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What's In The Sky August 2025
Image credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA
Welcome to Bintel’s night sky guide for August, tailored for stargazers across Australia and New Zealand. Each month we select some of the best objects to view over the coming month, and help answer some common questions: What can I see in the sky tonight? Which planets are visible? What can I explore beyond our solar system?
This guide isn’t just a list of things to find, it’s a hand-picked selection of the best celestial sights this month, with tips to help you make the most of every clear night. And with winter in full swing, that means longer nights, better seeing, and some of the year’s best stargazing conditions.
Without further ado, let's take a look at what's in the sky this month!
What Planets can I see?
The view of planets is few and far between this month, with Mars setting early in the evening, Saturn and Neptune sitting low on the horizon very early in the morning, and the others sitting a little too close to the sun to be viewed in all their glory. That’s okay though, as a lack of planets gives way to some hidden gems in and out of our Milkyway!
MARS
Our little red planet is nearing the end of its visibility for a while, as come mid-September the planet will be too close to the sun to view. Mars is hanging low in the sky in the northwest around 5:30.
- Best observing: August 20th at 5:30pm in the north west.
SATURN
Keen astronomers can catch Saturn early in the morning, between 1am-3am, in the north. As mentioned last month, Saturn's rings are soon to “disappear” from our view for a short time, taking a look this month compared to last, you can see the slight precession Saturn has made to give us a more closed off view of its rings.
- Best observing: August 3rd at 3:30am in the north, or August 25th at 1:30am in the north.
NEPTUNE
If you’re already viewing Saturn, you may as well tilt your telescope just a bit to the horizon and take a look at Neptune. As we’ve said before, though Neptune doesn’t win any awards for being the most impressive planet to see, the satisfaction of being able to say you saw it at all is reward enough.
- Best observing: The same as Saturn.
The Moon
This month we recommend looking at the Clavius crater on the 6th of August around 9pm. Clavius is the second largest crater on the visible side of the moon, and is nearing 4 billion years old, making it one of the largest and oldest craters visible to us. This size makes it visible to the naked eye but is truly enhanced by a simple pair of binoculars or a telescope, which brings out the crater impacts on the floor of Clavius. This crater also had water molecules discovered within it by NASA’s SOFIA, indicating the presence of water on the sunlit side of the moon. And, for all you sci-fi fans out there, this is the location for the fictional lunar base depicted in “2001: A Space Odyssey”, aptly named Clavius Base!
For something a little less theoretically cool and more visually interesting, take a look at the Posidonius Crater on the 29th of August around 6pm. Viewed best with a telescope, though still visible through binoculars, Posidonius’ floor is made up of a network of rilles (fractures), which were created by volcanic activity. This volcanic activity along with other impact craters create a crater that’s got a multitude of ridges and hills to explore visually.
Bintel Recommends: for Lunar observing
The Bintel Beginner Telescope Upgrade Kit. This essential kit enhances your lunar viewing experience with:
- A Moon Filter to reduce the moon’s bright glare and reveal fine details in craters and valleys.
- A comprehensive Moon Map to help identify the numerous lunar features on the moons surface.
Special Offer: Get the Bintel Beginner Telescope Upgrade Kit at a special 30% discount when purchased with any Celestron StarSense Explorer telescope.
What Deep sky Objects can I see?
With planetary viewing shortened to just a few planets for the whole month, August is one of the best months for deep sky object viewing. The band of the Milkyway cuts right across the night sky every evening, and with the weather nice and chilly this month, there won’t be much atmospheric disturbance from the heat. This month is all about clusters and nebula, as we take a look at some of the oldest and most stunning objects in the southern hemisphere.
