Top astronomy events for August 2023

From summer's best meteor to Saturn shining bright all night long, here are the top astronomy events for the month of August.

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC]

00:05 Kicking off astronomy events in the month of August is the Perseid meteor shower.

00:10 This shower, considered the best of the summer, boasts up to 100 meteors per hour on the night of August 12th and 13th.

00:17 Its only competition is the waning crescent moon.

00:21 Saturn will reach opposition on August 27th.

00:24 On this night, the gas giant will be at its closest approach to Earth.

00:28 It will be visible all night, no telescope is required.

00:32 If you do have one, you can see the planet's famous rings.

00:35 The month will wrap up with the rise of the super blue moon.

00:39 Super, because the moon will be at perigee, the region of its orbit where the moon is at its closest approach to our planet,

00:46 making it appear slightly larger and brighter.

00:49 It's also a blue moon because it is the second full moon to rise in the month of August.

00:54 Reporting for AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish.

00:57 (upbeat music)