Night Sky Highlights - August 2025

Explore what you can see in August's night sky, including the peak of the Perseid meteor shower and a close encounter between Venus and Jupiter!

Top 3 things to see in the night sky in August 2025:

• 12 August - Spot Venus and Jupiter as a pair
• 12 August - Catch the Moon and Venus close together
• 12 August - The Perseid meteor shower peaks!

Details given are for London and may vary for other parts of the UK.

Look Up!  Podcast

Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomers Jess and Catherine talk through some of this month’s must-see cosmic objects in this podcast. They also discuss two cosmic news stories: the discovery of a new companion star for Betelgeuse, and interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS!

Venus and Jupiter

Two of the brightest objects in the night sky will take to the stage very early in the morning on 12 August. Once they rise at around 2.30 am in the north east it’ll be hard to miss this double act, being outshone only by the Moon, with Jupiter at magnitude -1.9 and Venus at -4. 

The pair will be separated by less than one degree in the sky, which is just the width of your little finger!

Both planets are known for their dazzling brightness thanks to their highly reflective atmospheres, so don’t miss the opportunity to see them come together in the sky.

Saturn and the Moon  

Shortly after sunset on 12 August the Moon will rise in the east with Saturn hot on its tail.

Spot the ringed planet next to the waning gibbous Moon from 10 pm in the constellation Pisces the fish. They’ll be separated by about 5 degrees in the sky - about the same distance as the width of three fingers.

Perseid meteor shower

Deck chairs at the ready – the Perseids have arrived!  

The night of 12 August going into the morning of 13 August brings us the peak of the most anticipated meteor shower of the year. The Perseids are the brightest and most active annual meteor shower, with about 150 meteors per hour around the peak. What's more, it very thoughtfully puts on its show over the summer months when the warmer weather is better for hanging around outside at night. 

Doing so is kind of essential, since the key to viewing any meteor shower is looking up at a wide field of sky for at least as long as it takes to drink a cup of tea from a thermos - and enjoy the show.

The meteors will be visible across the whole night sky, but if you trace back the tails they will appear to originate from the shower’s namesake constellation, Perseus.  

The Perseids are caused by the debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. As our planet passes through the debris field, some of these particles, which are about the size of a grain of sand, plummet through our atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 km per second. This causes the small particles to vaporise and leave behind bright streaks of light. 

The Perseids are also known for occurrences of fireballs - big and bright meteors that have exploded on their way down to Earth.

If you don’t manage to take a look during the peak, fret not! There are other great times to view the show. The Perseids will be active from 17 July - 24 August, and although the peak rate of meteors may occur overnight on 12 August, some of the dimmer streaks of light may be washed out by the 87% illuminated Moon. If you take a look during the new Moon on 23 August, the sky will be nice and dark to see as many meteors as possible.

Southern Hemisphere

Readers in the southern hemisphere will be better positioned to spot the constellation Sagittarius, and within it, the Lagoon Nebula. The nebula is situated about 4,100 light years away and spans 110 light years in length. An open cluster of extremely hot stars within bathes the gas and dust in radiation, causing it to glow a striking pink.  

The nebula is an active region of star formation, and an ideal target for scientists to study star birth and the effects of young stars on their surrounding regions. Only a couple of months ago this nebula was one of the main subjects of the 'first look' images released by the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

To find it, look for the nebula in its home constellation Sagittarius, near the spout in the 'teapot' asterism. Faint nebulosity can be made out with the naked eye under very dark skies, but binoculars or a telescope are definitely the recommended way to go for viewing this cosmic lagoon.

The Moon's phases in August 2025  

First quarter: 1 August (13:41)

Full moon: 9 August (08:55)

Last quarter: 16 August  (06:12)

New moon: 23 August (07:07)

Stargazing tips

• When looking at faint objects such as stars, nebulae, the Milky Way and other galaxies, it is important to allow your eyes to adapt to the dark so that you can achieve better night vision.
• Allow 15 minutes for your eyes to become sensitive in the dark and remember not to look at your mobile phone or any other bright device when stargazing.
• If you're using a star app on your phone, switch on the red night vision mode.

Star Rain © Yulia Zhulikova, shortlisted in Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2020