AUSTIN, Texas — There is a lot going on in the night sky during the month of August, so here is a breakdown of everything you'll want to see.
To kick off the month, there will be a supermoon on Aug. 1, named the "Sturgeon Moon." Sturgeons are large fish that are caught in the Great Lakes region around this time of year. They are the largest fresh water fish and have been reported to live up to 150 years old.
The peak fullness, which Austinites will not be able to see, will be at 1:31 p.m. But by moonrise at 8:54 p.m., the moon will still appear full, as well as extra big and extra bright. Everyone will be able to see the supermoon on Tuesday night with mostly clear conditions in place.
It will remain warm through the evening, so don't forget an extra bottle of water if you're going moongazing!
The next astronomical phenomenon on this list for August will be the Perseids meteor shower. This meteor shower actually began in July and will continue through September. Its peak, however, will be Aug. 12 and Aug. 13. The Perseids is the most plentiful meteor shower of the year, with 50 to 100 meteors visible per hour.
If the sky is clear overhead, viewing the meteor shower should be easy because the moon will be trending towards the "new moon" phase and giving off less light that can sometimes obscure meteors in the night sky.
Finally, at the end of August another full moon will appear. This will also be a supermoon but may appear even bigger, as it is projected to be about 20,000 miles closer to the Earth than a regular supermoon.
This will also be the second full moon for August, making it a "blue moon."