The upcoming week offers several notable sights in the evening sky, beginning with a close pairing of the Moon, the planet Venus, and the bright star Spica. On Monday, Aug. 17, observers looking southwest about 45 minutes after sunset will see a 30%-lit waxing crescent moon near Spica and Venus, with the three objects forming a rough line. The following evening, Tuesday, Aug. 18, the moon will be 40%-lit and will have moved farther from Spica and Venus, though the alignment remains visible.
On Thursday, Aug. 20, the skywatching focus shifts to the southwest after dark, where a 60%-lit waxing gibbous moon will sit just beneath Antares, the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius. Antares is sometimes called the “rival of Mars” because of its reddish color and because the two objects pass close to each other every few years. This positioning offers a chance to see the moon near one of the more distinctive stars in the summer sky.
Beyond the planetary and lunar alignments, the week also provides a good window for observing the Milky Way. Although the Perseid meteor shower has passed its peak and meteor rates are dropping quickly, occasional meteors may still appear, especially in the hours after midnight. The main attraction, however, is the band of the Milky Way itself, which arches high overhead after dark, running from the northeast through the zenith and down toward the southwest.
The Milky Way is best seen at the beginning of the week, before the moon grows brighter and interferes with darker skies. This glowing band represents the combined light of roughly 400 billion distant stars within our galaxy. Looking at it means viewing along the plane of the Milky Way, into areas rich with star formation, dust lanes, and clusters, making late August one of the best times of year to see this structure from the Northern Hemisphere.
All times and dates mentioned apply to mid-northern latitudes. For more precise viewing information based on a specific location, observers can consult online planetariums such as Stellarium. These tools can help tailor the general guidance to individual skies.
