Highlights of the Night Sky in August

Here are some of the highlights of the night sky in August:

9 PM southern sky – Mars and Saturn moving toward the western horizon after sunset, moving closer together as the month progresses
9 PM western sky – August 31 – Mars, Saturn and the crescent Moon in a triple conjunction
5:45 AM eastern sky – Venus and Jupiter above the horizon before sunrise, forming a close conjunction on August 18
10 PM southeastern sky – Lyra constellation high in the sky, with the famous Ring Nebula (M57), the bright star Vega, and the quadruple Epsilon Lyrae star system, also known as the Double Double
10 PM eastern sky – Cygnus constellation, sometimes called the Northern Cross, with the North America Nebula, the star clusters Messier 29 and Messier 39, the bright star Albireo marking the head of the Swan and Deneb marking the Swan’s tail
10 PM southeastern sky – Vulpecula constellation with the famous double-lobed Dumbbell Nebula (Messier 27)
10 PM southeastern sky – Aquila constellation with the bright star Altair
10 PM southeastern sky – the Summer Triangle, formed by Altair, Vega, and Deneb, and the Coathanger asterism, located halfway between the stars Altair and Albireo
2 AM northern sky – the Perseid Meteor Shower, peaking on August 12 ad 13