Night sky, August 2025: What you can see tonight [maps]

The night sky tonight and on any clear night offers an ever-changing display of fascinating objects you can see, from stars and constellations to bright planets, the moon, and sometimes special events like meteor showers.

Observing the night sky can be done with no special equipment, although a sky map can be very useful, and a good telescope or binoculars will enhance some experiences and bring some otherwise invisible objects into view.

You can also use astronomy accessories to make your observing easier, and use our Satellite Tracker page powered by N2YO.com to find out when and how to see the International Space Station and other satellites. We also have a helpful guide on how you can see and track a Starlink satellite train.

You can also capture the night sky by using any of the best cameras for astrophotography, along with a selection of the best lenses for astrophotography.

Read on to find out what's up in the night sky tonight (planets visible now, moon phases, observing highlights this month) plus other resources (skywatching terms, night sky observing tips and further reading)

Related: The brightest planets in the night sky: How to see them (and when)

Monthly skywatching information is provided to Space.com by Chris Vaughan of Starry Night Education, the leader in space science curriculum solutions. Follow Starry Night on Twitter @StarryNightEdu and Chris at @Astrogeoguy

Editor's note: If you have an amazing skywatching photo and would like to share it with Space.com's readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.

Calendar of observing highlights

Friday, Aug. 1 - First Quarter Moon

The moon will complete the first quarter of its journey around Earth on Friday, Aug. 1 at 8:41 a.m. EDT, 5:41 a.m. PDT, or 12:41 GMT. The first quarter moon's 90-degree angle away from the sun makes it look half-illuminated on its eastern side. Since it always rises around midday and sets around midnight, it is also visible in the daytime sky. By the time this first quarter moon rises in the Americas, it will already appear slightly more than half-lit. The evenings surrounding the first quarter are the best ones for seeing the lunar terrain through binoculars and telescopes because it is being dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary that separates the lit and dark hemispheres.

Saturday, Aug. 2 - Venus shines near the Shoe-Buckle Cluster (predawn)

For several mornings surrounding Saturday, Aug. 2, Venus' orbital motion sunward will carry it close to the prominent open star cluster in Gemini known as the Shoe-Buckle Cluster or Messier 35, making a nice sight in binoculars (orange circle) before the sky brightens too much. On Friday morning, the fuzzy knot of the cluster's stars will be located several finger widths to the left of brilliant Venus. At the planet's closest approach to the cluster on Saturday, the cluster will be just to Venus' upper left (or 2.5 degrees to its celestial north). From Sunday onward, the cluster will shift higher above Venus, but they'll share the field of view in binoculars until Tuesday.

Sunday, Aug. 3 - Moon glides by Antares (evening)

On Sunday, Aug. 3, the waxing, gibbous moon will be easy to see in the southeastern sky during late afternoon. As the sky darkens after sunset in the Americas, the bright, reddish, supergiant star Antares that marks the heart of Scorpius will appear close enough above the moon for the duo to share the view in binoculars (orange circle) or a backyard telescope. Due to the moon's continuous eastward orbital motion by its own diameter every hour, those viewing the duo in more westerly time zones will see the moon farther to Antares' left (or its celestial east). Meanwhile, observers in the southern tip of South America and much of Western Antarctica can watch the moon occult Antares around 03:00 GMT.

Monday, Aug. 4 - Use Saturn to see Neptune (overnight)

The nights surrounding Monday, August 4, will offer a good opportunity to see the distant planet Neptune by using 640 times brighter Saturn as a guide. While the two planets will remain near one another this year, they will draw slightly farther apart with each passing week. Once you have found Saturn's prominent, yellowish dot in the lower part of the southeastern sky in late evening, use strong binoculars to view Neptune as a dull bluish "star" situated a finger's width to Saturn's upper left (or 1.1 degrees to its celestial north). A pair of somewhat brighter stars, named 4 Ceti and 5 Cet,i will twinkle almost as far from Saturn on the opposite side from Neptune. A backyard telescope will provide a clearer view, but it will invert and/or mirror their arrangement.

Thursday, Aug. 7 - Pallas at opposition (all night)

On Thursday, Aug. 7, the main belt asteroid Pallas will reach opposition, its closest approach to Earth for this year. On the nights around opposition, Pallas will shine with a peak visual magnitude of 9.5, which is within reach of a backyard telescope. The asteroid will be located very close to the medium-bright star Zeta Delphini, one of two stars forming the neck of the diminutive Dolphin, Delphinus. Pallas will spend August moving farther to the right (or celestial southwest) of Zeta. After dusk, Delphinus will be positioned in the eastern sky below and between the very bright stars Deneb and Altair.

