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Beautiful night shots of the Milky Way on the Perceids meteor shower

Photo by: Petro Belskyi

Petro Belskyi

A Guide to this August’s Best Astronomy Attractions

By: Chloe Dionisio

Learn more about the exciting things happening in the night sky this month! From the rings of Saturn to the most popular meteor shower of the year, August 2022 has us stargazing all month.

August 10, 2022

Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year from mid-July to late August. This summer the meteor shower will reach its peak from August 11-12.

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A meteor from the 2016 Perseid meteor shower streaks across the night sky above some pine trees in the Cleveland National Forest. Mount Laguna, San Diego County, California. USA

Photo by: Kevin Key / Slworking

Kevin Key / Slworking

The Perseids are a natural phenomenon caused by Earth’s orbit through ice and rock debris from the Swift-Tuttle Comet. The Perseids meteor shower peaks when Earth moves through the densest area of debris. The rates of meteors per hour depend on moonlight, in “outburst” years the rates can vary between 150-200 meteors an hour.

Last Super Moon of 2022

The fourth and final super moon of this year is set to rise on August 11th, 2022. The August super moon or the “Sturgeon Moon” will peak around 9:36 pm EDT this Thursday. In addition, the moon will brightly shine through Wednesday and Friday as well.

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TUNIS, TUNISIA - JULY 13: The Supermoon rises over Tunis, Tunisia on July 13, 2022. This is the closest the moon with be to planet Earth, making it the largest and brightest supermoon of the calendar year. (Photo by Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Photo by: Anadolu Agency

Anadolu Agency

Supermoons can appear around 16% brighter in the night sky than a regular full moon. The “Sturgeon Moon” will join this year’s set of supermoons, the Buck Moon, Strawberry Moon, and Flower Moon.

Saturn Says Hello

On August 14th, Saturn will be at its biggest and brightest point of the year allowing viewers to gaze at its larger moons and unique rings. Saturn will be in opposition, meaning that the planet will be opposite the Sun from Earth and will be at its closest to Earth.

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Illustration of Saturn.

Photo by: SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

This occurrence only happens about every 378 days or about once a year. Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona plans to point several of its public telescopes toward the planet. Their collection includes a historic 24-inch Clark Refractor and an array of high-tech telescopes and is offering public nightly viewings of Saturn and its beautiful rings.

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A Guide to this August’s Best Astronomy Attractions

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