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Stargazing News 10 July 2025 - 20 August 2025

Aug 20–21 Cosmic Extravaganza: Meteor Showers, Planet Parade & Northern Lights Dazzle the Night Sky

Aug 20–21 Cosmic Extravaganza: Meteor Showers, Planet Parade & Northern Lights Dazzle the Night Sky

The Perseids peak on Aug 12–13 and officially continue through Aug 23, so on Aug 20–21 you may still catch a few meteors, with rates around 10–20 per hour under darker skies when the Moon is about 8% illuminated on Aug 20 and 3% on Aug 21. The Kappa Cygnid shower peaks around Aug 18 with roughly 3 meteors per hour, and it’s known for occasional bright fireballs that can stand out against Perseid activity. For these nights, late‑night to pre‑dawn hours are best for meteor watching, with Perseids radiating from the northeast in Perseus and Kappa Cygnids radiating from
Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED vs Skyliner 200P vs Star Adventurer 2i – Ultimate Astronomy Gear Showdown 2025

Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED vs Skyliner 200P vs Star Adventurer 2i – Ultimate Astronomy Gear Showdown 2025

The Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED is an 80 mm apochromatic doublet refractor using FPL-53 ED glass with 600 mm of focal length at f/7.5. The Evostar 80ED OTA weighs about 2.5 kg and is roughly 24 inches long with the dew shield, typically sold as an OTA with accessories rather than a full mount kit. The Skyliner 200P is an 8-inch (203 mm) Newtonian on a Dobsonian mount, with a 1200 mm focal length and a focal ratio of f/5.9. The 200P’s tube is about 112 cm long and weighs around 20 lb, with the base adding 20–25 lb for a
19 August 2025
Don’t Miss This Weekend’s Cosmic Show: Perseid Meteors, Planet Parade & Aurora Hints (Aug 17–18, 2025)

Don’t Miss This Weekend’s Cosmic Show: Perseid Meteors, Planet Parade & Aurora Hints (Aug 17–18, 2025)

The Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 12-13, 2025, and NASA’s Bill Cooke says under moonlit skies observers may see about 10-20 meteors per hour (versus 40-50 per hour under dark skies). By August 17-18, the Moon is a waning crescent, allowing ideal conditions to yield roughly 15-20 Perseids per hour before dawn. The minor kappa Cygnids are active around August 14 at about 1 meteor per hour. Venus and Jupiter form a bright dawn pair in the eastern sky on August 17-18, after having been only about 1° apart in a close conjunction on August 11-12. On August 19-20,
17 August 2025
Don’t Miss These Sky Events on August 14–15, 2025: Shooting Stars, Planet Alignments, and More

Don’t Miss These Sky Events on August 14–15, 2025: Shooting Stars, Planet Alignments, and More

Perseid meteor shower remains active August 14–15, with Moonlight washing out fainter meteors and an expected rate around 10–20 per hour. Auroras could appear on August 14–15 due to solar activity, but forecasters expect only mild geomagnetic activity (Kp 5–6, G1–G2) and no major storm. Venus and Jupiter form a bright dawn pair around August 14–15, with Venus at magnitude -4 about 20–30° above the eastern horizon and Jupiter nearby. Saturn is near opposition later in August, at about magnitude +0.4, bright and high in the southern sky for late-night viewing. Mars remains visible in the western sky after sunset,
Dazzling Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight – Your Skywatch Guide for August 11–12, 2025

Dazzling Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight – Your Skywatch Guide for August 11–12, 2025

Perseid meteor shower peaks August 11–12 (into the pre-dawn hours) with an 84% full Moon washing out fainter meteors, so expected rates drop to about 10–20 per hour instead of the usual 50–100. The best viewing window is midnight to dawn, with a peak surge around 2–3 a.m. local time as the Perseid radiant in Perseus climbs high. Fireballs may still appear, and occasional long-lasting earthgrazers could skim the atmosphere early in the night even under moonlight. Venus and Jupiter form a close dawn conjunction on August 11–12, about 1 degree apart, visible to the naked eye about 1–2 hours
August 2025 Night Sky Spectacles: Rare Black Moon, Nebula Treasure, Mars in Virgo & Saturn’s Shadow Show

August 2025 Night Sky Spectacles: Rare Black Moon, Nebula Treasure, Mars in Virgo & Saturn’s Shadow Show

On August 23, 2025, the Moon undergoes a seasonal Black Moon New Moon in Virgo at 06:06 UTC, the third New Moon in a season with four. The Dumbbell Nebula, M27, in Vulpecula is a bright planetary nebula visible throughout August 2025 and was first discovered by Charles Messier in 1764. Mars in August 2025 has a brightness of about magnitude 1.6 and a disk roughly 5 arcseconds across. Mars makes a close approach to Beta Virginis (Zavijava) on August 2, 2025, passing about 8 arcminutes to the southeast. By August 24, 2025, Mars will be about 2.7° south of
10 August 2025
Cosmic Triple-Feature: Meteor Shower, Double Planet Show & Aurora Hopes on Aug 6–7, 2025

