In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.
Those of us who enjoy stargazing and observing the night sky can't always plan when and where we're going to get the chance to gaze upwards.
Busy schedules, light pollution, the weather: sometimes finding even just 30 minutes to stand and stare up at a clear, dark night sky and take in the planets, stars and constellations can be a feat in itself.
So when you do find the time, you'll need to know what's visible in the night sky tonight, and the best things to look out for when stargazing.
Complete newcomer? Read our guides to the best telescopes for beginners and astronomy for beginners.
Here's our stargazing guide to what you can see in the night sky tonight.
Our guide is centred around what's visible from the UK, but all northern hemisphere observers should be able to use it, with the odd adjustment to stated times.
In our guide, we use Universal Time (UT) and British Summer Time (BST). UT is the standard time used by astronomers around the world. BST is one hour ahead of UT
We also use RA (Right ascension)and dec. (declination).
These coordinates are the night sky’s equivalent of longitude and latitude, describing where an object is on the celestial ‘globe’.
For help with these, read our guide to celestial coordinates.
For more advice, read our guide on how to stargaze or sign up to receive the BBC Sky at Night Magazine e-newsletter for weekly tips delivered directly to your email inbox.
If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
What's in the night sky tonight?
August astronomy highlights
- 1 August: Titan eclipsed by Saturn’s shadow
- 12 August: Venus 0.9° from Jupiter (morning)
- 20 August: Impressive display of planets and the waning crescent Moon (morning)
- 27 August: Titan eclipsed by Saturn’s shadow
- 31 August: Ganymede's shadow transits Jupiter (03:28-06:37 BST (02:28-05:37 UT))
Meteors
Nights get longer and darker during August, a month known for its meteor activity. The highlight is the Perseid shower, which is predicted to peak at 21:00 BST (20:00 UT) on 12 August.
Several minor meteor showers also reach peak activity in the days around this period, but viewing could be tricky with a bright Moon in the sky.
Shadow transits
The planets are slowly improving after the solstice, and indeed there's been much talk of an early morning planet parade, mid-August.
Saturn and Neptune both able to reach their peak altitudes, around 35° up, under dark sky conditions after 17 August.
They are synced because they currently appear really close to one another, a situation which will persist for a few months.
Through the telescope Saturn’s rings currently appear very narrow, good news if you’ve not seen any Titan interactions with Saturn yet, as the narrow tilt will allow us to follow such events through to February 2026.
There’s a Titan shadow transit on 3 August from 07:05 BST (06:05 UT) until Saturn sets under bright sky conditions.
Another marginally more favourable shadow transit starts at 06:30 BST (05:30 UT) on 19 August.
In addition there are a couple of opportunities to see Titan eclipsed by Saturn’s shadow; 05:36 BST (04:36 UT) on 11 August and 04:58 BST (03:58 UT) on 27 August.
Not to be left out, Jupiter has some less common moon-planet interactions on view, with two daylight Ganymede shadow transits on 2 August (11:36-14:38 BST (10:36-13:38 UT)) and 9 August (15:37-18:37 BST (14:37-17:37 UT)).
It’s perfectly possible to observe Jupiter under daylight, assuming you can find it, although the planet does look faint with low contrast.
On 12 August (14:07-16:39 BST (13:07-15:39 UT)) Jupiter daylight location skills come into their own as Callisto’s shadow performs a rare transit of the planet, an event repeated on 29 August (08:03-10:51 BST (07:03-09:51 UT).
The second event may be easier to see as Jupiter can be initially located in the dawn twilight when visible to the naked eye.
Ganymede’s shadow transits the planet again on 31 August, this time visible under darker sky conditions between 03:38-06:36 BST (02:38-05:36 UT).
Deep sky
Lengthening nights in August effectively halt the demise of the summer Milky Way.
Despite its inevitable daily western drift, earlier darkness helps keep this impressive area of sky visible in the same general position relative to the horizon during August.
