The Visible Planets
Mercury, which is found low in our west-northwestern sky at the start of the month, is all but lost in the dusk glow. Keen-eye observers however, using binoculars or a small telescope, may be able to pick up Mercury after sunset early in the month. On August 19, Mercury will be at inferior conjunction and cannot be seen. However, by August 23, Mercury reappears low above the east-northeast horizon, gaining elevation from day to day, emerging out of the dawn glow.
Venus tries hard to get out of Sun’s sunset glow above the west-northwestern horizon through the month, but it just does not gain much elevation from our latitude. On August 5, look for a very slim, 1.69 day old, waxing crescent Moon near the planet Venus after sunset.
Mars rises slightly before Jupiter early in the month above the east-northeast horizon, around 1:00 a.m. local time, and then after Jupiter by the end of the month, at around 12:15 a.m. local time. Mars joins Jupiter within the zodiac constellation of Taurus, the bull, this month, with a nice close conjunction (20-minutes of arc) during the overnight hours of August 13-14. On the night of August 27 watch Mars near both the Moon and Jupiter. Mars is beginning to brighten as the distance between the Earth and Mars decreases, leading up to the Mars opposition in January 2025.
Jupiter rises above the east-northeast horizon around 1:30 a.m. local time at the start of the month and then before midnight local time by the end of the month. After rising, Jupiter moves in a large arc along the southern horizon. It stands high in the southern sky, at around 55° altitude, by sunrise. Throughout the month, Jupiter can be seen amongst the stars of the constellation of Taurus, the bull, with the well-known star, Aldebaran, the gleaming red eye of the bull, shining below Jupiter. In the predawn hours of August 14, look for a nice close conjunction of Jupiter with the much fainter planet Mars. Well before sunrise on August 27, look for the Jupiter just below a waning gibbous Moon and near Mars.
Saturn rises above the eastern horizon just a little after the time of sunset and then is visible all night long moving in a shallow arc along the southern horizon. Saturn will be at its point of opposition next month on September 7, thus providing exceptional telescopic views of the planet over the next couple of months. On the night of August 20, through the overnight hours until sunrise on August 21, the waning gibbous Moon will be seen moving eastward just below Saturn. Saturn continues its retrograde (westward) motion amongst the stars of the zodiac constellation of Aquarius, the water bearer, through the month.
Moon Phases
August 4 New Moon
August 12 First Quarter Moon
August 19 Full Moon (The Sturgeon Moon or the Berry Ripening Moon)
August 26 Last Quarter Moon
Special Events
International Space Station (ISS) Observable Passes
Visible passes of the ISS from our location will begin again after August 22, with these passes being seen in our predawn hours. Exact times of these passages for your location can be found by visiting the website http://www.heavens-above.com or by using satellite tracking smart phone apps like Sputnik or Spot-the-Station.
August 3-11 Mount Kobau Star Party near Osoyoos, BC. See https://www.mksp.ca/ for details.
August 7–11 27th Annual Saskatchewan Summer Star Party:, Cypress Hills, SK. Details can be found here: https://sssp.saskatoon.rasc.ca/
August 11-13 The summer’s best meteor shower, the Perseids, peak over the evening from August 11 to the 12. The anticipated zenith hourly rate from a dark site is about 110 meteors per hour during the peak. The first quarter Moon’s light will interfere with the watching the meteors in the early evening hours, however after the Moon sets, the sky will be nice and dark to watch the meteor shower.
August 14 Close conjunction of Jupiter with Mars (20 minutes of arc)
Double shadow transit on Jupiter at 3:31 a.m. MDT
August 19 Mercury at inferior conjunction
August 25 Waning gibbous Moon found near the Pleiades (M45) star cluster
August 27 Waning crescent Moon conjunction with Jupiter and Mars in Taurus.