In this guide we'll reveal what you can see in the night sky tonight, and throughout the month.
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.
August 2026 astronomy highlights
- 2 August: Mercury reaches greatest western elongation (morning)
- 12 August: See a significant partial solar eclipse (evening)
- 12/13 August: A favourable Perseid meteor shower peak
- 15 August: The Waxing crescent Moon lies near Venus (evening)
- 28 August: See a significant partial lunar eclipse (early morning)
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.
If you're south of the equator, find out what you can see in the Southern Hemisphere night sky tonight.
Family stargazing tip for August 2026
A solar eclipse is fascinating to observe, but remember that the Sun can damage your eyesight.
A safe way to view the partial eclipse on 12 August is to use a piece of stiff card and create a circular 2–3mm hole in its centre.
Hold it in front of you so its shadow falls onto a piece of white paper or card, the hole allowing sunlight through.
The bright spot that appears on the white paper is a pin-hole image of the Sun and will show the shape of the eclipse quite well.
Make sure the card is held at least 1 metre from the white paper for best results.
For more on this, read our guide on how to safely observe a solar eclipse without eclipse glasses.
Planets
Read our month-by-month guide to visible planets for the whole year
- Mercury: Visible in the east-northeast from one hour before sunrise. Best seen at the start of August.
- Venus: Visible in the west in Virgo, 30 minutes after sunset. Best seen at the start of August.
- Mars: Visible in the east in Gemini in the early morning. Best seen at the end of August
- Jupiter: Visible in the east in Cancer in the early morning. Best seen at the end of August.
- Saturn: Visible in the south in Pisces in the early morning. Best seen at the end of August
- Uranus: Visible in the east-southeast in Taurus in the early morning. Best seen at the end of August.
- Neptune: Visible in the south in Pisces in the early morning. Best seen at the end of August.
Astronomical events aren’t evenly spread month-by-month across the year. August 2026 is a case in point because it has a significant amount happening.
There’s a binocular comet on view as well as two eclipses and perfect conditions for one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Perseids.
Comet
The comet is 10P/Temple 2, which this month is passing south from eastern Capricornus into Piscis Austrinus, the Southern Fish.
As it goes, it’s expected to dim from a peak brightness of mag. +7.7 to +8.0 by the end of August.
This is a relatively small variation though, so the view should be fairly consistent throughout the month.
Solar and lunar eclipses
August’s eclipses are a pair in as much as they occur during the same lunar month.
The new Moon on 12 August passes in front of the Sun’s disc during late afternoon into early evening.
Different locations experience slightly different timings but, in general, from the centre of the UK, the eclipse begins at 18:14 BST (17:14 UT).
Known as first contact, this is when the edge of the Moon first touches the edge of the Sun.
The Moon then proceeds to drift across the Sun, reaching a significant partial eclipse for the UK.
Solar eclipses are measured by two values; magnitude which indicates what fraction of the Sun’s diameter is covered by the Moon and obscuration indicating how much of the Sun’s area is hidden.
From the centre of the UK, greatest eclipse occurs at 19:10 BST (18:10 UT) when a magnitude 0.92 eclipse with an obscuration of 91.1% occurs.
This will be a major event for the UK, but does fall short of how it will appear a bit further to the west where a total eclipse can be witnessed.
The path of totality passes west of Ireland towards a point near Iceland, which experiences the longest period of totality (2m19s) and greatest chance of cloud.
The southern part of the track passes down through parts of Spain and into the Mediterranean, but here the eclipse occurs with the Sun low in the afternoon sky, conditions once again at the mercy of the weather.
The second eclipse occurs a couple of weeks later when the Moon will have travelled half way around the sky to reach full Moon.
In the early hours of 28 August at 03:33 BST (02:33 UT) the Moon begins to enter the Earth’s dark umbral shadow.
Like the solar eclipse on 12 August, this event is a significant partial eclipse, achieving a magnitude of 0.93 at 05:12 BST (04:12 UT).
As the Moon’s surface begins to reappear, so the dawn will be brightening and, if it’s clear, this will be quite a dramatic sight.
The solar eclipse on 12 August absolutely pinpoints the position and phase of the Moon on that date, such an event only possible when the Moon is new.
This is excellent news for this year’s Perseid meteor shower which peaks on the night of 12/13 August.
If the clouds stay out of the way, the sky will be moonless and dark for the peak.
The Perseid shower has a maximum zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) of 100 meteors per hour and can be a really memorable event if conditions allow.
