Saturn and Neptune<\/a> are visible too, but they’re over in the south.<\/p>\nThe Moon joins the parade, but not for long<\/p>\n
From 17\u201319 August, the thin crescent Moon forms a line with Jupiter and Venus, with the Moon above the two planets.<\/p>\n
By 20\/21 August, the Moon will have moved further east, breaking the alignment somewhat, and instead forming a beautiful triangle with Venus and Jupiter.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755433932_668_venus-jupiter-20-august-2025.jpg\")
The Moon forms a triangle with Venus and Jupiter on 20 August 2025. Credit: Pete Lawrence
\nMercury emerges just in time, but low on the horizon<\/p>\n
Mercury only becomes visible around 18\u201319 August as it climbs out of the Sun\u2019s glare.<\/p>\n
On this date, it has just passed between Earth and the Sun, so can be seen rising above the horizon before the Sun.<\/p>\n
It will be tricky to see, though, so you’ll need a very flat, clear eastern horizon to see it.<\/p>\n
But 18\u201319 August are the key dates. The Moon is in the right position, and Mercury is visible.<\/p>\n
After these dates, Mercury is marginally easier to see, but the Moon has now moved further east.<\/p>\n
Uranus and Neptune require binoculars or telescope<\/p>\n
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury can be seen with the naked eye, as can Uranus under good, dark conditions.<\/p>\n
But for this August planet alignment, both Uranus and Neptune will likely require binoculars or a telescope.<\/p>\n
However, extreme care must be taken if you’re attempting to observe Uranus and Neptune with binoculars or a telescope this close to sunrise.<\/p>\n
Accidentally catching a glimpse of the Sun through binoculars or a telescope could seriously damage your eyesight.<\/p>\n
You should only observe when the Sun is well below the horizon. If in doubt, don’t risk it.<\/p>\n
![\"Chart](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755433932_906_uranus-august-2025.jpg\")
Chart showing the location of Uranus near the Pleiades in August 2025. Credit: Pete Lawrence
\nTiming is everything<\/p>\n
Two things need to fall into place for you to catch this planet parade.<\/p>\n
You need to rise early and get to your observing spot well before sunrise.<\/p>\n
You need a clear, eastern horizon, otherwise you won’t see Mercury, Venus and Jupiter rise before they’re swallowed by the Sun’s glare.<\/p>\n
And, obviously, the weather needs to hold up! But there’s not much we can do about that…<\/p>\n
If you manage to see or photograph any of the August planet alignment, get in touch via contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are you preparing to see the planet alignment this Monday and Tuesday morning, 18 and 19 August 2025?…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[64,63,128,285],"class_list":["post-75015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"See](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755433931_46_planet-parade-august-18-2025.jpg\")
See Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and the Moon in a straight line in the east on the morning of 18 August 2025. Uranus is also visible, but trickier to see, while Saturn and Neptune are visible in the south. Credit: Stellarium