There is so much to see in the night sky tonight, here's what you can look forward to.
A good telescope or pair of binoculars will help you see some of the night sky’s fainter objects. However, the unaided eye is enough to learn its stars and constellations, watch the moon, experience meteor showers and see satellites whizz across the night sky.
Read on to find out what you can see in the night sky tonight, from planetary meet-ups to the ever-changing moon phases, meteor showers and more.Want to look even further ahead? Check out our monthly night sky guide our brightest planets guide also tells you what planets are visible and when this month.
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WEDNESDAY AUG. 14 - COMPARE THE COLORS OF STARS
Bright stars in the summer night sky are a great skywatching target for those in the Northern Hemisphere.
If you look at them long enough you should notice that they shine different colors. The color of a star is controlled by the temperature of its photosphere — the outer 'shell' which radiates light.
The colors change blue to white to yellow to orange, as temperature decreases, with the coolest stars appearing red.
The three prominent stars of the Summer Triangle asterism in the eastern sky —Deneb, Vega, and Altair — are A-class stars that appear blue-white to the naked eye, with temperatures ranging from 7,500 to 10,000 Kelvin. In contrast, Arcturus, visible in the western evening sky, is an orange K-class giant star with a temperature of around 4,300 K. Meanwhile, the reddish Antares, the heart of the Scorpius constellation, is an older M-class star with a cooler surface temperature of 3,500 K.
After midnight local time, look for the very bright, yellowish Capella rising in the northeast. You can estimate the temperatures of dimmer stars by comparing their color to these bright reference stars.
TUESDAY, AUG. 13 - MOON AND ANTARES (EVENING)
Look to the south immediately after sunset, and you'll see a waxing gibbous moon, now more than half-lit, shining brightly. Look to its upper left, and you may spy Antares, a reddish star now at its best. It's the brightest star in the iconic constellation of Scorpius and about 555 light-years from the solar system. Squint at it, and you'll more easily notice its reddish hue. The later you look, the closer the moon and Antares will be. From the South Pacific, the moon will occult (block) Antares, according to In-The-Sky.org. — Jamie Carter
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 14 - JUPITER AND MARS IN CONJUNCTION (PRE-DAWN)
It will be worth getting up early for this, one of the closest conjunctions between planets this year. Visible in the southeast from about 2 a.m. local time until sunrise, Mars and Jupiter will get to just a third of a degree apart (a third of the width of your little finger held at arm's length). However, Jupiter, at magnitude -2.2, will be about 15 times brighter than Mars at magnitude +0.8. Although the two planets will appear at their closest this morning, it will be worth looking at the pair during the mornings before and after for a similar view. — Jamie Carter
MONDAY, AUG. 12 - PERSEID METEOR SHOWER (OVERNIGHT)
Early this morning, the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower took place, but don't despair if you missed it because of work or bad weather. Although you won't get another chance to see 50-75 "shooting stars" in an hour — as was possible last night — it will be wise to look skywards late tonight (preferably after midnight early on Tuesday, Aug.13) if skies are clear for the chance of a healthy number of bright meteors. If you can't escape to truly dark skies, keep any artificial lights away from your direct line of sight because there's always a chance of seeing one or two particularly bright "fireballs." The later you look, the higher the shower's radiant in Perseus will be in the northeastern sky. — Jamie Carter
You can also watch the Perseid meteor shower online for free with this livestream hosted by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project. The livestream will begin at9 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 (0100 GMT on Aug. 13).
MONDAY, AUG. 12 - FIRST QUARTER MOON (EVENING)
Tonight, the moon's eastern side will appear to be half-lit — its so-called first quarter phase — as it reaches its 90-degree angle away from the sun on its monthly orbit of Earth. Since a first-quarter moon always rises around midday and sets around midnight, it begins to bleach the evening night sky to make it more difficult to see stars (and "shooting stars" from the Perseid meteor shower). It's nevertheless a beautiful sight for the naked eye. — Jamie Carter
SUNDAY, AUG. 11 — MONDAY, AUG. 12: PERSEID METEORS PEAK (PRE-DAWN)
There's no better time to seeshooting starsfrom the northern hemisphere than tonight. At its peak, the annualPerseid meteor showercan produce around 60 meteors per hour visible in the night sky. The radiant point (where the meteors will appear to emanate from) will be theconstellation Perseus, which will rise in the northeastern sky around midnight.
Meteor showers can often be marred by strong moonlight, but not so the Perseids this year since the First Quarter Moon will set around midnight. Look skywards during the early hours of Monday for the best chance of shooting stars, though light pollution and the clarity of the sky will make a huge difference. If you can, get away from light pollution — at least 40 miles from a major urban area is wise — but wherever you watch from, make sure you don’t have any artificial lights in your line of sight. Sit back, relax in a lawn chair, keep warm, and take regular breaks. Never look at your smartphone; its white light will ruin your eyes' dark adaption, which takes about 20 minutes to cultivate and just a single second of white light to ruin.
If you cannot look for Perseids in person, you can watch them live online here on Space.com courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project. Thefirstlivestream will begin at9 p.m. EDT on Aug. 11 (0100 GMT on Aug. 12,)thesecondwill begin at9 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12 (0100 GMT on Aug. 13)coinciding with the anticipated peak activity of the Perseid meteor shower.
FRIDAY, AUG. 9 — SATURDAY, AUGUST 10 - CRESCENT MOON, SPICA, ANTARES AND THE MILKY WAY (AFTER SUNSET)
About a quarter of the moon's Earth-facing side is now lit by the sun. Across two nights, it will appear on either side of Spica.Arcturusin the constellationBoöteswill appear directly above the pair, while to the south, theMilky Waywill rise after dark. However, to see the arc of our galaxy, you'll need to be well away from light pollution.-- Jamie Carter
THURSDAY, AUG. 8 — CRESCENT MOON, VENUS AND SPICA (AFTER SUNSET)
Here's another chance to see the crescent moon dominating the post-sunset evening sky, with Venus shining stubbornly close to the western horizon. Look at the moon's dark left side. Can you make out any details? Since no sunlight shines directly on it, it should be dark, right?
The light you can see is called "Planet-shine," "Earthshine," or "Da Vinci Glow." It's sunlight shining onEarthand reflecting onto the moon. It's easiest to see in a crescent moon a few days old. -- Jamie Carter
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 7 — CRESCENT MOON, VENUS AND SPICA (AFTER SUNSET)
A brighter, more obvious crescent moon will tonight be positioned about halfway between Venus, to its lower right, and bright star Spica, to its upper left. One of the 20 brightest stars in the night sky, Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. -- Jamie Carter
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