Saturday, Aug. 9 - Full Sturgeon Moon

The full moon of August will occur on Saturday morning, Aug. 9, at 3:55 a.m. EDT, 12:55 a.m. PDT, or 07:55 GMT. Since the moon will be getting ready to set in the Americas at that time, the moon will look almost full on Friday evening and then ever-so-slightly less than full when it rises just after sunset on Saturday evening. The moon will not climb very high in the sky due to its position almost 4 degrees below the already low summertime ecliptic. The August full moon, colloquially called the "Sturgeon Moon", "Red Moon", "Green Corn Moon", and "Grain Moon", always shines among or near the stars of Aquarius or, in this case, Capricornus. The indigenous Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes region call it Manoominike-giizis, the Wild Rice Moon, or Miine Giizis, the Blueberry Moon. The Cree Nation of central USA and Canada calls the August full moon Ohpahowipîsim, the Flying Up Moon. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) of Eastern North America call it Seskéha, the Freshness Moon.

Tuesday, Aug. 12 - Venus kisses Jupiter (before sunrise)

On the mornings surrounding Tuesday, Aug. 12, Venus' orbital motion toward the sun (red path) will carry it extremely close to Jupiter, producing a spectacular conjunction of the two brightest planets in the eastern sky between about 4 a.m. local time and sunrise. The duo will be binoculars-close (orange circle) from about Wednesday, Aug. 6, to Sunday, Aug. 17, with Venus approaching almost-as-bright Jupiter from the upper right (or celestial west) until their minimum separation on Tuesday, when Venus will be less than a finger's width to Jupiter's lower right (or celestial south). After Tuesday, Venus will shift farther to Jupiter's lower left every morning.

Tuesday, Aug. 12 - Bright moon joins Saturn and Neptune (overnight)

When the bright, waning gibbous moon clears the treetops in the east late on Tuesday evening, August 12, the prominent, yellowish dot of Saturn will shine to its right below the stars of western Pisces. The very faint blue planet Neptune will be positioned just a finger's width above Saturn, but a telescope will be required to see it well. The moon and two planets will cross the sky together and shine about halfway up the southern sky at dawn on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday evening, the moon will shine farther to Saturn's lower left (or celestial northeast).

Tuesday, Aug. 12 - Perseids Meteor Shower Peak (overnight)

The spectacular Perseids meteor shower, which runs between July 17 and Aug. 24 every year, will peak in the Americas on Tuesday night, Aug. 12. This year's shower will be spoiled by a bright, 80%-illuminated, waning gibbous moon shining all night long. While you can watch for Perseids streaking anywhere in the night sky, the time for seeing the most Perseids meteors in North America will be the hours before dawn on Wednesday morning, while the shower's radiant in Perseus is high in the northeastern sky. This is the most popular shower of the year, delivering as many as 100 meteors per hour at the peak. Derived from debris dropped by Comet Swift-Tuttle, many Perseids are extremely bright and leave persistent trails. To see the most meteors during any meteor shower, find a safe, dark location with plenty of open sky, get comfortable, and just look up and around. Hiding the moon behind a tree or building will help.

Thursday, Aug. 14 - The Teapot tilts west (evening)

Since the waning crescent moon will be rising late on Thursday evening, Aug. 14, you'll have a few hours to view one of the most charming asterisms in the summer sky, the Teapot. The stars of Sagittarius, the Archer, form an obvious teapot shape with a flat bottom formed by the stars Ascella on the left (east) and Kaus Australis on the right (west), a pointed spout on the right (west) formed by the stars Alnasl and Kaus Meridianalis, and a pointed lid marked by the star Kaus Borealis. The stars Nunki and Tau Sagittarii form a handle on the left-hand (eastern) side. The three prominent stars that use the word "kaus" in their names are arranged in a bent, upright line — referring to the archer's bow. The center of our galaxy is located only a palm's width to the right of Alnasl. When the asterism reaches its maximum height above the southern horizon, around 10 p.m. local time, it will be tilted west with the Milky Way evoking steam rising from its spout.

