By BlueShift | 2025-08-05

This month promises a calendar packed with astronomical events, including a rare, bright planetary conjunction and one of the year’s most anticipated meteor showers.

On the nights of August 8-9, the Sturgeon Moon will appear in the sky. The Sturgeon Moon is August's full moon, named for the time of year that sturgeon could be most readily caught.

While the moon will be at its brightest at 07.55 UTC on August 8, it will appear full and illuminated for several nights.

Then, just a few nights later, on Tuesday, skywatchers have the opportunity to watch the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter on August 12.

Typically two of the brightest planets in the night sky, the planets will appear remarkably close together in the eastern sky just before dawn.

Conjunctions occur roughly once a year, with varying visibility conditions.

Likely the most anticipated celestial event of August will be the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on August 11-12.

Every year, the Perseid meteor shower is active between mid-July and late August.

They are caused by Earth passing through the debris left behind by comet Swift-Tuttle, an enormous comet with a diameter of 26 km (16 miles) that orbits the Sun once every 133 years.

As debris from Swift-Tuttle collides with Earth's atmosphere, it burns up in brilliant streaks of light. Viewers benefit from the comet’s elongated orbit, which means that the debris comes in even faster, creating more fireballs with fast, bright streaks that can be visible even on bright nights and in light-polluted areas.

Under ideal conditions, viewers can see up to 100 meteors per hour. The Perseids are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, with only limited visibility in much of the Southern Hemisphere.

August also promises exceptional visibility of the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) -- the first nebula ever to be discovered.

Located in the constellation Vulpecula, about 1,200 light years from Earth, M27 demonstrates what happens in the final stages of a dying star’s lifespan.

And lastly, on August 5, asteroid 2025 OT7 will make a close approach to Earth, passing safely at a distance of about 4.3 million km (2.7 million miles).

The space rock is estimated to be around 50 meters (170 feet) wide and will not be visible to the naked eye, requiring telescopes to observe.

While posing no threat, its flyby offers scientists a valuable opportunity to study the characteristics and trajectories of near‑Earth objects.