation by 5:23 am (a half hour before sunrise).
Aug 12: the Perseids meteor shower peaks tonight, just a few hours after new Moon, promising exceptionally good viewing conditions (if the clouds cooperate). The Perseids are debris from comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which last passed through the inner solar system in 1992. A perennial summer treat, the Perseids are fast movers, with many bright meteors and persistent trains. Expect to see up to 50 meteors per hour from a dark site, or up to 20 per hour from the suburbs. The Perseids are active from July 17 to August 24, so you might spot a few any night during that period.
Aug 14+15: new Moon arrived at 12:37 pm CDT on Aug 12,and it set just a half hour after sunset the next day, but at 8:23 pm on Aug 14 (a half hour after sunset) it will be 2.3 days old, 7% illuminated, 4½° above the horizon, and 23° to the left of the spot where the Sun went down. Venus will be following it at a distance, 8° higher and 14° farther to the left. You’ll have to be quick to catch them both before the Moon sets at 8:46 pm. If you miss them, don’t despair: at the same time on Aug 15, the Moon will be 13% illuminated, 8½° above the horizon, and 34° left of the sunset spot, with Venus following much more closely this time, 3½° higher and 2° left of the crescent.
Aug 15 (morning): it’s another treat for early birds this morning, as mag -1.3 Mercury and mag -1.8 Jupiter rise just a half degree apart, shortly before 5 am CDT (an hour before sunrise). You’ll need binoculars, and possibly a telescope, to spot them in the brightening sky. You’ll also need an unobstructed view down to the ENE horizon, since the pair will reach only 5° elevation by the time civil twilight begins at 5:27 am.
Aug 15 (evening): mag -4.5 Venus descends towards the horizon this evening in hot pursuit of a delicate, 13% illuminated crescent Moon 4° to the bright planet’s lower right. At sunset (7:52 pm CDT), Venus will be 17° above the WSW horizon, 43° left of the spot where the Sun’s going down. The pair continue to move down and to the right until the show ends at moonset (9:08 pm).
Aug 20: the Moon, one day past first quarter, takes a short walk across the SSW sky tonight, with reddish Antares (Alpha [] Scorpii) providing color contrast 1½° to its upper left. The low summer evening ecliptic keeps the Moon near the horizon – it’s already reached its maximum 20° elevation when it gets dark enough to see Antares – and it sets by 11:30 pm CDT, so catch the show early or you’ll miss it.
Aug 27: we’ll have a deep partial lunar eclipse tonight, with the Moon taking on its characteristic red eclipse coloring everywhere except a strip on its top edge a couple arcminutes wide. That area will be within Earth’s penumbra but outside the umbra, continuing to reflect sunlight and looking like a scaledup image of Mars with its bright polar icecap. The partial (umbral) eclipse begins at 9:33 pm CDT and ends at 12:52 am, with deepest eclipse coming at 11:13 pm. Our next total lunar eclipse won’t arrive until June 2029, so enjoy tonight’s show while you can!
Rick Gering – August 2026