Don't Miss This Weekend's Cosmic Light Show: Meteors, Auroras & 5-Planet Parade on Aug 29-30, 2025

• Exceptionally Dark Skies: A rare “Black Moon” earlier this week means moonlight is minimal on Aug 29–30, offering ideal darkness for stargazing. A slender crescent Moon (first quarter on Aug 30) sets early, so faint celestial sights won’t be washed out ts2.tech ts2.tech.
• Meteor Action – Perseids & Aurigids: The famous Perseid meteor shower peaked in mid-August under a bright Moon, yielding only a few visible meteors per hour nasa.gov. By late August only occasional Perseid stragglers remain. Meanwhile, the Aurigids (a minor shower from Comet Kiess) are active Aug 28–Sept 5 and will peak around Sept 1 with at most 5–10 meteors/hour in ideal conditions starwalk.space. Don’t expect a storm, but under dark skies you might catch a handful of shooting stars.
• 5-Planet Parade at Night: All five naked-eye planets grace the skies this weekend. Mars flickers low in the west for ~1 hour after sunset (quite faint, magnitude +1.7). Saturn rises in the east by ~8:30–9:00 pm and shines all night (it nears opposition in late September, its brightest of the year) earthsky.org. Jupiter appears in the east by the pre-dawn hours (around 2–4 am) followed by an extremely bright Venus (~4–5 am) and elusive Mercury just before sunrise science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov. Binoculars may help spot Mercury’s tiny glow low on the horizon.
• Aurora Alert – Solar Storm Glancing Blow: The Sun has been unusually active as it approaches solar max. This week saw five M-class solar flares on Aug 25–26 alone earthsky.org. A large coronal hole is sending a high-speed solar wind stream toward Earth, and NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecast “unsettled to active” geomagnetic conditions on Aug 27 with a slight chance of a G1 minor storm ts2.tech. In practical terms, that means the Kp index could briefly hit ~5, enough for a mild aurora. High-latitude observers (Canada, Alaska, Northern Europe, and similarly far-south locales in the Southern Hemisphere) had a window on Aug 27–28 to glimpse faint auroral glows on the horizon ts2.tech ts2.tech. By the nights of Aug 29–30, geomagnetic activity is expected to settle back down to quiet or only occasional unsettled periods earthsky.org earthsky.org. In other words, any Northern Lights display will likely be confined to polar regions, as no geomagnetic storm is expected by the weekend earthsky.org. (Even a minor G1 storm is harmless – but aurora hunters know that even a small storm can sometimes push the aurora further south than usual ts2.tech.) Keep an eye on space weather alerts if you’re in aurora territory, just in case.
• Satellite Sightings – Starlink Trains & ISS: Two SpaceX Starlink missions launched on Aug 27 and 28, so “satellite trains” of those freshly deployed minisats may be visible on subsequent nights. Right after launch, Starlinks travel in a straight line, often mistaken for a string of UFOs. As Space.com notes, “on clear nights, you may spot these satellites as they streak across the sky, resembling a string of bright, evenly spaced lights” space.com. Look for a slow-moving line of dots gliding overhead—especially in the evening of Aug 29 or pre-dawn of Aug 30, when the new batches should be in low orbit and still clustered ts2.tech. (They will gradually disperse and dim over time as they climb to higher orbits space.com space.com.)
  Also, the International Space Station continues its regular dawn/dusk flyovers. The ISS is one of the brightest objects in the night sky (rivaled only by the Moon and Venus) and is easily visible as a steady, fast-moving “star.” In fact, the station’s orbit “passes over more than 90% of Earth’s population,” according to NASA space.com, meaning most people have an opportunity to see it given clear skies. In late August, many locations are transitioning from evening to predawn ISS passes. For example, around central Europe the ISS is appearing in the early morning hours (~4–5 am) on these dates, moving eastward across the sky. You can check NASA’s Spot the Station tool for exact timings in your area. When it does fly by, expect a bright white point (about magnitude –3 to –4) taking a few minutes to traverse the heavens – a perfect chance to wave hello to the crew of Expedition 73 as they orbit ~250 miles overhead ts2.tech ts2.tech.
• No Eclipse or Major Lunar Event: There are no lunar or solar eclipses occurring on Aug 29–30. (The next eclipse is a partial solar eclipse on Sept 21, 2025, visible only from parts of the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Antarctica space.com.) The Moon this weekend will be a waxing crescent setting around midnight, providing nice dark sky windows after it sets. Enjoy the darkness now – the next full Moon (the Harvest Moon) will arrive in mid-September and brighten the night sky again.

Dark Skies & Meteor Showers: Perseid Fade, Aurigid Fireballs?

