August 2025

Morning sky watchers get a nice view of two planets and the moon close together as they rise this month. The setup is worth watching from the start of August. On the 1^st, you’ll see Venus just over the club Orion holds and just below the feet of twin Castor in Gemini. Jupiter is closer to Castor’s waist. In the next few days, Venus scoots along those foot stars—Propus on the 3^rd, Tejat on the 5^th. Jupiter’s moving in the same direction, but Venus is faster and catches up on the 12^th. They’ll be as close together as 0.9°.

By that time, Mercury should be somewhat easy to find, rising below Venus and Jupiter in the twilight. The planet was in inferior conjunction on the 1^st. Keep watching as Venus moves on and passes Wasat on the Pollux side of Gemini on the 16^th. On the 19^th, Venus look ready to leave Gemini while Mercury is closing in on Asellus Australis, the southern donkey star in Cancer. Mercury is also at greatest elongation that day, 18.6° from the sun. And to make the view even better, a thin, waning, crescent moon is approaching the planets from the other side of Gemini. The moon passes north of Jupiter and Venus on the 20^th. Mercury is closest to the donkey star that day. And then the moon passes close to Mercury on the 21^st.

As the end of the month approaches, Venus is headed for Asellus Australis and Mercury is heading faster toward the morning sun glow. The messenger planet is at perihelion on the 27^th at 0.31 astronomical units from the sun. Look for Venus and the southern donkey to be very close on September 2^nd.

Also in the morning, Uranus can be found near the Pleiades. It’s moving directly (eastward) but slowing down ahead of going retrograde next month. Binoculars are usually needed to find Uranus, although it’s just bright enough to be seen with the average naked eye.

Saturn’s up that time of morning, just west of the meridian at dawn for most observers. The ringed planet is moving slowly retrograde. The southern side of the rings are visible in sufficiently magnified views. Also in magnified views, you can spot Neptune nearby. It and Saturn are moving retrograde. Saturn is moving faster and getting farther from Neptune as the month goes on.

In the evening, Mars is approaching Zavijava in Virgo as August starts. They’ll be very close on the 2^nd. Observers in eastern Brazil get to see them at their closest. The red planet keeps moving eastward in Virgo, passing Zaniah on the 14^th and 15^th. It’s not quite as close to Porrima as it passes around the 23^rd. Mars will trek north of Spica in September.

The moon’s circumstances this month

The moon is at first quarter on the 1^st and also at apogee 404,200 kilometers away. The moon passes in front of Antares on the 4^th for observers on the southern tip of South America, in ocean areas of the far south Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and on the Antarctic Peninsula. Southern lunistice is on the 5^th at 28.5° from the equator. Full moon is on the 9^th.

See the moon 3.6° from Saturn and 2.6° from Neptune on the 12^th. The moon’s crossing the equator northward that day. Perigee is on the 14^th at 369,200 kilometers. Last quarter occurs on the 16^th when the moon’s also 5.2° from Uranus. Northern lunistice is on the 18^th at 28.6° north declination. The moon is 4.7° from Jupiter on the 19^th. Then see the moon 2.4° from Pollux and 4.7° from Venus on the 20^th. Venus and Pollux will be 7.2° apart that day.

Mercury gets a visit from the moon with a 3.4° separation on the 21^st. New moon happens on the 23^rd. And the moon goes south of the equator on the 25^th. See the moon near Mars, 2.5° separation, on the 26^th. The next night, the moon passes by Spica. Apogee occurs on the 29^th at 404,500 kilometers. And on the 31^st, we have a first quarter phase and another Antares occultation. Southernmost New Zealand and ocean areas nearby get the view.

Perseid prospects

You can look for Perseid meteors during the first three weeks of tis month, but the shower’s peak is expected around the 12^th. The International Meteor Organization expects Earth to pass through an old comet trail at 13:15 UT on that day. That will increase the number of meteors. However, that’s just a few days after a full moon, so many of the dimmer meteors will not be seen. The parent comet is 109P/Swift-Tuttle. At their best, the Perseids can produce around 100 meteors per hour.