August 6, 2026
Dog Days
The Dog Star, Sirius, is emerging from the Sun’s glare in the dawn sky. By tradition, that means we’re entering the Dog Days of summer. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. From the southern U.S., it is quite low in the east-southeast shortly before sunrise.
August 7, 2026
Moon and Taurus
This Moon is passing through Taurus early tomorrow. Aldebaran, the bull’s bright eye, is to the right of the Moon. Elnath, the tip of one of its horns, is closer to the lower left of the Moon. Mars is below them, and the Moon will pass close to it on Sunday.
August 8, 2026
Moon and Mars
Mars and the Moon hang out in tomorrow’s early-morning sky. Mars looks like a bright star close to the right of the Moon at first light. Mars is climbing higher into the morning sky day by day.
August 9, 2026
Moon and Gemini
At dawn tomorrow, the Moon forms a nice triangle with the twins of Gemini — the stars Castor and Pollux. Castor is to the left of the Moon, with brighter Pollux about the same distance to the lower left.
August 10, 2026
Total Eclipse
A total solar eclipse is coming up on Wednesday. The Moon will cover the Sun, turning day to night across a narrow slice of the globe. Parts of Alaska and the northeastern United States will see a partial eclipse.
August 11, 2026
More Total Eclipse
The top of the world will see a total solar eclipse tomorrow. Alaska and parts of the northeastern United States will see a partial eclipse. The eclipse will peak in the early morning for Alaskans, and the early afternoon from the northeast.
August 12, 2026
Perseid Meteors
The Perseid meteor shower is expected to be at its peak tonight. And since the Moon is new, it won’t be around to interfere with the sparklers. To view the Perseids, find a safe, dark observing site away from the pesky glare of city lights.
August 13, 2026
The Neighborhood
A few of our stellar neighbors are hard to miss. Vega, which passes high overhead on August evenings, is just 25 light-years away. And Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is 8.6 light-years away. It’s just climbing into view in the dawn sky.
August 14, 2026
Evening Venus
The planet Venus, which is shining as the brilliant Evening Star, stands farthest from the Sun in our sky tonight. After tonight, it will begin to drop back toward the Sun, so it will be a little lower in the sky each evening.
August 15, 2026
Moon and Venus
The crescent Moon is quite low in the sky as twilight fades the next couple of nights, with Venus, the Evening Star, near by. The two are especially close tonight, with Venus just to the upper left of the Moon.
August 16, 2026
More Moon and Venus
The crescent Moon is low in the west in early evening. The planet Venus, the Evening Star, is close to its right. And the star Spica, which isn’t nearly as bright as Venus, is even closer above the Moon.
August 17, 2026
Scooping Dipper
The Big Dipper plunges toward the northern horizon on August evenings. It is in the northwest as darkness falls, with its scoop below the handle, as though it’s preparing to dip into a celestial well.
August 18, 2026
Sagittarius
Sagittarius stands low in the south as night falls, and sets in the wee hours of the morning. It represents a centaur, although modern skywatchers are more likely to see a teapot formed by eight bright stars. The handle is on the left, with the spout on the right.
August 19, 2026
First-Quarter Moon
The Moon reaches first quarter tonight, indicating that it has completed one-fourth of its month-long cycle of phases. It will “wax” toward full, which it will achieve next week during a near-total lunar eclipse.
August 20, 2026
Moon and Antares
The supergiant star Antares, which represents the heart of the scorpion, is quite near the Moon this evening. The star’s surface is thousands of degrees cooler than the surface of the Sun, so Antares looks reddish orange.
August 21, 2026
Distant Moon
The Moon is farthest from Earth tonight for its current orbit, at a distance of about 251,000 miles. That’s thousands of miles farther than average, so it looks a little smaller than average.
August 22, 2026
Changing Signs
The Sun narrowly skirts by the heart of the lion today and tomorrow — the star Regulus. At their closest, they will be just a fraction of a degree apart. After that, the Sun will slide across Leo for almost four weeks before moving into Virgo.
August 23, 2026
Jupiter Rising
Jupiter is climbing away from the Sun, moving a little higher into the dawn sky day by day. Right now, it’s quite low in the east as twilight paints the sky. But it also is quite bright, so if you have a clear horizon, you’ll be able to pick it out.
August 24, 2026
Hamal
Hamal, the brightest star of Aries, the ram, climbs into view in the east-northeast by mid- to late evening. It is about 66 light-years away, but it’s bright enough that it’s easy to see from all but the most light-polluted cities.
August 25, 2026
The Swan
The beautiful constellation Cygnus, the swan, stands high in the east at sunset. Many ancient cultures saw this star pattern as a great bird. Deneb, its brightest star, marks its tail. The constellation is immersed in the glow of the Milky Way.
August 26, 2026
Lunar Eclipse
The full Moon will pass through Earth’s long shadow tomorrow night, creating a partial eclipse. At its peak, the shadow will cover all but a sliver of the lunar disk. At least part of the eclipse will be visible from almost the entire United States.
August 27, 2026
More Lunar Eclipse
There’s a partial lunar eclipse tonight. The Moon will be almost completely immersed in Earth’s shadow. It first dips into the dark inner shadow at 9:34 p.m. CDT. The eclipse peaks at 11:13, when the shadow covers 96 percent of the Moon, and ends about 90 minutes later.
August 28, 2026
Celestial Sea
The Moon will ply the dark waters of the celestial sea the next few nights — a large region populated by constellations related to water. Tonight, the Moon sails from Aquarius the water bearer into Pisces, the fishes. The Moon will remain in Pisces until Monday night.
August 29, 2026
Moon and Saturn
Saturn poses to the lower left of the Moon as they climb into view this evening. The Sun’s second-largest planet looks like a bright golden star. Saturn will stand closer to the lower right of the Moon tomorrow night.
August 30, 2026
More Moon and Saturn
Look for the planet Saturn close to the lower right of the Moon as they climb into good view, in mid-evening. It looks like a bright star with a slight golden tint.
August 31, 2026
Venus and Spica
The planet Venus and the star Spica huddle close the next few nights. They are quite low in the west-southwest in early twilight. Venus is the Evening Star. Tonight, Spica stands close above it. Venus will slide to the left of Spica over the following nights.