The Perseids are here: In August we expect shooting star nights galore

Highlights from our Sky Guide: Here's what the stars look like in August 2021

Perhaps the most beautiful nights of the year are upon us: an almost infinite number of shooting stars - in fact there are around 100 per hour -, an almost vertical summer Milky Way and the planets Saturn and Jupiter accompany us very conspicuously through warm summer nights. And this year even the moon is playing along!
Here we give you an overview of the celestial events in this "shooting star month". Of course, you can find exact details and detailed observation tips in our English-language Sky Guide for August 2021.
The sun is slowly relinquishing its supremacy in the sky: Day length decreases by a whole hour and a half over the course of the month. While the sun shines for an average of 15 hours at the beginning of the month, it will only be 13.5 hours by the end of August. At the end of August it gets dark noticeably earlier and the dark night lasts six and a half hours: from about 10 p.m. to 4.30 a.m. This leaves amateur astronomers with a lot of time to do. This gives amateur astronomers and sky researchers more time to observe the night sky.

Stars and Constellations in August

When it is really dark around 11.00 pm, the summer triangle has already taken up position high in the south: Vega, Deneb and Atair dominate the summer starry sky with good visibility. The three bright main stars of Lyra, Swan and Eagle form the Summer Triangle, which stands steeply above our heads in August. Close to Vega, by the way, you can already discover the quadruple star system Epsilon Lyrae with binoculars, 160 million light years away. Even a smaller telescope will show you the two pairs of stars standing close together.
Towards the end of the month, the harbingers of autumn clearly push their way into the picture from the east. First and foremost, Pegasus takes its place in the eastern sky at the end of August.
But back to summer: the "celestial W" - the stars of the image Cassiopeia - is clearly visible in the northeastern night sky. And just below Cassiopeia is the constellation Perseus, which now takes the leading role in the night sky in August: Perseus sends us the most beautiful stream of shooting stars of the year!

Shooting stars galore: The Perseids are here

The Perseids, as the falling star stream is called, send up to 100 shooting stars per hour in August. The meteor stream actually owes its name to Perseus, because the meteor stream seems to come from this constellation.
The Perseids reach their maximum in the night from 11 to 12 August. Provided the sky is clear, the best time to observe the shooting stars is between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., when it is dark enough. This year, the moon gives us even better chances to see shooting stars. This is because the new moon is on 8 August, which means there is still enough darkness around 12 August.
Ideally, you should drive out of the cities and look for an elevated spot - a small hill will do. Now just look up at the northeast sky, wait a few minutes and you can start wishing. The Perseids will weaken in the following nights, but will still be active until 24 August.
By the way: The reason for the meteor stream is comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle. On its orbit around the sun, it sends vast quantities of dust particles towards Earth, which burn up in the Earth's atmosphere and thus become shooting stars.

Saturn and Jupiter in opposition to the Sun, bright evening star Venus

Shortly after sunset, bright Venus shines just above the western horizon and moves from the constellation Leo into Virgo in August. But Venus plays more of a supporting role in August, as Saturn and Jupiter rule the night sky. As soon as Venus has set in the west, the gas giants in the east enter the celestial stage at around 22:00. Saturn rises a little earlier than Jupiter.
And both planets now have the smallest distance to Earth and are "only" 600 million kilometres (Jupiter) and 1.3 billion kilometres (Saturn) away from us. Not only that: they are in the earthly sky, in the constellation of Capricorn, exactly opposite the Sun. In this opposition, they can be seen throughout the night in August and are fully illuminated by the sun. This is also clearly noticeable: Both Saturn and Jupiter shine brighter and appear larger than usual in August. Saturn is already directly opposite the Sun on 2 August, Jupiter on 20 August.
Experienced observers with a bright telescope can spot Neptune and Uranus in the late August night: The two outermost planets of our solar system can be observed in the eastern night sky from half past one (Neptune) and half past two (Uranus) at the beginning of August. At the end of August, both icy planets can be spotted almost three hours earlier. Look for the conspicuous Pleiades and you'll spot Uranus a hand's width to the right. A good two handbreadths to the left of Jupiter, you can head for Neptune.

Summer Milky Way in full splendour

From mid-August it is dark enough to discover the delicate band of the Milky Way in all its glory - it stretches right through the middle of the summer triangle, vertically across the entire night sky. From half past ten at the beginning of the month, from ten o'clock at the end of the month is the best time to marvel at the summer Milky Way. To the left of the band of stars - and not to be overlooked - sparkles the brotherly pair of Jupiter and Saturn. Both gas giants are close together and form a bright double point - the larger, brighter one is then Jupiter.