Get your telescopes ready: The moon will appear close to these 2 planets this weekend

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer

The second weekend of August will feature an astronomical alignment that will be great for stargazers of all ages and will be bright enough to see even in cities with high light pollution.

The three-night event will give stargazers the opportunity to see Jupiter, Saturn and the moon fall in line with each other in the southern sky, spanning Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night. Since this takes place over three nights, if stargazers encounter thick cloud cover one night, they can hold out for a night when the weather is more conducive for viewing.

No telescope is needed to see the moon or the two planets, but having one will unveil some extra details and perhaps even Pluto, which will be in the same area of the sky. Onlookers may also spot a few shooting stars associated with the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks on Monday night. 

The show will kick off on Friday night as Jupiter and the moon pair up in the southern sky. The two will be close enough to fit in the same field of view of some telescopes and binoculars.

The two will only be visible during the first half of the night as Jupiter sets between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. local time, followed by the moon shortly after. 

Saturday night will feature the alignment of the three celestial objects as the moon appears nearly directly between Jupiter and Saturn.

The three objects are bright enough to be seen in areas of high light pollution, such as New York City, Houston and Los Angeles. 

The three-night show will come to a conclusion on Sunday night as the moon swings by Saturn. It will not be quite as close to the ringed-planet as it will be to Jupiter two nights prior, but the two will be easy to spot in the southern sky.

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This weekend’s meeting of Jupiter, Saturn and the moon will be great for stargazers familiarizing themselves with a new telescope as the three objects are easy targets to find and will reveal some extra details of the planets.

Most telescopes are strong enough to reveal Jupiter’s four largest moons, which will look like four small stars near the planet. Slightly stronger telescopes focused on Saturn will reveal its famous rings, and perhaps even its largest moon, Titan. 

Saturn as seen through a telescope on Aug. 7, 2019. (Twitter/Tom Campbell/@Avid_Astronomer)

Meanwhile, folks that are more experienced with using their telescope and looking for a more challenging object to spot can search for Pluto.

Pluto is too small and too far away from the Earth to be seen with the naked eye and basic telescopes, but people that have a bigger, more powerful telescope can use it to spot the distant heavenly body.

Monday night will be a particularly good night to look for Pluto as it will be off to the left of Saturn and to the right of the Moon, giving two points of reference to help people find it with their telescope.

Saturn and Jupiter will remain visible in the night sky through the rest of August and into September; however, they will gradually grow dimmer and set earlier and earlier every night. 

The Planet Jupiter is seen in conjunction just above the waxing gibbous Moon on Monday night, January 21, 2013, from Tyler, Texas. (AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman)