Mercury - can be seen in the morning sky during the first three weeks of August. Look for it only 2 degrees below Venus on the 10th and 11th. Mercury will range in brightness from magnitude 1 to -1 during the first three weeks of August. Through a telescope, the planet's phase will change from crescent to gibbous and have a diameter that decreases from 9 to 5 arc-seconds during this time.

Venus - can be seen in the morning sky. Look for it 15 degrees up in the ENE just before sunrise. Venus will be magnitude -3.7 during August. Through a telescope, the planet will appear gibbous and have a diameter that decreases from 11 to 10 arc-seconds during the month.

Mars - will remain low in the evening as the sky darkens following sunset throughout August, but will become virtually lost in the evening twilight. On August 1 it will be about 14° up 50 minutes after sunset, but only some 6° up by August 31. It will remain at magnitude 1.8 throughout.

Mars will move towards the star Regulus, ± Leo, in August. The two will be closest on August 22, when Mars will be only 41' from the star, a little more than the diameter of the full Moon. Regulus will be slightly brighter at magnitude 1.4.

Jupiter - is located in Libra this month. The "King" of the planets can be seen in the SW at sunset and is well placed for viewing till 10 pm EDT. Jupiter will be magnitude -2.0 with an apparent diameter that ranges from 37 to 34 arc-seconds. Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a large anti-cyclone, can be seen centered on the planet's disc at the following times (EDT):

08/07/2006, 10:02 pm; 08/12/2006, 09:11 pm; 08/19/2006, 10:00 pm; 08/24/2006, 09:10 pm; 08/31/2006, 09:59 pm

A smaller anti-cyclone, which has appeared in recent years as a white oval, has changed its color to reddish-orange. This has led some to call it "Red Spot Junior". This "new" red spot is located a little south of the GRS.

For detailed postions of Jupiter's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Saturn - is in conjunction, on the far side of the Sun to the Earth, on August 8. This will mark its moves from the evening to the morning sky. Saturn will be very close to Venus on the morning of August 27, when the distance between the two planets will be less than half the diameter of the full Moon. The conjunction will be very difficult to see, as the planets will rise only about 35 minutes before the Sun. If you can locate Venus only just above the horizon in a direction between some way round to the east from northeast, then binoculars may show up Saturn.

The Cassini spacecraft continues its observation of Saturn and its many moons and rings. For the latest images from Cassini, see:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

For detailed postions of Saturn's Moons try this interactive javascript utility.

Uranus - located in Aquarius. Look for it 41 degrees up in the south around 3 am EDT during mid-August. Uranus reaches opposition to the Sun on September 4 and will then be up all night. At magnitude 5.7, Uranus can be glimpsed with the naked eye from a moderately dark site. Through a telescope, Uranus has a 3.7" greenish disc. A finder chart for Uranus can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Neptune - located in Capricornus. Neptune reaches opposition to the Sun on August 10 and will then be up all night. Look for it 33 degrees up in the south around 1 am EDT during mid-August. At magnitude 7.8, Neptune can be seen with binoculars but a telescope is needed to see its 2.3" pale blue disc. A finder chart for Neptune can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

Pluto - is located in Serpens this month, having passing through opposition to the Sun on June 16. Pluto will be due south around 9 pm EDT and 33 degrees above the horizon. At magnitude 13.9, a 6 inch scope or larger will be needed to see Pluto. A finder chart for Pluto can be found on page 66 of the May issue of Sky & Telescope.

The Perseid Meteor Shower - peaks on the mornings of August 12 & 13. This shower usually produces about 50-100 meteors/hour that can be seen from a dark site. However, this year the waning gibbous Moon will wash out the fainter meteors. Perhaps 5-10 brighter ones should still be visible through the moonlight. The best hours to watch for Perseids will be from about 12 to 5 am EDT. Face East or NE for the best view.