Ara Globular Cluster (C86, NGC6397)
Image credit: NASA, ESA, and T. Brown and S. Casertano (STScI)
Acknowledgement: NASA, ESA, and J. Anderson (STScI)
The Ara Globular Cluster starts us off with a bang, being the second closest Globular cluster to our Milkyway. As many globular clusters do, Ara offers an array of different coloured stars. The Ara Globular cluster is nearly as old as the universe – sitting at about 13 billion years of age – and as such it’s no surprise that it’s one of the most studied objects in the night sky.
| Visual | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Visually, the Ara Globular Cluster is a really nice Globular cluster to observe. In smaller scopes you’ll see a fuzzy round patch, and in larger scopes you’ll start to resolve individual stars.
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Ara Globular cluster is also a great object for smart telescopes, it fits well into the field of view of most smart scopes, and you’ll resolve more and more of the cluster with each image you stack.
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐⭐ |
The Ara Globular cluster is a pretty good astrophotography target, but as you’ll see with our later targets, there are better targets to photograph this month.
When and Where to see it
NGC6397 can be found next to the band of the Milkyway, in the constellation of Ara, best viewed around 7:30pm-8:30pm, on nights without the Moon.
Ptolemy’s Cluster (Messier 7, NGC6475)
Image credit: ESO
Next we’ve got Ptolemy’s cluster, another visual stunner for both naked eye, binocular and telescope viewing. This open cluster can be viewed even in Sydney, an d you’ll find it as a small collection of stars (approximately 80) shining brightly just below the Scorpion tail of constellation Scorpius.
| Visual | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Ptolemy’s Cluster is one of the best open clusters in the sky. Through a telescope you’ll see an area dense with stars, and in dark skies, you’ll see that this object is framed by some of the Milky Way’s interstellar dust regions.
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Ptolemy’s cluster fits well in the field of view of most smart telescopes, but isn’t as impressive looking as it is through the eyepiece.
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Ptolemy’s cluster is an interesting astrophotography target, as you’ve got loads of interesting dark nebula in the region alongside the cluster itself.
When and Where to see it
Messier 7 can be found just below the tail of the Scorpius constellation, best viewed around 8pm-9pm all throughout the month.
Trifid Nebula (M20, NGC6514)
Image credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA
Trifid is a bright star forming region that houses a range of different types of nebula. The combination of an open cluster, reflection, emission and dark nebula makes up its tri lobed shape. It’s red and blue colour, coupled with the bright stars nestled under its dark nebula, makes Trifid a fantastic object to photograph. It get’s its name from it’s distinctive 3 dust lanes that run across the face of the nebula.
| Visual | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Trifid Nebula is a great visual target, and in dark skies, you’ll see a bright round area of the sky cris-crossed with dark stripes. Unfortunately those observing from city skies may struggle to resolve the same structure in the object.
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Trifid is an incredible smart telescope target, as it fit’s great within the field of view of almost all smart telescopes, and you’ll be able to observe not just the hydrogen alpha region of the nebula, but also the reflection nebula right along side it.
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Trifid nebula is also a very rewarding astrophotography target. It’s very easy to shoot, but the great thing about this target is that more than others, it really benefits from the extra exposure time you can give it, as you’ll start to reveal the full extent of the surrounding reflection nebula. We can’t rate this object highly enough.
When and Where to see it
You’ll find the Trifid nebula right next to the Lagoon nebula. It’s visible from 6pm onwards, but for the best views, when it’s at its highest in the sky look to observe between 730pm-8:30pm. To see the most detail, we suggest observing near the end of the month, when there’s less glare from the moon.
Lagoon Nebula (M8, NGC6523)
Image credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA
You may have already seen this object in the news recently thanks to the incredible images from the new Vera Ruben observatory. The Lagoon Nebula is a magnificent HII region that is one of the only two star forming nebula visible with the naked eye (in dark skies, sorry city people!). The bright stars within illuminate the dust around, creating ridges in a circle that mimic those of a lagoon pool, hence the name. In darker skies, a simple telescope or even a pair of binoculars will show off this nebula as a fuzzy patch of dust.
| Visual | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Lagoon nebula is probably the 2nd easiest Nebula to observe in the sky. The most obvious feature of the Lagoon will be a dark band that runs along the brightest parts of the nebula. To get the most detail out of this object, we recommend a UHC filter.
