Meteor Shower Peak, Star Forge, Mars and Jupiter Converge

August 2024 offers an exciting month for skywatchers, with a variety of celestial events to observe. A notable highlight is the conjunction of Mars and Jupiter, which will appear extremely close in the sky on August 14th. The Perseid meteor shower, peaking on the night of August 11th, is expected to provide a stunning display with up to 75 meteors per hour under favorable viewing conditions. Additionally, the Lagoon Nebula, a stellar nursery in the constellation Sagittarius, is visible throughout the month and offers an opportunity to witness star formation. The crescent moon’s interaction with planets and other celestial bodies adds to the visual delight. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

What are some skywatching highlights in August 2024?

What to look for:

A planetary rendezvous, meteors, and a “star forge”!

Two planets meet for a super close conjunction, the Perseid meteor shower peaks, and look for the Lagoon Nebula – a stellar nursery in Sagittarius.

Highlights

• August 4 – New moon
• August 11 – The Perseid meteor shower peaks overnight tonight! Provided you have clear skies, viewing conditions will be favorable this year, as the Moon sets by around 11:30 pm local time. Meteor activity picks up from then until dawn.
• August 14 – Jupiter and Mars have an extremely close pair-up called a conjunction this morning. They’ll appear just a third of a degree apart, which is less than the width of the full Moon. Find them in the eastern sky in the couple of hours before sunrise.
• August 19 – Full moon
• August 20 – The Moon chases

  Sky chart showing the conjunction of Mars and Jupiter in the morning of August 14. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Video Transcript

What’s Up for August? A super close meetup of Jupiter and Mars, the outlook for the Perseid meteors, and see a stellar nursery in the Lagoon Nebula.

During the month of August, the Red Planet, Mars, speeds past our solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, in the a.m. sky. They have an extremely close pair-up, called a conjunction, on August 14th, when they’ll appear just a third of a degree apart, which is less than the width of the full Moon.

The view from

Sky chart showing a planetary trio of the crescent moon, Jupiter, and Mars on the morning of August 27. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Saturn flies solo most of the month on the opposite side of the sky, though the Moon chases close behind the Ringed Planet on August 20th. The pair rise shortly after dark, and trek toward the west together until dawn.

The warm summer nights of August in the Northern Hemisphere make the Perseid meteor shower an annual favorite. This year’s peak night for Perseids comes on August 11th, and into morning twilight on the 12th. Provided you have clear skies, viewing conditions will be favorable this year, as the Moon sets by around 11:30 pm local time.

Meteor activity picks up from then until dawn. From darker viewing locations, meteor counts of 50 to 75 per hour are pretty normal at the peak.

The Perseids appear to originate from a place in the sky that rises in the northeast, so lie back and face roughly in that direction, but try to take in as much of the sky as you can in your view, as meteors can appear all over.

All the stars in the sky share a common origin in giant clouds of gas and dust called nebulas. And one such stellar nursery, the Lagoon Nebula, is well placed to observe in the August sky.

Sky chart showing the location of the Lagoon Nebula, aka Messier 8, in August. (These stars appear much higher in the sky for Southern Hemisphere observers.) Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Lagoon Nebula will feel familiar to you if you’ve ever observed the Orion Nebula – with the latter being just a bit brighter. Being about three times wider than the full moon, it’s still relatively easy to find, even under suburban skies, with binoculars or a small telescope.

The Lagoon Nebula is located in the constellation Sagittarius, which regular skywatchers will know is synonymous with the faintly glowing band of the

The phases of the Moon for August 2024. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech