Bright “Star” Next to Moon: What Is Next to the Moon Tonight?
A bright planet near the Moon — what a beautiful sight, easily visible to the naked eye! Want to know if Venus or Jupiter is close to the Moon tonight? Use the free Sky Tonight app! Featuring an astronomical calendar, it can also identify any bright dot near the Moon in real time. Check out this article to learn about the upcoming Moon-planet conjunctions.
Contents
- What’s next to the Moon tonight?
- What do astronomers call the approach of the Moon to the planet?
- Observations
- What planet is next to the Moon tonight? August 2026
- What planet is closest to the Moon in the sky: Bottom line
What’s next to the Moon tonight?
On August 17, the Moon will be near the bright star Spica (mag 1.0) in Virgo.
On August 20–21, the most prominent dot near the Moon will be the star Antares (mag 1.0) in Scorpius.
The Moon reaches its first quarter phase on August 20, becoming more prominent in the night sky as the week progresses. Next week, on August 28, at 04:18 GMT, the Moon will reach its full phase. Only 6 minutes before that, at 04:12 GMT, the deep partial lunar eclipse will reach its maximum. At that point, 96% of the lunar disk will be inside Earth’s umbra, making the Moon appear almost entirely red.
The constellations the Moon passes through from August 24–30 can’t boast many bright stars. The most prominent are Kaus Australis (mag 1.8) and Nunki (mag 2.0) in Sagittarius, where the Moon will be located on August 24–25.
The Moon reaches its full phase on August 28, which means that this week, it will shine brightly and, for a few days, will appear fully illuminated to the naked eye. The same night, a deep partial lunar eclipse will cover about 96% of the Moon at maximum — making it look almost total. The best views will be in the Americas, especially eastern and central North America, Central America, and South America, while parts of Europe and Africa will see the eclipse low near the moonset.
At the end of the week, on August 30, the most prominent object near the Moon will be the planet Saturn (mag 0.5) in the constellation Pisces.
What do astronomers call the approach of the Moon to the planet?
In this article, you'll come across several types of celestial events. They all involve the relative positions of the Moon and celestial objects and occur close together in time. However, they differ in detail. Here is what each one means.
Closest approach (appulse)
Closest approach or appulse happens when two celestial objects have the smallest apparent distance as seen from the Earth. For the Moon and planets, appulse often takes place close to conjunction.
Conjunction
Conjunction occurs when two celestial objects have the same apparent right ascension or ecliptic longitude in the sky. In everyday language, the terms “conjunction” and “closest approach” are often used interchangeably. However, conjunction has a more technical meaning and does not necessarily occur with every appulse.
Moon-planet conjunctions occur frequently. Once every 27.3 days, our natural satellite passes through a narrow part of the sky centered on the ecliptic and encounters planets. Planetary conjunctions are less frequent; you can learn more about them in our separate article.
Occultation
Occultation takes place when a celestial body with a greater apparent diameter passes in front of a body with a smaller apparent diameter; for example, when the Moon passes in front of a star or planet. The occultation of the Sun by the Moon is called a solar eclipse. Each lunar occultation is only visible from some parts of the Earth. That's because the exact position of the Moon in the sky varies by up to 2° at different locations.
Observations
How to spot planets next to the Moon?
Here are some things to keep in mind for successful observations.
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You may miss the exact time of conjunction or closest approach, but don't worry! Even before or after the exact moment of the event, the objects will stay relatively close together, and that's just as worth observing.
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Depending on the angular distance between the objects, some events should be seen with a telescope and some with binoculars. In general, a good 10×50 binocular will give you a 6-7° field of view; for telescopes, this figure varies — it could be less than 1°. You can calculate the field of view of your optics yourself. And, of course, you can also observe an event with the naked eye.
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When the Moon is close to its full phase, it outshines fainter objects, so the planets and stars near the Full Moon may appear not as bright as they usually do.
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A bright object near the Moon can be a star or a planet. To know for sure which one you're seeing, use Sky Tonight: point your device at the object in question, and the app will tell you its name.
Jupiter and Venus (sometimes Mars and Saturn, too) are way brighter than most stars. You can tell the planets apart by their colors:
- Mercury is gray or brownish;
- Venus is pale yellow;
- Mars is pale pink or bright red;
- Jupiter is orange;
- Saturn is gold.
