Sky Matters: August brings a 'close encounter' between Jupiter and Venus

There are two main events to keep an eye out for in August — the annual Perseid meteor shower on August 12 and 13, and a “close encounter” between Jupiter and Venus on August 27. 

The Perseid meteor shower is at its maximum on the night of August 12 and into the early hours of August 13. Under favourable sky conditions you can generally expect to see somewhere between 60-100 meteors per hour.

The moon is not ideal this year in the early part of the night, but it does set around 12.30am on August 13, so late owls will have excellent dark skies from then on until at least 4am. If you are not a late owl it is still definitely worth heading out after dark. Before the Moon sets there is also a lovely alignment with Saturn and Mars to watch out for on the night of August 12.