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Lagoon Nebula is also a great Target for smart telescopes. You’ll be seeing incredible detail in no time at all, with all the rich colour of the object there to see.
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
A great brilliant astrophotography target, the Lagoon Nebula is an easy target, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that means it’s still not impressive to shoot. This object is great to shoot if you’ve got a low focal length setup
When and Where to see it
You’ll find the Lagoon nebula in the bulge of the Milkyway in the constellation Sagittarius. It’s visible from 6pm onwards, but for the best views, when it’s at its highest in the sky look to observe between 730pm-8:30pm. To see the most detail, we suggest observing near the end of the month, when there’s less glare from the moon.
The Large Sagittarius Star Cluster
Image credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA
And finally, this is your reminder that it’s still milky way season, so you’ve still got plenty of time to go out and appreciate our Milky Way.
And while you’re out there, we recommend you take a look at one of its best features, the Sagittarius Star Cloud. Near the core of the milky way lies the Sagittarius Star Cloud, though its name is a little misleading, as it’s not a gathering of stars per se, but rather an opening in the dust band of the milky way, where the galactic dust doesn’t block the stars from the core, giving us a window to observe right into the core of our galaxy where it's richest in stars.
| Visual | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Visually the Large Sagittarius star cloud is incredible, and is oh so good when you’ve got dark skies and a good pair of binoculars. It appears like an endless rich sea of stars, with some hints of galactic dust filaments framing it.
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐ |
This object is just too large to fit in the field of view of almost all smart telescopes. Though you will get a frame rich with stars from edge to edge if you do try to image the area.
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐ |
This is really more of a visual object rather than an astrophotography one, though widefield images of the region taken with a DSLR in dark skies will reveal vast wisps of galactic dust silhouetted against the glow of the stars behind.
When and Where to see it
You’ll find the Lagoon nebula in the bulge of the Milkyway in the constellation Sagittarius. It’s visible from 6pm onwards, but for the best views, when it’s at its highest in the sky look to observe between 730pm-8:30pm. To see the most detail, we suggest observing near the end of the month, when there’s less glare from the moon.
Honourable Mentions:
Cats Paw Nebula (NGC6334)
Image credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2
As the name suggests, Cat’s Paw nebula is the remnant of a supernova that takes the shape of a cats paw. Its bright red colour comes from the over abundance of hydrogen atoms, and the density of interstellar dust creates the three lobes that make up the bean toes of the cats paw. Cat’s Paw is high in the sky all month with 7:30pm-8:30pm being the best time to catch it.
| Visual | ⭐ |
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Ink Spot Nebula (B86)
Image credit: ESO
Sometimes with nebula it’s not about what you can see, it’s what you can’t. More specifically, the dark nebula known as the Ink Spot creates a void of cold gas in a patch of stars, blocking all light. Much like Cat’s Paw, Ink Spot is visible best between 7:30pm-8:30pm, as its sitting high in the sky before setting in the south west each night.
| Visual | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Bug Nebula (C69, NGC6302)
Image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Despite only being in the honourable mentions, the Bug Nebula is a gorgeous planetary nebula, known best for its mimic of butterfly wings when photographed. In the centre sits the white dwarf responsible for the bipolar lobe structure of this nebula. You should be noticing a pattern for viewing times for these objects by now, as you’ll want to look at the Bug nebula at the same time as before; 7:30pm-8:30pm right above you.
| Visual | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Smart Telescopes | ⭐⭐ |
| Astrophotography | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
That's all for August folks! With the planets unable to steal the show for a while, we get to highlight some fantastic deep sky objects that will really blow you away. Don't forget to layer your clothes and bring a hot drink with you while observing, even if Australia is known for its heat, our chilly nights are no joke!
On a final note, we want to remind people that our guide is just that, a guide! There is a whole universe to explore out there, and since no two people have the exact same set up, location or eyesight, it is always worth trying things for yourself. You never know what you might see!
Clear Skies!
The Team at Bintel.
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