Friday, Aug. 15 - Half-moon approaches the Pleiades and Uranus (overnight)

Shortly after the half-lit moon clears the treetops in the east late on Friday evening, Aug. 15, the stars of the bright little Pleiades Star Cluster, also known as Messier 45, Subaru, and the Hole in the Sky, will be arrayed to the moon's lower left (or celestial east) with Uranus close below it. Skywatchers viewing the scene later at night or in more westerly time zones will see the moon close enough to the cluster for them to share the view in binoculars. By dawn on Saturday, the moon and the cluster will shine high in the southeastern sky.

Saturday, Aug. 16 - Third quarter moon

The moon will complete three-quarters of its orbit around Earth, measured from the previous new moon, on Saturday, Aug. 16 at 1:12 a.m. EDT or 05:12 GMT, which converts to 10:12 p.m. PDT on Friday. At its third (or last) quarter phase, the moon appears half-illuminated, on its western, sunward side. It rises around midnight local time and then remains visible in morning daylight until it sets in the west in the early afternoon. Third-quarter moons are positioned ahead of the Earth in our trip around the Sun. About 3½ hours later, Earth will occupy that same location in space. The week of dark, moonless evening skies that follow this phase are the best ones for enjoying the Milky Way.

Monday, August 18 - Bright clusters for binoculars (evening)

The evenings surrounding Monday, Aug. 18, will be a fine time to grab your binoculars and view three large open star clusters that occupy the southwestern sky between the bright stars Altair and Cebalrai. The Summer Beehive Cluster, aka IC 466,5 is a loose collection of stars centered just a finger's width above (or 1 degree northeast of) Cebalrai. Watch for several reddish stars among its majority white population, which is spread across an area more than twice the diameter of the moon. Next, aim your binoculars midway between Cebalrai and Altair and look for two patches of stars sharing the same binoculars field of view (orange circle). The smaller, but brighter Tweedledum Cluster (or NGC 6633) is centered several finger widths to the upper right (or celestial northwest) of the larger, but fainter Graff's Cluster (or IC 4756). It's fun to count each cluster's stars and note the various star colors and the patterns that the stars are arranged in.

Tuesday, Aug. 19 - Mercury at maximum morning visibility (predawn)

On Tuesday, Aug. 19, Mercury will reach a maximum angle of 18.6 degrees from the sun and peak visibility for its current morning apparition. The innermost planet will be easiest to see between about 4:45 and 5:45 a.m. in your local time zone while it climbs the eastern sky in Cancer. In a telescope (inset) Mercury will exhibit a nearly half-illuminated, waxing phase. Mercury's position close to the nearly upright morning ecliptic (green line) will make this a good apparition for Northern Hemisphere observers, but a so-so one for those located south of the Equator, where the ecliptic will be tipped over. Jupiter, Venus, and the moon will share the sky with Mercury. Observers at tropical latitudes can also try and see the scattered stars of the Beehive Cluster (or Messier 44) positioned about two finger widths to Mercury's left (or 2.1 degrees to its celestial north).

Wednesday, Aug. 20 - Crescent moon visits Venus and Jupiter (predawn)

For several mornings centered on Wednesday, Aug. 20, the waning crescent moon will make a pretty sight and photo opportunity while it shines in the eastern pre-dawn sky near the brilliant planets Venus and Jupiter and the stars of the winter constellations. On Tuesday, the moon will pose above Jupiter, on Wednesday it will descend to shine to the left of both planets, and on Thursday it will descend to appear near Mercury while Venus and Jupiter gleam above them.

Thursday, Aug. 21 - Old moon over Mercury and the Beehive (before sunrise)

The pretty crescent moon's visit with the morning planets this month will conclude on Thursday, Aug. 21, when it will shine about a binoculars' field of view (orange circle) above Mercury over the eastern horizon before sunrise. Bright Jupiter and Venus will gleam above them. If you head outside before the sky brightens too much, your binoculars might also reveal the scattered stars of the Beehive Cluster (or Messier 44) sparkling between the moon and Mercury.

Friday, Aug. 22 - Milky Way star clusters (all night)

The moon's absence from the evening sky this week will allow us to explore the countless knots and clumps of stars distributed along the Milky Way, many of which were included in Charles Messier's list of bright deep-sky objects. Start by sweeping the southern sky with binoculars first, and then take closer looks at your discoveries through a backyard telescope at low magnification. Particularly good clusters include Messier 39 and the Cooling Tower Cluster (Messier 29) in Cygnus, the Wild Duck cluster (Messier 11) and Messier 26 in Scutum, the Sagittarius Star Cloud (Messier 24), and Ptolemy's Cluster (Messier 7) and the Butterfly Cluster (Messier 6) in Scorpius.

