In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.
Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can't always plan when and where we're going to get the chance to gaze upwards.
Busy schedules, light pollution, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.
So when you do find the time, you'll need to know what's visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.
Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners and astronomy for beginners.
Here's our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.
Our guide is centred around what's visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.
In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.
For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.
If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
What's in the night sky tonight?
August astronomy highlights
- 1 August: Waning crescent Moon lies near M35 after rising (am)
- 5 August: Jupiter, Mars and Aldebaran form a right-angled triangle (am)
- 9 August: Double shadow transit of Jupiter (am)
- 12 August: Peak of the Perseid meteor shower
- 21 August: Saturn occulted by the Moon (am)
Planets
The planets return with a vengeance in August. The inferior planets aren’t best placed, but Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are well presented.
Mars, Jupiter and Uranus are within Taurus, the Bull, the beautiful stars and clusters of this Zodiacal constellation providing a great backdrop for them.
Saturn improves in bounds this month. Best seen at the end of August, it reaches its highest position in UK skies, 30° above the southern horizon, from 10 August.
Excitingly, Saturn is occulted by a 97%-lit waning gibbous Moon on the morning of 21 August as the sky brightens.
Disappearance should be easy to see around 04:28 BST, but reappearance at 05:13 BST will be harder as the sky brightens.
Given clear skies, both events are perfectly observable though. Times are for the UK’s centre and will vary by up to several minutes depending on where you live.
A small telescope trained on Jupiter shows the planet’s disc and its four bright Galilean moons; Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
The moons frequently pass, or transit, in front of Jupiter accompanied by their shadows.
On 9 August from 03:45-04:26 BST (02:45-03:26 UT) the shadows of Io and Ganymede both appear on Jupiter’s disc at the same time, an event known as a double shadow transit.
Perseids
August is famous for playing host to the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, this year predicted for 15:00 BST on 12 August.
The quality of the Perseids, and of any meteor shower, is determined by the presence of the Moon; a bright Moon drowns out all but the most spectacular meteor trails.
In 2023, conditions were perfect as the new Moon occurred just after the peak.
Peak conditions are excellent in 2024 too, the Moon at first quarter on 12 August and setting just before 22:30 BST – before the sky gets properly dark enough to watch for meteors.
Consequently, a watch on the nights of 11/12 and 12/13 should deliver some excellent views, weather permitting.
Stars and constellations
The darker nights of August allow the stars of summer to shine through.
The Summer Triangle remains prominent marked by Deneb in the northeast, Vega in the northwest and Altair to the south.
There are plenty of deep-sky objects in the Summer Triangle worth seeking out with a telescope.
Vega is the brightest star in Lyra, the Lyre, a small compact constellation which contains the beautiful Ring Nebula, M57.
Another Lyra showpiece is the multiple star Epsilon (ε) Lyrae just to the northeast of Vega.
Given good eyesight, this appears as two stars to the naked eye.
A telescope using high magnification shows each component to be double again, an attribute which has led to Epsilon Lyrae being known as the Double-Double.
Another spectacular double is the warm yellow and azure blue pair of Albireo (Beta (β) Cygni) at the foot of the Northern Cross asterism.
A telescope shows these colours well.
A line of small constellations flows southeast from Albireo; Vulpecula, the Fox, Sagitta, the Arrow, Delphinus, the Dolphin and Equuleus, the Foal.
Vulpecula plays host to the binocular bright Dumbbell Nebula, M27, as well as Collinder 399 or Brocchi’s Cluster.
Visible to the naked eye, binoculars or a small telescope reveal it has the shape of a coathanger, hence it's known as the Coathanger Cluster.
Despite this name, it’s not a true cluster at all, rather a chance, line-of-sight alignment of stars, in other words an asterism.
Night sky in August 2024, night-by-night
Monday 29 July
As the 29%-lit waning crescent Moon rises, it will sit 1.5° east-southeast of the Pleiades.
Tuesday 30 July
This morning, the waning crescent Moon begins its passage through some wonderful celestial real estate, including Mars, Jupiter and the stars and clusters of Taurus.
Alpha Capricornid meteor shower peaks (ZHR 5).
Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks (ZHR 16).
Wednesday 31 July
This morning’s 19%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 5.3° from Jupiter. Mars, Jupiter and Aldebaran form a tight triangle in Taurus.
Thursday 1 August
Just after it rises this morning, the 11% waning crescent Moon sits 4.2° north-northwest of open cluster Messier 35 in Gemini.
Friday 2 August
Io and Ganymede’s shadows form a double shadow transit on a low-altitude Jupiter between 00:23 and 01:46 BST (23:23 on 1 August to 00:46 UT).
Sunday 4 August
Dione’s shadow is in transit across Saturn’s disc between 00:27 and 03:25 BST (23:27 UT
on 3 August to 02:25 UT).
Monday 5 August
A 1%-lit waxing crescent Moon sits 1.8° northwest of Venus, low in the evening twilight, over the west-northwest horizon shortly after sunset. Regulus appears 1.2° southwest of Venus and Mercury 6.2° south of Venus.
Tuesday 6 August
From around 02:00 BST (01:00 UT) mag. –2.0 Jupiter, +0.9 Mars and +0.8 Aldebaran form a right-angled triangle, with Mars at the right angle.
Friday 9 August
A double shadow transit involving the shadows of Io and Ganymede can be seen between 03:45 and 04:26 BST (02:45–03:26 UT).
Saturday 10 August
Saturn is now able to reach its highest position due south, under truly dark skies.
Sunday 11 August
This month’s Moonwatch target is the crater Albategnius, best seen tonight, tomorrow night and during the morning of 26 August.
Monday 12 August
The lunar clair-obscur effect known as the Stars of Aristillus is visible on today’s daylight Moon at 15:00 BST (14:00 UT).
The Perseid meteor shower peak is predicted for 15:00 BST (14:00 UT) making the nights of 11/12 and 12/13 August optimum viewing periods.
Wednesday 14 August
This and tomorrow morning, Mars and Jupiter are in conjunction. This morning, Mars lies 25 arcminutes northwest of Jupiter. Tomorrow the separation is just 22 arcminutes.
Thursday 15 August
Dione’s shadow is in transit across Saturn’s disc starting at 23:14 BST (22:14 UT) on 14 August until 02:11 BST (01:11 UT) on 15 August.
Saturday 17 August
A view of Saturn at 05:00 BST (04:00 UT), just before sunrise, will show Titan virtually touching the planet’s southern pole.
Wednesday 21 August
Saturn is occulted by a 97%-lit waning gibbous Moon, incidentally at perigee, this morning (see page 46). Disappearance is at 04:28 BST (03:28 UT), reappearance at 05:13 BST (04:13 UT) as the dawn sky brightens.
Neptune lies 6 arcminutes from the Moon’s northern edge at 22:30 BST (21:30 UT).
Monday 26 August
This morning’s last quarter Moon slides in front of the southern part of the Pleiades open cluster during the early hours. Uranus lies 4.6° south-southwest of the Moon.
Tuesday 27 August
A 42%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 6.8° northwest of Jupiter this morning.
Magnitude +0.8 Mars lies 1.1° north of M1, the Crab Nebula.
Wednesday 28 August
This morning the 32%-lit waning crescent Moon sits 4.7° north of Mars.
Saturday 31 August
Jupiter occults a magnitude +11.3 star between 00:00 and 01:34 BST (23:00 UT on 30 August until 00:34 UT).
This morning a 7%-lit waning crescent Moon sits less than 3° north of M44, the Beehive Cluster.
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