Moonlight, meteors and planets: What to watch in Summit County’s August sky

Photo: Photo by Ganapathy Kumar

PARK CITY, Utah — August will bring a moon‑lit tug of war to Summit County’s night sky, pitting one of the brightest full Moons of the year against the ever‑popular Perseid meteor shower while sprinkling in a few planet cameos for early risers.

The full Sturgeon Moon rises on Aug. 9 at 3:55 p.m. MDT. The Old Farmer’s Almanac traces the name to the giant lake sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain; this native freshwater fish was readily caught during late summer and served as a key food source for Indigenous communities. At one time the species was abundant, but it is far rarer today.

Moonlight becomes a double‑edged sword three nights later when the Perseid meteor shower peaks before dawn Aug. 12‑13. NASA lists the shower as active July 17–Aug. 23 with up to 100 meteors an hour under dark skies, but the Almanac warns that this year’s display “will be washed out by a nearly full Moon,” leaving only the brightest fireballs to pierce the glare.

Planets offer consolation prizes. Venus and Jupiter huddle low in the eastern sky Aug. 11‑13 and return Aug. 20 to form a tight predawn triangle with a waning crescent Moon. Mars slides beside a young crescent Moon in the western twilight on Aug. 26.

Meteors aren’t limited to the Perseids. NASA notes the Southern Delta Aquariids remain active through Aug. 12, throwing the occasional long‑lived streak across the south‑southeast sky after midnight.

Beyond the headline events, NASA’s skywatching guide says the bright core of the Milky Way remains visible all night through August, arcing across the southern sky for observers who venture far from city lights.

For Summit County stargazers, the checklist is simple: find the darkest vantage possible, let your eyes adjust for 20 minutes and keep looking up. Even with lunar glare muting the Perseids, August still offers plenty of celestial highlights worth a midnight alarm.

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