Saturday, Aug. 23 - New Moon

On Saturday, Aug. 23, at 2:06 a.m. EDT or 06:06 GMT, which converts to 11:06 p.m. PDT on Friday, the moon will officially pass its new moon phase. At that time, our natural satellite will be located in Leo and sit just 1 degree north of the sun. While new, the moon is travelling in the space between Earth and the sun. Since sunlight can only touch the far side of the moon, and the moon is in the same region of the sky as the bright sun, it becomes completely hidden from view from anywhere on Earth for about a day (unless there's a solar eclipse). On the evenings after the new moon phase, Earth's celestial night-light will shine as a waxing crescent in the western evening sky.

Tuesday, Aug. 26 - Young moon meets Mars (after sunset)

A short distance above the western horizon for an hour after sunset on Tuesday, Aug. 26, in the Americas, the young crescent moon will shine almost a palm's width to the left (or 6 degrees to the celestial southeast) of Mars' reddish dot. Virgo's brightest star Spica, will twinkle to the upper left of the duo. Observers in more westerly time zones on Earth will see the moon farther from Mars.

Wednesday, Aug. 27 - Crescent moon and Spica (after sunset)

After 24 hours of orbital motion, the waxing crescent moon will hop east to shine less than a palm's width to the left (or 5.5 degrees to the celestial southeast) of Virgo's brightest star Spica, with reddish Mars shining off to their right for about an hour after sunset on Wednesday, Aug. 27. After the sun has completely set, use binoculars to scan for the trio just above the western horizon.

Friday, Aug. 29 - Catch the colors of stars (all night)

Stars shine with a color that is controlled by their photospheric temperature, and this is captured in their spectral classification. Late August evenings offer a fine opportunity to see a variety of colored stars. In the eastern sky, the three bright stars of the Summer Triangle asterism, named Deneb, Vega, and Altair, are A-class stars that appear blue-white to the eye. They have temperatures in the range of 7,500 to 10,000 Kelvins. Arcturus, which is located in the western sky after dusk, is an orange, K-class giant star with a temperature of only 4,300 K. Reddish Antares, the heart of Scorpius, is an old M-class star with a low surface temperature of 3,500 K. After midnight local time, look for very bright, yellowish Capella rising in the northeast. You can estimate the temperatures of fainter stars by comparing their color to these bright reference stars.

Saturday, Aug. 30 - Moon meets Antares again (evening)

As the stars emerge after dusk on Saturday, Aug. 30, the star that marks Scorpius' heart, bright reddish Antares, will twinkle less than a palm's width to the upper left (or 6 degrees to the celestial east) of the waxing crescent moon in the western sky — their second meeting this month. Before long, the up-down row of fainter stars that form the claws of the scorpion will appear above the moon. The grouping will sink into the trees by about 10 pm local time. Hours later, residents in a zone extending from Eastern Antarctica north to southern New Zealand can watch the moon occult Antares around 11:45 GMT.

Sunday, Aug. 31 - First quarter moon again

When a moon phase occurs on the first day or two of a calendar month, it can repeat at month's end. For the second time in August, the moon will complete the first quarter of its journey around Earth on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 2:25 a.m. EDT or 06:25 GMT, which converts to 11:25 p.m. PDT on Saturday. When the moon rises early Sunday afternoon, its 90-degree angle away from the sun will make it look half-illuminated - on its eastern side. The evenings surrounding the first quarter are the best ones for viewing the lunar terrain when it is dramatically lit by low-angled sunlight, especially along the terminator, the pole-to-pole boundary that separates the lit and dark hemispheres.

Visible planets

Mercury

Mercury will begin August in inferior conjunction with the sun. Within a few days, the innermost planet will commence a morning apparition above the eastern horizon that will be best seen from the tropics and mid-northern latitudes. Mercury will reach a maximum angle from the sun of 18.6 degrees on Aug. 19 and then rapidly drop sunward, though it will remain visible just above the horizon past the month's end. Visually, Mercury will steadily increase in brightness during August, while telescope views (but only before the sun begins to rise) will show a disk that waxes from a sliver to 86%-illuminated and that halves in size from 11.3 to 5.6 arc-seconds. The old crescent moon will shine several finger widths above (or celestial northwest of) Mercury on Aug. 21. Meanwhile, brilliant Venus will drop to shine 19 degrees above Mercury on Aug. 31.