- To identify an object or find out when objects are closest together for your exact location, use the free stargazing tools — Sky Tonight or Star Walk 2.
Sky Tonight app
To identify an object in the sky with the help of Sky Tonight, follow these steps:
Step 1. Open Sky Tonight and point your device at the sky or tap the big blue button. A live representation of what you see in the sky will appear on the screen, and the app will start to follow your movements.
Step 2. Point your device at the part of the sky where the object is located. For convenience, you can limit the visual magnitude so that only those objects that can be seen with the naked eye appear on the screen. To do this, tap the panel at the bottom of the screen and drag the top slider to the left, closer to the eye icon. From this panel, you can also turn on the night mode, change the constellation appearance, and more.
Step 3. Now you can identify the bright object and get information about it by tapping on its name.
You can also watch our detailed video tutorial.
Star Walk 2 app
To identify an object in the sky with the help of Star Walk 2, follow these steps:
Step 1. Open Star Walk 2 and point your device at the sky or tap the compass icon in the top left corner of the screen. A live representation of what you see in the sky will appear on the screen, and the app will start to follow your movements.
Step 2. Point your device at the part of the sky where the object is located. For convenience, drag the slider on the left down until only the objects you can see in the sky remain on the screen.
Step 3. Now you can identify the bright object and get information about it by tapping on its name at the bottom of the screen.
You can also watch our detailed video tutorial. Find more videos in the Tutorials section.
How to photograph the Moon with planets?
You can take a picture of a planet near the Moon with a professional camera or even a smartphone. Here are some tips to help you:
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Check the weather forecast. Open the Sky Tonight app and tap the telescope icon at the bottom. You'll see two tabs — Stargazing Index and Weather. Select the latter and find the date with cloudless weather, so clouds don't interfere with your night of astrophotography.
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Find out when objects are well-placed for your location. In Sky Tonight, tap the magnifier icon at the bottom. Enter the name of the object you're interested in and tap the target icon next to the corresponding search result. When the app shows you the object's location, use the panel at the top to scroll through time and determine the best time to take the picture.
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Set up a frame. Determine the apparent distance between the Moon and the planet and find their altitude using Sky Tonight. Next, define a rectangle large enough to fit everything you want in the frame, but leave yourself some room. Then use a field of view calculator to find the right lens size for the coverage.
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Bring something else into the shot. It could be a tree or a small house, depending on your surroundings. Here is an example of how a target in the foreground improves a shot. Use the AR mode in Sky Tonight to superimpose the image of the night sky on your background. Tap the big blue button on the main screen for this.
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Use a tripod. It will help your camera to stay still and take several pictures from the same angle.
What planet is next to the Moon tonight? August 2026
Here is a quick table of all the planets the Moon passes close to in August 2026.
| Date | Event | Where/when to look | Visibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 3 | Moon near Neptune | Above the eastern horizon from late evening; a small telescope is needed | 🔴 Difficult |
| August 3 | Moon near Saturn | From late evening; look east | 🟢 Good |
| August 7 | Moon near Uranus | Above the eastern horizon from about 2 a.m.; binoculars or a telescope needed | 🟡 Moderate |
| August 9 | Moon near Mars | Above the eastern horizon in the morning | 🟢 Good |
| August 11 | Moon near Mercury | Very low above the eastern horizon shortly before sunrise | 🔴 Difficult |
| August 12 | Moon near Jupiter | The Moon will be invisible, and Jupiter will be difficult or impossible to spot | 🔴 Difficult |
| August 16 | Moon near Venus | Low above the western horizon in bright evening twilight | 🟢 Good |
| August 30 | Moon near Neptune | Above the eastern horizon from late evening; a small telescope is needed | 🔴 Difficult |
| August 31 | Moon near Saturn | From about 10 p.m.; look east | 🟢 Good |
August 16: Moon near Venus
- Close approach time: 06:57 GMT
- Close approach distance: 1°50′
- Conjunction time: 08:45 GMT
- Conjunction distance: 2°05′
On August 16, the thin waxing crescent Moon will pass close to Venus (mag –4.4) in the constellation Virgo. Look for them low above the western horizon in bright evening twilight. Brilliant Venus will be easy to spot even from a light-polluted city, and the Moon’s delicate crescent will make the scene especially beautiful.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the pair will remain above the horizon during the darker part of twilight. From these latitudes, observers may also see other bright objects nearby, such as Spica (mag 1.0) — the brightest star in Virgo.
