Another opportunity to see Neptune with help from Saturn presents itself in August, following the conjunction of the two planets at the end of June.
Neptune and Saturn will appear very close on Aug. 6 in the eastern morning sky between 4 and 5 o’clock.
Neptune is 1.9 billion miles beyond Saturn in the solar system and very dim because it is so far away. But it can be seen with binoculars or a small telescope just above Saturn on Aug. 6.
Saturn and Neptune rise together around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 1, so by Aug. 6 they will be well up in the eastern morning sky.
Saturn, among the dim star of Pisces, will be easy to spot with the unaided eye. Find Saturn and using binoculars find Neptune as a blue-green dot just above it.
In August, using small telescopes, the underside of Saturn’s ring system will be seen.
On Feb. 15, 2026 there will be another close conjunction between Saturn and Neptune.
The two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, will head for a close conjunction of their own on Aug. 11-12.
Venus at magnitude -4.0 rises around 3 a.m. in the eastern sky on Aug. 1 and will maintain an altitude of about 20 degrees most of the month by an hour before sunrise.
Jupiter will be rising a bit later and will appear to close in on Venus for the next 10 days.
By Aug. 11 the two bright planets will be just two moon widths apart and be side by side the next morning, Aug. 12.
For a few days on either side of this closest approach Venus and Jupiter will be a dazzling sight. And, on Aug. 19 a crescent moon will be in the same area of sky.
August always brings sky-watchers the year’s best meteor shower — the Perseids.
Unfortunately, August’s full moon is on the 9th and will impact the peak nights of the Perseids, Aug. 11-12.
However, the Perseids are often very bright so looking to the northeastern sky between 3 a.m. and dawn is still worthwhile. Focus your eyes about halfway up to the zenith (top of the sky).
The Perseids are debris from Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which last passed through the inner solar system in 1992 and will return again in 2092.