The Perseid meteors reach their maximum activity on August 13 in the morning and this year the Moon will not interfere.

For the best chance of seeing the Perseids, find a location away from streetlights and start to observe from about 11pm.

The meteors cross the sky very quickly and appear from a point in the sky just to the lower left of the 'W' shape of the constellation of Cassiopeia.

On the map, which shows part of the night sky looking to the East at midnight on August 12, the green dot marks the Perseid 'radiant', which is the point in the sky where the meteors appear to emerge from.

Although the peak of Perseid activity is expected on the night of the 12/13 August, the shower is active for several weeks and a good number of meteors are likely to be seen on the nights either side of maximum.  

This month we have two full moons - and both are 'supermoons', on the 1 and the 31.

Saturn reaches 'Opposition’ on August 27. Opposition is the date in the year when the Earth is closest to a planet that orbits the Sun outside of our orbit.

At Opposition a planet is visible for most of the night and is at its highest in the sky at local midnight (1am BST) when in the South.

Due to a number of factors, that height can vary considerably and this year Saturn is about 30 degrees in altitude (a third the way up the sky from the horizon) and in the constellation of Aquarius when it reaches its highest point in the south.

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Another aspect that varies for Saturn is it’s ring system. The angle at which we view them is narrowing and in 2025, the rings will almost disappear from view as they appear ‘edge-on’.

Jupiter is becoming more prominent throughout August, rising during the late evening and in the period before dawn appearing very bright, high up in the South East.

With summer twilight now easing away, darker skies can be had during the late evening for star gazing and at 11pm mid-month, looking to the south the 'Summer Triangle’ of three bright stars can be seen, pointing downwards.

Under clear skies and away from streetlights, it should be possible to see the Milky Way – part of our own galaxy – running from near the bright star Deneb at top left of the triangle, downward towards the horizon.