Night sky in August 2026, night-by-night
Sunday 2 August
Mercury reaches greatest western elongation. Visible in the morning sky, it appears at magnitude +0.1, rising 100 minutes before sunrise above the east-northeast horizon, separated from the Sun by 19.5°.
Tuesday 4 August
At 01:45 BST (00:45 UT), the 72%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits 5.6° north of magnitude +0.5 Saturn.
Wednesday 5 August
Libration currently favours an (albeit foreshortened) view of the bull’s-eye lunar basin known as Mare Orientale, the feature brought to public attention by the recent Artemis II mission.
Thursday 6 August
Lunar crater Mösting is well placed, near the terminator this morning and also visible on the nights of 20 and 21 August.
Friday 7 August
At 03:00 BST (02:00 UT), look out for a 38%-lit waning crescent Moon located 2° west of the beautiful Pleiades open cluster. Both objects will fit in the field of view of typical binoculars.
Sunday 9 August
In the early hours, a 17%-lit waning crescent Moon can be seen just to the north of magnitude +1.3 Mars.
Tuesday 11 August
From around 04:30 BST (03:30 UT), early risers will be greeted by the beautiful sight of a 3%-lit crescent Moon low above the northeast horizon, with mag. –0.8 Mercury shining 5.1° to the southeast (below and slightly left, as seen from the UK).
Wednesday 12 August
A total solar eclipse occurs on 12 August 2026, visible on a narrow track passing from Greenland, west of Iceland, west of the UK and into Spain. The UK will experience a significant partial eclipse.
Thursday 13 August
A perfect Perseid maximum? Well, on paper it should be pretty good, with this rich shower reaching a predicted peak at 03:00 BST (02:00 UT) with the Moon completely absent. All we need is good weather!
Friday 14 August
In the morning today, tomorrow and on 16 August, Mars can be seen passing south of open cluster M35 in Gemini. Closest approach is on 15 August, when Mars sits just 0.6° south of the cluster’s centre.
Saturday 15 August
Venus reaches greatest eastern elongation today, separated from the Sun by 45.9°. Despite this, it’s very poorly positioned at sunset as seen from the UK. At 20:45 BST (19:45 UT), an 11%-lit Moon sits 6.5° west of the planet.
Sunday 16 August
At 20:00 BST (19:00 UT), magnitude –4.2 Venus is located 6.6° northwest of a 19%-lit waxing crescent Moon.
Friday 21 August
The effect known as Plato’s Hook can be seen on this afternoon’s Moon at around 17:15 BST (16:15 UT).
Saturday 22 August
The popular, easy-to-spot Jewelled Handle clair-obscur effect is visible around 22:00 BST (21:00 UT), an arc of light caused by the lunar dawn hitting the peaks of the curved Jura mountain range.
Wednesday 26 August
Dwarf planet Pluto reaches opposition today. Currently it’s at magnitude +14.4 and located within western Capricornus.
Friday 28 August
There’s a deep partial eclipse of the Moon on 28 August 2026.
Monday 31 August
In the early hours of this morning, a 90%-lit waning gibbous Moon sits close to magnitude +0.3 Saturn.
FAQs
What time is best for stargazing tonight?
It might sound obvious, but the best time for stargazing is when it's properly dark! That means when the Sun has truly set and the sky is at its darkest.
Having said that, not all objects visible in the sky tonight will be visible for the whole night. You might want to observe a planet that's visible at the moment, only to find it sets shortly after the Sun.
Or you might be looking for the Moon at a time when it's below the horizon.
A good stargazing app will help you decide what you want to observe in the night sky tonight, where and when to look.
Do I need a telescope?
You don't need a telescope to get a good view of the night sky, and this is especially the case for beginners. If you have a clear night and a dark sky free from light pollution, there's a lot you can see.
Bright stars and constellations, bright planets, meteor showers and even distant star clusters can be seen with the naked eye.
Binoculars will get you a closer look at these objects, and you'd be surprised at what even a modest pair can do for your view of the night sky.
A telescope, however, takes things to the next level, giving you amazing detail on the surface of the Solar System planets and the Moon, and revealing objects that would be invisible to the naked eye.
What if it's cloudy tonight?
Keep an eye on the weather forecast; it may be due to clear later on in the evening. If you really are facing a night of clouds, however, there's not much you can do.
You could stay indoors instead and plan for future stargazing sessions. Take a look at the weather forecast for the coming week. Work out when you've got the best chance of having a clear sky and plan what you might want to observe in advance.
That way, when a clear night rolls around, you'll have a plan of action and will be able to get your stargazing underway much more quickly.
Share your observations and images with us, or send us your astronomy questions to contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
