August 12, 13 - Perseids Meteor Shower
The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers to observe, producing up to 60 meteors per hour at its peak. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The Perseids are famous for producing a large number of bright meteors. The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24. It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13. The light from the waning gibbous moon will block out some of the meteors this year, but the Perseids are so bright and numerous that it should still be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
August 18 - Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter
Conjunctions are rare events where two or more objects will appear extremely close together in the night sky. These two bright planets will come unusually close to each other, only a quarter of a degree apart, in the early morning sky. Also, the Beehive Cluster in the constellation Cancer will be only 1 degree away. Look for the bright planets in the east just before sunrise.
August 25 - New Moon 14:13 UTC
This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
August 29 - Neptune at Opposition
The blue giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Neptune. Due to its extreme distance from Earth, it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes.
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