Night Sky - August 2026
On July 11, we joined the crowd that was welcoming the Danko telescope to Lennox and Addington Dark Sky Viewing Area. As a Global News crew aired a segment about the telescope earlier in the week, there was a capacity crowd. Digital tickets for parking spaces had been fully allocated. These are available from the website at no charge. When the parking lot is full, other parking places are limited. There are volunteers assisting with parking, telescopes, astrophotography, a laser show and general helpfulness. Bring chairs, blankets, refreshment and NO white light(red or green is acceptable). It was nice to have the 25 inch Obsession Telescope returned to Atilla Danko’s favourite pastime, sharing the night sky.
This month all of the naked eye visible planets return (Jupiter was too close to the Sun last month) so it will be rising at dawn in the ENE. Mercury will be low in the ENE in morning twilight but will dip below the horizon before the end of the month as it approaches the Sun. Venus is low in the WSW during evening twilight. Mars will be E in the morning. Saturn will be rising after 10 pm in the E, transit before 5 am, be high in SE by dawn.
If you are looking up during twilight, try to identify planets and stars. The first or last to show are usually planets. They are closer to us and have a lighted surface. If it is an Inner planet, it will have phases like the Moon, Outer ones are more like a full Moon but they have different faces. The light reflected from a planet is usually pretty steady, it doesn’t change brightness or shape. Unless you are looking through a lot of Earth’s atmosphere; that can shake any image. A star is a point producing its own light. It twinkles, something you don’t see on a photograph. The first stars appearing now are the Summer Triangle: Deneb, Altair and Lyra. They are the brightest stars in the summer for the Northern Hemisphere. They are often the last ones to fade in the morning as well
Mercury will be its furthest from the Sun (1.9 degrees) on August 2nd. The 5th has the Moon at Last Quarter and the 6th has the Lunar Curtis X visible. Mars will be 4 degrees S of the Moon on the 9th. On the 10th, the Moon is a Perigee (closest to Earth) and Mercury will be 2 degrees S of the Moon on the 11th. New Moon is on the 12. There is a Partial Solar Eclipse visible from Kingston starting 11:34 am. Full eye protection required. This is also the best viewing of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Perseid meteors can be seen throughout the summer but they really do peak on the 12th. They are created by P/Comet Swift-Tuttle. Venus will be a greatest eastern elongation (46 degrees) from the Sun on the 15th. Mercury will be 0.6 degrees N of Jupiter. The 16th has Venus 2 degrees N of the Moon. First Quarter Moon is on the 19th. Antares is 0.6 degrees N of the Moon on the 21st and the Moon is at Apogee (furthest from Earth) on the 22nd. Mercury is in Superior Conjunction (a straight line from Earth to Mercury through the Sun) on the 27th so cannot be viewed. The Moon is Full on the 28th (Berry Ripening Moon) and there is a partial Lunar Eclipse. This will have 96% of the Moon entering Earth’s shadow and can be seen from most of North and South America. This will start at 9:23 pm and end at 3:01 am.
Summer is a great time to spend a few hours observing. Patio Lounge Chairs make good places to watch an eclipse or meteor shower. Stay out of white light, dress warmly, have some refreshments and someone to share with is best. The biggest issue is that it doesn’t get dark until quite late. That can make it hard to share with children.It is worth trying.
Check the schedules for both L & A and North Frontenac Dark Sky Parks. Itineraries are available on Social Media.
Clear skies.