| City | Best time (local) | Separation | Altitude, Moon / Venus |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, USA | Aug 15, 8:44 PM | 4.4° | 5° / 9° |
| Los Angeles, USA | Aug 15, 8:26 PM | 3.5° | 10° / 14° |
| Toronto, Canada | Aug 15, 9:03 PM | 4.3° | 5° / 9° |
| London, UK | Not visible | — | — |
| New Delhi, India | Aug 16, 7:25 PM | 4.1° | 20° / 21° |
| Singapore | Aug 16, 7:36 PM | 2.9° | 35° / 35° |
| Sydney, Australia | Aug 16, 5:57 PM | 1.7° | 38° / 38° |
| Auckland, New Zealand | Aug 16, 8:39 PM | 1.7° | 10° / 10° |
August 30: Moon near Neptune
- Close approach time: 08:45 GMT
- Close approach distance: 4°20′
- Conjunction time: 12:50 GMT
- Conjunction distance: 4°58′
On August 30—31, the waning gibbous Moon will pass near Neptune (mag 7.7) in the constellation Pisces. Start looking for the pair above the eastern horizon from around 11 p.m. local time until morning twilight. The Moon will be easy to find, but Neptune is another story: it is too faint for the naked eye and will require a small telescope.
The Moon will be just two days past full and bright enough to wash out the surrounding sky, making Neptune harder than usual to spot. Much easier to see will be Saturn (mag 0.5), shining nearby and clearly visible to the naked eye.
| City | Best time (local) | Separation | Altitude, Moon / Neptune |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, USA | Aug 30, 5:19 AM | 4.1° | 37° / 35° |
| Los Angeles, USA | Aug 30, 5:29 AM | 4.4° | 39° / 37° |
| Toronto, Canada | Aug 30, 5:34 AM | 4.0° | 36° / 35° |
| London, UK | Aug 30, 4:51 AM | 5.1° | 32° / 32° |
| New Delhi, India | Aug 30, 5:06 AM | 7.2° | 33° / 38° |
| Singapore | Aug 30, 6:16 AM | 8.1° | 30° / 38° |
| Sydney, Australia | Aug 31, 5:21 AM | 7.6° | 24° / 27° |
| Auckland, New Zealand | Aug 31, 5:48 AM | 7.0° | 23° / 26° |
August 31: Moon near Saturn
- Close approach time: 02:35 GMT
- Close approach distance: 6°17′
- Conjunction time: 08:36 GMT
- Conjunction distance: 7°04′
On the night of August 30–31, the waning gibbous Moon will appear near Saturn (mag 0.5) in the constellation Pisces. Look toward the eastern horizon from about 10 p.m. local time. The pair will rise higher as the night goes on and remain visible until sunrise. Saturn will be easy to spot with the naked eye, shining close to the bright Moon.
| City | Best time (local) | Separation | Altitude, Moon / Saturn |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, USA | Aug 30, 9:57 PM | 5.4° | 15° / 10° |
| Los Angeles, USA | Aug 30, 9:51 PM | 5.8° | 14° / 10° |
| Toronto, Canada | Aug 30, 10:20 PM | 5.4° | 15° / 10° |
| London, UK | Aug 31, 2:08 AM | 5.7° | 45° / 39° |
| New Delhi, India | Aug 31, 5:34 AM | 6.6° | 40° / 41° |
| Singapore | Aug 31, 6:40 AM | 7.3° | 35° / 41° |
| Sydney, Australia | Aug 31, 5:50 AM | 8.2° | 19° / 27° |
| Auckland, New Zealand | Aug 31, 10:11 PM | 8.4° | 10° / 17° |
What planet is closest to the Moon in the sky: Bottom line
Now you know what those bright dots near the Moon are. To view the planets and stars near our natural satellite, choose a cloudless night and use Star Walk 2 or Sky Tonight to learn when the celestial objects are best placed for your location. For a visual explanation, watch our recently released video on how to identify bright objects near the Moon using the Sky Tonight app, step by step.
Here, you can learn about past conjunctions of the Moon and planets:
- Moon-planet conjunctions 2022;
- Moon-planet conjunctions 2023;
- Moon-planet conjunctions 2024;
- Moon-planet conjunctions 2025.
- Moon-planet conjunctions 2026.
Wishing you clear skies and happy observations!
