2024 hasn't been a great year for observing the planets so far, but that's about to change as we leave August and head into the darker autumnal months.
We've several planetary oppositions to look forward to in the latter months of 2024, into the opposition of Mars in January 2025.
In August 2024, your best bet for planetary observing is Saturn, as it will be climbing higher in the sky and the nights will be getting darker.
You can find out more about this in our guide to observing Saturn in August 2024, and scroll down for a quick look at what the rest of the planets are like this month.
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Saturn
- Best time to see: 31 August, 01:45 BST (00:45 UT)
- Altitude: 30°
- Location: Aquarius
- Direction: South
- Features: Rings, banded atmosphere, brighter moons
- Recommended equipment: 75mm scope or larger
Mercury
- Best time to see: 31 August, 30 minutes before sunrise
- Altitude: 8° (low)
- Location: Leo
- Direction: East
Mercury sets less than 30 minutes after sunset on 1 August and is poorly placed at the start of August. Inferior conjunction occurs on 19 August.
Things then improve in the morning sky, mag. +0.9 Mercury rising 90 minutes before the Sun by 31 August.
Venus
- Best time to see: 31 August, 20 minutes after sunset
- Altitude: 3° (very low)
- Location: Virgo
- Direction: West
Venus is an evening object but not especially well placed, setting 40 minutes or so after sunset all month. A 1%-lit waxing crescent Moon sits 1.8° northwest of Venus on the evening of 5 August.
Mars
- Best time to see: 31 August, 04:10 BST (03:10 UT)
- Altitude: 34°
- Location: Taurus
- Direction: East
Morning planet Mars rises around midnight on 1 August, within Taurus not far from orange star Aldebaran. Early morning on 6 August, mag. –2.0 Jupiter, +0.9 Mars and +0.8 Aldebaran form a right-angled triangle, Mars at the right angle.
Mars moves east over the following mornings, for a close conjunction with Jupiter on 14 and 15 August. On 27 August, mag. +0.8 Mars sits 1.1° north of M1, the Crab Nebula. The Moon sits near Jupiter and Mars on 27 and 28 August. By 31 August, Mars has brightened to mag. +0.7 and appears 6 arcseconds across through the eyepiece of a telescope.
Jupiter
- Best time to see: 31 August, 04:30 BST (03:30 UT)
- Altitude: 42°
- Location: Taurus
- Direction: East-southeast
Jupiter is a morning planet visible in dark skies for a couple of hours after rising at the start of August. Mars approaches Jupiter in the first half of August, appearing 24 arcminutes to the northwest on 14 August and 23 arcminutes northeast on 15 August.
A 42%-lit waning crescent Moon sits near Jupiter on 27 August. By 31 August, mag. –2.1 Jupiter reaches 40° altitude under dark-sky conditions.
Uranus
- Best time to see: 31 August, 04:15 BST (03:15 UT)
- Altitude: 49°
- Location: Taurus
- Direction: Southeast
Uranus is in Taurus, 5.5° southwest of the Pleiades open cluster. On 1 August, it shines at mag. +5.8, reaching 16° altitude under dark conditions. By late August, this improves to an altitude of 50° up as darkness ends.
Neptune
- Best time to see: 31 August, 02:30 BST (01:30 UT)
- Altitude: 35°
- Location: Pisces
- Direction: South
Neptune reaches peak altitude under dark-sky conditions from mid August, but at mag. +7.8 requires at least binoculars. On the evening of 21 August at 22:30 BST (21:30 UT), it lies 6 arcminutes from the northern edge of a 93%-lit Moon.
Click here to find out more about capturing the planets on camera
If you are a practical observer or an astro imager, share your observing adventures and images with us by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
