Don’t Miss These Astrophotography Opportunities in August 2025
Jul 12, 2025
Soumyadeep Mukherjee
Soumyadeep Mukherjee is an award-winning astrophotographer from India. He has a doctorate degree in Linguistics. His work extends to the sub-genres of nightscape, deep sky, solar, lunar and optical phenomenon photography. He is also a photography educator and has conducted numerous workshops. His works have appeared in over 40 books & magazines including Astronomy, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope among others, and in various websites including National Geographic, NASA, Forbes. He was the first Indian to win “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” award in a major category.
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Every month brings some unique astronomical events that you can see with the naked eye and photograph them. In this article, let us take a look at the astrophotography opportunities in August 2025.
August 4: Lunar occultation of Antares
On the night of 4th August, the bright star Antares will disappear behind the moon, of course, from our perspective. This occultation, however, won’t be visible from all locations in the world. For some locations, it will only appear as a close approach or a conjunction between the Moon and Antares. We recommend checking Stellarium to see if it is visible from your location. This month, the same event will also take place on 31st August.
August 9: Full sturgeon moon
The eighth full moon of 2025 will appear on the 9th of August. The August full moon is also known as the sturgeon moon. Full moons are always a great opportunity to photograph them with a telephoto lens. It will also allow you to capture the moonrise in the evening and the moonset in the early morning.
August 12-13: Perseids Meteor Shower
At its strongest, the Perseids can produce up to 60 meteors every hour, making it one of the best meteor showers to watch. Swift-Tuttle, a comet discovered in 1862, is the source of it. The Perseids are well-known for generating a lot of dazzling meteors. Every year, the shower takes place between July 17 and August 24. This year, the evening of August 12 and the morning of August 13 mark its peaks. This year, all but the brightest meteors will be obscured by the declining gibbous moon. However, you could still be able to catch a considerable number of them if you have patience. It will be best viewed after midnight from a dark spot. Although they might appear anywhere in the sky, meteors will emanate from the Perseus constellation.
August 19: Mercury at greatest western elongation
Mercury, the innermost planet, will be 18.6 degrees from the Sun at its greatest western elongation on August 19. Mercury will be at its maximum point above the horizon in the morning sky at this hour, making it the ideal time to see it. Just before sunrise, look for the planet low in the eastern sky. It will be a great opportunity to not only see the planet but also photograph it with a wide-angle or medium telephoto lens (e.g., 135 mm).
August 23: New moon
The new moon week is the best time to plan your dark sky trips. Capture the minute details of constellations, nebulae, and galaxies without any interference from moonlight. Whether you are a wide-field astrophotographer or a deep sky photographer, the nights around the new moon will offer you the best conditions for astrophotography.
Other opportunities throughout the month
Along with the celestial events mentioned above, the sky will present more opportunities to catch a few more objects. And some will be better than before.
The “Milky Way season” is still on
The Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way, one of the most beautiful and popular regions to photograph, now rises early in the night sky, visible right after sunset. The Milky Way arch will be visible by 8 PM. This will be a great opportunity to photograph the Milky Way arch along with other nightscape and deepscape images.
Moon meets the planets
The moon will be positioned with different planets throughout the month. The month begins with a conjunction between the Moon and Saturn on 12th August. On 20th August, the Moon will come close to Jupiter and Venus. On 26th August, the Moon will meet the red planet, Mars.
Sunspots
The sun is undergoing what is called the “solar maximum”. During this period, the activity on the solar surface remains high. This would be a great opportunity to photograph the sunspots with a white-light filter attached to your telephoto lens.
[It is mandatory to follow precautions during solar photography. Make sure the filter is tightly and correctly attached to the lens. Do not look at the sun with your naked eyes or through the viewfinder of your camera.]
Hope you have a great month with lots of astrophotography opportunities ahead.
Clear skies!
Soumyadeep Mukherjee
Soumyadeep Mukherjee is an award-winning astrophotographer from India. He has a doctorate degree in Linguistics. His work extends to the sub-genres of nightscape, deep sky, solar, lunar and optical phenomenon photography. He is also a photography educator and has conducted numerous workshops. His works have appeared in over 40 books & magazines including Astronomy, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope among others, and in various websites including National Geographic, NASA, Forbes. He was the first Indian to win “Astronomy Photographer of the Year” award in a major category.
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