Venus

During August, Venus will gleam in the eastern pre-dawn sky from the time it rises, shortly after 3 a.m. local time, until sunrise. Venus' easterly motion through Gemini until August 23, and then through Cancer after that, will reduce its angle from the sun by 6.5 degrees and cause it to pass only 0.9 degrees south of Jupiter on August 12, producing a spectacularly close conjunction of the two brightest planets on the peak night of the Perseids meteor shower. As Venus steadily increases its distance from Earth during August, its brilliance will slightly decrease. Over the same interval, a telescope will show its disk waxing from 76% to 84%-illuminated and its apparent size shrinking from 14.3 to 12.3 arc-seconds. On Aug. 31, early risers can use binoculars to see the stars of the Beehive Cluster centered just a thumb's width to the left (or 1.5 degrees to the celestial northeast) of Venus. The waning crescent moon will deliver a lovely photo opportunity when it shines to the left of Venus and Jupiter on Aug. 20.

Mars

The earlier sunsets of August will allow the reddish, magnitude 1.6 planet Mars to remain visible in the lower part of the western sky after dusk all month long, though it will be too far away and too low in the sky for clear telescope views beyond the opening days of the month. Mars' eastward orbital motion through western Virgo will carry it very close to her bright star Beta Virginis on Aug. 2 and the waxing crescent moon will shine several finger widths to Mars' left (or 5 degrees to its celestial SSE) on Aug. 26.

Jupiter

During August, Jupiter's climb away from the sun will increase its prominence in the eastern sky before sunrise, where early risers can watch it trek eastward across central Gemini. Meanwhile, the sunward swing of the brighter planet Venus will deliver a splendid conjunction when it shines only 0.9 degrees south of Jupiter on Aug. 12, the peak night of the Perseids meteor shower. Visually, Jupiter will increase slightly in brightness during August from an initial magnitude -1.9, binoculars will reveal Jupiter's four large Galilean moons flanking the planet, a backyard telescope will show its equatorial bands on a disk that grows from 32.6 to 34.3 arc-seconds, and a better quality instrument will reveal the Great Red Spot every second or third night and Jupiter's Galilean satellites frequently eclipsing and occulting one another. From time to time, they will cast their round, black shadows on the planet. The pretty, waning crescent moon will create a lovely photo opportunity when it shines near Venus and Jupiter on Aug. 19-20.

Saturn

On Aug. 1, Saturn will rise in the east around 10:30 p.m. local time and culminate due south just before sunrise. By the end of August, the yellowish planet will be nicely placed for viewing from mid-evening onward. Saturn will creep west across the stars of western Pisces all month long, accompanied by 670 times fainter, magnitude 7.8 Neptune, which will appear as a dull blue "star" shining 1.3 degrees to its north. Over the month, Saturn will brighten from magnitude 0.84 to 0.69. In a telescope, its disk and rings will grow slightly in apparent size. Still, only months after appearing edge-on to us in March, Saturn's rings will remain narrow and its moons will continue to travel close to its ring plane, producing shadow transits of its largest moon, Titan, every 16 days. The waning gibbous moon will be positioned a palm's width to the upper right (or 6 degrees to the celestial west of) Saturn on Aug. 11.

Uranus

Uranus will spend the coming months positioned less than a binoculars' field to the lower right (or about 4.5 degrees to the celestial SSW) of the prominent Pleiades star cluster in Taurus. During August, it will rise around midnight local time and attain its best viewing position halfway up the southern sky around dawn. Magnitude 5.7 Uranus can be spotted as a blue-green speck in binoculars and as a small 3.6 arc-seconds-wide, blue-green disk through any telescope. The waning half-moon will shine near Uranus on Aug. 16-17.

Neptune

The magnitude 7.8, distant planet Neptune will spend August creeping west in southwestern Pisces, about 1.3 degrees north of 670 times brighter Saturn. The two planets will begin the month rising together at about 10:30 p.m. local time and culminating due south as the sky is brightening before dawn. By the end of August, they will be nicely positioned for observing from mid-evening onward. The waning gibbous moon will be positioned a palm's width to the upper right (or 6 degrees to the celestial west of) Neptune and Saturn on Aug. 11.