Night sky August 2027 UK: planets, Moon and meteor showers
What to see from Britain in August 2027, with times worked out for UK skies rather than copied from American guides.
August brings properly dark nights back, the Perseids, and the Milky Way overhead. Saturn is best before dawn in mid-August 2027. Uranus and Neptune are also up for anyone with binoculars or a telescope. The full Moon, the Sturgeon Moon, is on Tuesday 17 August 2027. The Perseids peak on the night of 12 to 13 August, with the Moon 84% lit.
August 2027 night sky: key dates
| Date | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Monday 2 August | New Moon at about 11:05 BST |
| Monday 2 August | Partial solar eclipse in the morning: 42% of the Sun covered from London, 09:03 to 10:59 BST. Never look without certified eclipse glasses |
| Monday 9 August | First Quarter at about 05:55 BST |
| Wednesday 11 August | Mercury passes behind the Sun (conjunction) and can't be seen |
| Thursday 12 August | Perseids meteor shower peaks on the night of 12 to 13 August (Moon 84% lit) |
| Thursday 12 August | Venus passes behind the Sun (conjunction) and can't be seen |
| Tuesday 17 August | Full Moon, the Sturgeon Moon at about 08:30 BST |
| Wednesday 25 August | Last Quarter at about 03:30 BST |
| Tuesday 31 August | New Moon at about 18:45 BST |
| Tuesday 31 August | Jupiter passes behind the Sun (conjunction) and can't be seen |
Times are UK local time, rounded to five minutes. For what's up on a particular night, see the UK night sky this week and the 7-night astronomy weather forecast.
When does it get dark in August in the UK?
On 15 August the Sun sets at about 20:35 BST in central England and the sky is dark enough for stargazing from about 22:00 until 04:25. True astronomical darkness, which faint galaxies and the Milky Way need, lasts from about 23:05 to 03:20.
| Date | Sunset | Dark enough to stargaze | Astronomical darkness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August | 21:00 BST | 22:40 to 03:50 | 00:05 to 02:25 |
| 15 August | 20:35 BST | 22:00 to 04:25 | 23:05 to 03:20 |
| 31 August | 20:00 BST | 21:20 to 05:00 | 22:10 to 04:10 |
For Birmingham. "Dark enough" means the Sun is 12° below the horizon; astronomical darkness means 18°. Around midsummer it never gets that dark in Edinburgh or anywhere further north. In midwinter Edinburgh is dark about 5 minutes earlier than Birmingham and Plymouth about 15 minutes later; in spring and autumn the whole country is within about 15 minutes of these times.
Planets visible in August 2027
Saturn is best before dawn in mid-August 2027. Uranus and Neptune are also up for anyone with binoculars or a telescope. The details below are for 15 August from central England; times move by a few minutes from night to night.
Not well placed this month: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter.
Moon phases August 2027
| Phase | Date and time |
|---|---|
| New Moon | Monday 2 August, about 11:05 BST |
| First Quarter | Monday 9 August, about 05:55 BST |
| Full Moon | Tuesday 17 August, about 08:30 BST |
| Last Quarter | Wednesday 25 August, about 03:30 BST |
| New Moon | Tuesday 31 August, about 18:45 BST |
The best evenings for faint targets this month are 1 to 9 and 25 to 31 August, when the Moon is out of the sky for at least the first hour after dark. The full Moon is the Sturgeon Moon; our moon phase tonight page shows the Moon for any night.
Meteor showers in August 2027
- Perseids: peak on the night of 12 to 13 August. Up to 100 an hour under a perfectly dark sky with the radiant overhead; from a UK garden expect a fraction of that. The Moon is a waxing gibbous (84% lit), up in the evening and setting at about 01:15; the darkest skies come after that.
Also active this month: Southern Delta Aquariids.
For a quick verdict on any night, see is there a meteor shower tonight, and the UK meteor shower calendar for the year ahead.
Constellations and deep-sky objects in August
The Summer Triangle is almost overhead in mid-evening, with the Milky Way running through Cygnus from the north-east to the south-west. Pegasus rises in the east later in the evening.
- The Milky Way through Cygnus and Aquila, best from a dark site on a moonless night
- The Dumbbell Nebula (M27) in Vulpecula, visible in binoculars
- Albireo and the Coathanger
To find your way around, our constellation guides show each star pattern, and binocular astronomy explains how to star-hop to clusters like these. For the darkest skies near you, try the UK dark sky sites map.
Kit for a month of stargazing
Kit we've reviewed in full
Nothing on this page needs more than your eyes, but a star chart and a red light make finding things far easier, and binoculars show the Moon's craters, Jupiter's moons and the best star clusters.
Philip's Planisphere (latitude 51.5° North)
Turn the wheel to the date and time and it shows exactly which constellations are up. Made for 51.5° north, so it matches the sky over Britain.
Lepro Rechargeable Head Torch with Red Light (2 pack)
Red light lets you read a chart without undoing the 20 minutes your eyes need to adapt to the dark.
The UK astronomy forums' standard first pair: waterproof, bright and the right size for clusters, the Moon and the Milky Way.
Our best binoculars for stargazing
Honest, research-based recommendations for every budget.
Browse all →Affiliate links: you pay the same price, we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.
Every figure on this page is calculated for central England (52.5° north) when the site rebuilds each night, using the same methods as our stargazing tonight tool, checked against the JPL ephemeris. Each month's page moves on to the following year once the month ends.