Cosmic Triple-Feature: Meteor Shower, Double Planet Show & Aurora Hopes on Aug 6–7, 2025

The Perseid meteor shower ramps up on August 6–7, 2025, with about 10–20 meteors per hour after local midnight under dark skies despite a bright Moon at roughly 95–99% full. The August full Moon on August 9, 2025 is called the Sturgeon Moon, and its brightness washes out faint meteors during early Perseid activity. The Eta Eridanids are expected to peak on the night of August 7–8, 2025, adding about 3 meteors per hour at best. Venus and Jupiter dominate the dawn sky on August 6–7, 2025, with Venus at magnitude −4.0 and Jupiter at −1.9, about 6° apart. Around
The Telescope Revolution of 2025–2026: From Backyard Stargazing to Giant Cosmic Eyes

The Telescope Revolution of 2025–2026: From Backyard Stargazing to Giant Cosmic Eyes

Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory, introduced in 2024 and shipping through 2025, uses a 6-inch Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph (RASA) at f/2.2 with an integrated 8.3-megapixel Sony STARVIS IMX178 color sensor, has no eyepiece, a fully motorized one-arm alt-azimuth mount with StarSense plate solving, built-in autofocus and dew control, and about 6 hours of cordless operation. The ZWO SeeStar S50, launched in 2023, is a portable 50 mm aperture triplet apochromatic telescope with a built-in color sensor, 64 GB storage, a dual-band nebula filter, a dew heater, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth control, and weighs about 2.5 kg. The DwarfLab DWARF III series includes the
August 2025 Skywatch Alerts: Meteor Showers, Planetary Parades & Celestial Surprises

August 2025 Skywatch Alerts: Meteor Showers, Planetary Parades & Celestial Surprises

Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on the night of August 11–12 (into the pre-dawn of August 13), with up to about 100 shooting stars per hour under dark skies, though the August 9 full Sturgeon Moon at 84–90% illumination will wash out many dim meteors. On the morning of August 10, a rare six-planet parade will place Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn visible to the naked eye, with Uranus and Neptune needing binoculars, and a nearly full Moon passing near Saturn. Aug 12 dawn sees a Venus–Jupiter conjunction with about 0.8 degrees separation; Venus at magnitude −4.0 and Jupiter at −1.9,
July 10 2025’s ‘Buck Moon’ Will Be the Farthest‑From‑the‑Sun, Low‑Riding Full Moon of the Decade—Here’s the Exact Time, Best Viewing Tricks & Pro Photo Hacks You Need

July 10 2025’s ‘Buck Moon’ Will Be the Farthest‑From‑the‑Sun, Low‑Riding Full Moon of the Decade—Here’s the Exact Time, Best Viewing Tricks & Pro Photo Hacks You Need

The Buck Moon peaks on 10 July 2025 at 4:37 p.m. EDT (20:37 UTC). Earth reached aphelion on 4 July 2025, making this the farthest full Moon from the Sun in 2025. During the 18.6-year major lunar standstill, the Moon hugs the southern horizon, producing the lowest July full Moon path since 2006. The Moon is not a supermoon, as it occurs near apogee on 5 July 2025 at a distance of 404,400 km. July’s full Moon is traditionally named Buck Moon (Algonquin) and Thunder Moon. In New York, Moonrise is at 8:53 p.m. and sunset at 8:28 p.m., a
10 July 2025

Stock Market Today

GSK share price set for Monday watch after EU clears Nucala COPD use

GSK share price set for Monday watch after EU clears Nucala COPD use

7 February 2026
GSK shares closed Friday up 0.83% at a 52-week high after the EU approved Nucala for certain uncontrolled COPD patients. Insider filings showed chairman Jonathan Symonds bought 2,500 shares while executive David Redfern sold 100,000. The FTSE 100 rose 0.6%. Broker ratings on GSK remained mixed.
Aye Finance IPO: Rs 454-crore anchor haul follows valuation cut below last round

Aye Finance IPO: Rs 454-crore anchor haul follows valuation cut below last round

7 February 2026
Aye Finance raised Rs 454.5 crore from 19 anchor investors ahead of its Feb 9 IPO, pricing shares at the top of a Rs 122–129 range. The company’s profit fell 40% to Rs 64.3 crore in the six months to September as bad loans rose to 4.85%. The IPO values Aye at about Rs 3,200 crore, below its last private round. Major investors include Nippon Life India and Goldman Sachs funds.
BAT share price closes near 52-week high as buyback rolls on ahead of results week

BAT share price closes near 52-week high as buyback rolls on ahead of results week

7 February 2026
British American Tobacco shares closed up 1.2% at 4,609 pence Friday, near a 52-week high. The company disclosed further share buybacks and management share purchases ahead of its Feb. 12 full-year results. BAT bought 121,668 shares for cancellation on Feb. 5. Investors await updates on nicotine alternatives and cash returns.
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