Look low to the south and see whether you can spot the Teapot asterism in Sagittarius, the Archer.
The handle to the east of the Teapot is perhaps the easiest section to spot.
Binoculars will reveal many interesting deep-sky objects where the steam can be imagined to rise out of the spout.
These include the superb Lagoon Nebula M8 and the fainter yet photographically beautiful Trifid Nebula M20, further to the north.
Heading up towards diamond-shaped Scutum, the Shield look out for M17, a bright emission nebula that seems to have garnered far too many informal names, being known as the Swan, Lobster, Horseshoe, Omega Nebula, amongst others.
The Eagle Nebula M16 sits just north of M17, but the nebulosity here is tricky to see with smaller scopes.
What’s most likely to be seen is the cluster of stars which formed out of the nebula gas.
Night sky in August 2025, night-by-night
Friday 1 August
On the Moon, the walled plain Flammarion is well placed this evening and tomorrow evening. You can also catch it on the waning Moon on the morning of 16 August.
Saturday 2 August
This evening, take a look into the crater Plato, where a shadow is formed on its floor from a rim peak. The shadow has been described as appearing curved in the past, forming the clair-obscur effect known as Plato’s Hook.
Sunday 3 August
An early morning look towards the east-northeast will show mag. –3.9 Venus slightly less than 10° west of mag. –1.8 Jupiter.
Monday 4 August
Mag. +0.5 Saturn is currently close to mag. +7.8 Neptune, the two planets appearing 1.1° apart in the morning sky, with Neptune due north of Saturn.
Tuesday 5 August
Catch the bright peak of Mons Herodotus this evening, forming a lunar clair-obscur effect known as the Star-Tip Mountain.
Friday 8 August
Catch the full Moon rising around 21:30 BST (20:30 UT) and see whether you experience the Moon illusion, which makes it look huge. In reality, it’s no larger than at any other time.
Sunday 10 August
The minor planet 2 Pallas is at opposition, shining at mag. +9.4 against the stars of Delphinus.
Monday 11 August
Brilliant Venus and Jupiter are just 1.4° apart in this morning’s sky.
Tuesday 12 August
The Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight.
Venus and Jupiter reach ecliptic conjunction in the early morning sky.
Saturday 16 August
If you can locate the last quarter Moon in daylight, around 10:30 BST (09:30 UT) look out for the bright line made by the Straight Wall, Rupes Recta. At this phase, it forms the blade of an effect known as The Cutlass.
Sunday 17 August
As the Moon slips out of the way, this is a good time to get out your telescope and explore some deep-sky objects. Why not try the constellation Camelopardalis, home of the asterism known as Kemble’s Cascade?
Tuesday 19 August
Mercury reaches greatest western elongation, visible in the morning sky from about an hour before sunrise. Mercury currently shines at mag. +0.1.
Wednesday 20 August
This morning, a 10%-lit waning crescent Moon sits just north of the mid-point of a line between mag. –3.9 Venus and mag. –1.8 Jupiter. Spot them together from around 04:00 BST (03:00 UT).
Thursday 21 August
From west to east, mag. –1.8 Jupiter, –3.9 Venus and –0.2 Mercury line up over the east-northeast horizon, from around 04:30 BST (03:30 UT). A 4%-lit crescent Moon appears between Venus and Mercury too.
Tuesday 26 August
There’s a tricky conjunction between mag. +1.6 Mars and a 12%-lit waxing crescent Moon just after sunset today. The Moon will be very low above the west-southwest horizon.
Wednesday 27 August
Titan enters Saturn’s shadow at 04:58 BST (03:58 UT) under deep morning twilight conditions as seen from the UK (turn to page 47 for details).
Sunday 31 August
Flammarion on the Moon optimally lit.
At 03:28–06:37 BST (02:28–05:37 UT), Ganymede’s shadow can be seen transiting Jupiter’s disc.
Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
