While August is famed for the Perseid meteor shower, two celestial bodies will vie for attention this month: an unusually active Moon cycling through five distinct phases instead of the typical four, and Venus, shining brilliantly but visible only to early risers.
Paolo Volpini of the Italian Amateur Astronomers Union (UAI) told ANSA: “The August 9th full moon will interfere with the initial days of the anticipated Perseid meteor shower, the popular ‘Tears of St. Lawrence’. However, in the following days, the moon will rise progressively later, reducing its light pollution. This offers a better opportunity to spot a significant number of meteors around the peak activity expected on the night of August 12-13.”
A lunar curiosity occurs with five phases visible in August, including the First Quarter phase appearing twice – on both August 1st and 31st. Among August’s most spectacular events is Venus, rising nearly three hours before the Sun, reaching its longest period of visibility for 2025.
The UAI highlights another key event: a close conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, the two brightest planets. They will meet in the constellation Gemini, visible before dawn on August 12th. By the early morning of August 20th, a stunning quintet will appear in the eastern sky: a thin waning crescent Moon at the center, flanked left by Gemini’s brightest stars, Castor and Pollux, and right by Jupiter and Venus, which will have separated since their conjunction.