From Blue Moon to Perseid Meteor Shower: Astronomical events in August 2024

Astronomical events coming up in August 2024

New moon, a blue moon, and a Lunar occultation of Saturn

Depending on your location, you can catch sight of the super blue moon either on August 30 or 31. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

The new moon, or first lunar phase, will occur on August 4. This is the best time for stargazing since the moon’s shadow faces the Earth, providing a dark sky ideal for spotting stars, constellations, and planets. This phenomenon happens once every month.

The new moon will transform into a full moon on August 19, and this time, it will be a Blue Moon, also known as a supermoon. Despite its name, the moon won’t appear blue, but it will look larger as it comes closer to Earth’s orbit.

On August 21, another lunar phenomenon, the Lunar Occultation of Saturn, will take place. During this event, the moon will pass in front of Saturn, masking it from view for those in Latin America, Africa, and parts of Europe.

Perseid Meteor shower

A man looking at meteors in the sky. (Illustrative image) (Raman Deep via Pexels)

Meteor showers are a common phenomenon, and you don’t need any special equipment to watch one if the sky is clear. Between August 12 and 13, the Perseid Meteor Shower will peak, showcasing over 100 meteors per hour. The Perseids, considered the best meteor shower of the year, originate from the 109P/Swift-Tuttle comet and travel at a speed of 59 km per second.

For the uninitiated, meteors are “leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids.” When these particles hit Earth’s atmosphere, they disintegrate and create colourful lights in the sky. Due to the moon’s 50 per cent illumination during the meteor shower, it will be easier to spot meteors this time around, a reported by Space.com said.

Three planetary conjunctions

What’s better than spotting one planet at a time? Spotting two! In August, you’ll have the chance of spotting Venus and Mercury together, or Mars and Jupiter. Even more exciting, by the end of August, six planets will align in a straight line—a rare event not to be missed. Most of these astronomical events are visible to the naked eye.

On August 7 and 8, Venus and Mercury will align, and on August 14, Mars and Jupiter will be in conjunction. Then, on August 28, six planets—Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn—will align, creating a spectacular celestial display similar to the planet parade that occurred on June 3.