SUNSET: 
ASTRONOMY & OBSERVING NEWS
August 2020: Planets & Perseids
The Perseids are upon us — and as you're looking out for shooting stars, look for Jupiter and Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.
continue reading
observing guides
Where to Look Tonight
This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 31 – August 8
This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 31 – August 8
Mars rises in the east around 11 p.m. daylight saving time this week, in Pisces. Watch for it to come up below the Great Square of Pegasus. By dawn Mars shines grandly high and bright in the south, a far-off bonfire in the heavens. In a telescope Mars grows from 14½ to 15½ arcseconds in apparent diameter, as big as it appears at some oppositions! But we're still speeding toward it along Earth's faster orbit around the Sun. Around this year's opposition in early October, Mars will be 22.6 arcseconds wide.
where to lookAugust 2020: Planets & Perseids
Sky Tour Podcast
The Perseids are upon us — and as you're looking out for shooting stars, look for Jupiter and Saturn low in the southeast as soon as night begins to fall.
Subscribe NowOur Community
Astronomers often spend their time lost among the stars, but the science of astronomy and the hobby of stargazing are also communal affairs. So, don’t be a stranger—find a group to get involved with today!
Editor's PICKS
Photographer: lubated
Photographer: Pepe Chambó
Comet NEOWISE over New York city
Photographer: worldtimezone
Comet NEOWISE viewed through noctilucent clouds
Photographer: David Harris
Comet C/2019 U6 Lemmon (2020,Jun.17)
Photographer: Pepe Chambó
Lunar Occultation from Boston on June 19th, 2020
Photographer: Nando
Photographer: Ghouchkanlu
Photographer: Michele-Brusa
Venus and the Pleiades at Twilight
Photographer: Frankie
Crecent moon over Myrtle Beach, SC
Photographer: Tim-Tooley
Photographer: araujo
Photographer: Wim Maats
Photographer: FERNANDO MENEZES
Comet C/2017 T2 PANSTARRS (Jan.23,2020)
Photographer: Pepe Chambó
Photographer: Orestis Pavlou
Photographer: parimaldave@gmail.com
Waxing Crescent Moon and Jupiter
Photographer: dr. ski
Photographer: MOREL-Philippe
Previous
Next
for as low as
$39.99
yearly
This Month’s Issue
Sky & Telescope Magazine
Explore the astronomy magazine that’s been out of this world for over 75 years.
for as low as
$39.99
yearly
Issue Highlights
-
The Fate of Volcanic Worlds
Paul Byrne
-
Dating Vermeer’s View of Delft
Donald W. Olson et al.
-
The Hunt for the First Exomoons
Shannon Hall
