What’s Up: August 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA

A solar eclipse, the Perseids, bright Venus after sunset, and a deep partial lunar eclipse highlight August’s skywatching. Skywatching Highlights Transcript A solar eclipse, one of the year’s best meteor showers, Venus at its brightest in the evening sky, and a lunar eclipse to close out the month. That’s “What’s Up” for August. On Aug. […]

The top 3

  1. Brightest Planets to Spot in the Night Sky: Venus consistently ranks as the brightest planet visible, often followed by Jupiter and Mars, while Mercury and Saturn can also be seen with the naked eye at various times throughout the year.
  2. Most Spectacular Annual Meteor Showers: The Geminids are widely considered the strongest annual meteor shower, capable of producing up to 120 meteors per hour, while the Perseids, peaking in mid-August, are famous for their bright fireballs and rates of 50-100 meteors per hour. The Leonids are known for spectacular meteor storms occurring approximately every 33 years and are the fastest annual meteor shower.
  3. Rarest Total Solar Eclipses Explained: Hybrid solar eclipses are the rarest type, accounting for less than 5% of all solar eclipses, uniquely transitioning between annular and total along different points of their path due to Earth's curvature.

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