Astroblog: Thursday August 6 to Thursday August 13

Tuesday, August 04, 2026

Thursday August 6 to Thursday August 13

The last Quarter Moon is Thursday August 6 and the New Moon is Thursday August 13. In the morning Saturn and Mars form a long line. Saturn is rising just around 10:30 pm local time. Mars is below the red star Aldebaran, pairing with Elnath (Beta Tauri). On the 9th the waning Moon occults Elnath and is near Mars. In the evening, Venus is visible well after the sky is fully dark .

The last Quarter Moon is Thursday August 6 and the New Moon is Thursday August 13. The Moon at perigee, when it is closest to earth, on August 10.

North-Eastern horizon on the morning of Sunday, August 9 as seen from Adelaide at 5:41 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen).

Saturn is high above the north-western horizon. Mars is low in the east, below the bright red star Aldebaran, forming a second tip to the horns of Taurus the Bull pairing with Elnath (Beta Tauri).

The Moon is near Mars and will occult Elnath at roughly 4:30 am everywhere but WA.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (90 minutes before sunrise).

Western sky on the evening of Saturday, August 8 as seen from Adelaide at 19:05 ACST (90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen).

Venus is well above the horizon when the sky is fully dark. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time. Venus is a clear "Half Moon" shape and is increasing in size. The shape is readily visible in even small telescopes (although the brightness may make it hard to see).

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time (60 minutes after sunset).

Eastern horizon on the evening of Saturday, August 4 as seen from Adelaide at 23:30 ACST (click to embiggen).

Saturn is the brightest object above the eastern horizon. Saturn is rising before midnight, but is still best for telescopic observation in the morning, and its rings are widening.

The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time.

Whole sky on Saturday, August 8 as seen from Adelaide at 19:05 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Venus is prominent in the north-west.

Bright Canopus and Sirius have set. Scorpius, and the core of the Milky way are at the Zenith the zenith.

The Southern Cross is at its zenith in the Southern sky. The Moon waning and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming easier to see.

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Mercury is lost in the twilight.

Venus climbs higher in the evening twilight and is visible when the sky is fully dark.

Mars is climbing in the twilight. Mars is below the red star Aldebaran, forming a second tip to the horns of Taurus the Bull pairing with Elnath (Beta Tauri). On the 9th the waning Moon occults Elnath and is near Mars.

Jupiter is lost in the twilight.

Saturn is in the northwest in the morning sky above Mars. It is now rising before midnight, but is best seen in the morning.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm ACST, Western sky at 10 pm ACST. For further details and more information on what's up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Star Map via Virtual sky. Use your mouse to scroll around and press 8 when your pointer is in the map to set to the current time.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/

Labels: weekly sky