Late August 2025 offers wonderfully dark skies thanks to the timing of the Moon. August 23 marked a rare third new moon in a season (sometimes called a “Black Moon”), leaving nights around Aug 27–30 exceptionally dark ts2.tech. By Aug 29–30 the Moon is only 6–7 days old – a slim waxing crescent that sets relatively early in the evening. In fact, on Aug 29 the Moon will be roughly first-quarter phase and set around local midnight (give or take), meaning minimal moonlight interference for most of the night. This creates prime conditions for viewing faint meteors, the Milky Way, and other dim celestial objects.

Meteor activity this weekend comes from two sources: the tail end of the Perseids, and the beginning of the Aurigids. The Perseid meteor shower, which dazzles every August, was severely hampered by bright moonlight during its peak on Aug 12–13 this year. Normally one of the richest showers (often 50–75 meteors/hour under dark skies), the Perseids were washed out by an 84%-illuminated Moon in 2025. “The average person under dark skies could see 40–50 Perseids per hour” in a good year, “instead, you’re probably going to see 10 to 20 per hour or fewer, and that’s because we have a bright Moon…washing out the fainter meteors,” explained NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke nasa.gov. Indeed, only the brightest Perseid fireballs managed to shine through the moonlight this year. By the time of Aug 29–30, the Perseid shower is effectively over, though a few slow, random Perseid meteors might still streak by before dawn if you’re patient. Rates will be very low – on the order of just a few per hour at most, blending into the normal background “sporadic” meteors ts2.tech ts2.tech.

On the other hand, a different meteor shower is just getting underway: the Alpha Aurigids. Active August 28 – September 5, the Aurigids are an unusual and generally weak shower that peaks around Sept 1 starwalk.space. In 2025 the Aurigid peak is expected to produce at best ~5–10 meteors per hour under dark skies starwalk.space. That’s a pretty sparse showing – you might not notice a big difference from the normal background meteor rate. In fact, experts note the Aurigids “are typically very sparse” most years ts2.tech ts2.tech. Why so few meteors? The Aurigids originate from a long-period comet (C/1911 Kiess) that only returns about every 2,000 years starwalk.space. Unlike prolific showers fed by short-period comets (which leave broad debris streams), Kiess’s infrequent visits lay down only a narrow, patchy trail of dust. Earth barely grazes this trail each year, so usually just a handful of grains hit our atmosphere – hence the modest rates starwalk.space.

That said, the Aurigids are known as one of the “rarest” meteor showers for a reason: they occasionally surprise observers with outbursts. The shower’s very discovery in 1935 came when an unexpected Aurigid display produced spectacular meteors on Aug 31 that year starwalk.space starwalk.space. More recently, in 2007 the Aurigids delivered a brief burst of 100+ meteors/hour, astonishing skywatchers lucky enough to be watching starwalk.space. (NASA even flew an airborne observation campaign to study that 2007 outburst starwalk.space.) Other minor upticks (30–50 per hour) were noted in 1986, 1994, and 2019 starwalk.space. These outbursts happen when Earth plows through a denser filament of Kiess’s dust – a rare event indeed. Astronomers calculate no significant Aurigid outburst is due again until the 2070s starwalk.space, so no heightened activity is predicted in 2025. Still, keep an eye out in case a random fireball shows up; even one spectacular meteor can make your night. The Aurigid meteors tend to be fast-moving (hitting at ~66 km/s) and sometimes bright with persistent trains facebook.com, so any that do appear could be eye-catching.

How to watch for meteors: Find a dark location away from city lights, get comfy (a reclining chair or blanket helps), and simply gaze at the sky after midnight. For Aurigids, the radiant (in the constellation Auriga, near the bright star Capella) rises after 11 pm or midnight in most locations and climbs higher in the pre-dawn hours starwalk.space. There’s no need to look directly at the radiant – meteors can streak across any part of the sky. The key is to give yourself at least an hour of watching time; meteors often come in spurts with long lulls in between. And importantly, let your eyes adapt to the dark for 20+ minutes. With the Moon setting early, the Milky Way will glow overhead on these moonless nights, adding to the experience. Even if meteor counts are low, you’ll enjoy a dazzling sky full of stars.

Aurora Watch & Space Weather Outlook

Will the Northern Lights make an appearance on Aug 29–30? The answer: probably only in far northern (or southern) regions, and even there the chances are diminishing by the 30th. But it’s worth understanding the context – this week brought a minor geomagnetic disturbance thanks to our restless Sun, and aurora enthusiasts have been on alert.

Solar activity: The Sun is approaching the peak of its 11-year cycle (Solar Cycle 25), and as expected it’s throwing some punches. Over the past few days, multiple new sunspot regions have been crackling with flares. Notably, between Aug 25 and 26, solar monitors recorded five M-class (moderate) solar flares erupting from two emerging sunspot groups (AR4197 and AR4199) earthsky.org. “Action is picking up on the eastern solar disk,” observed NASA solar scientist Dr. C. Alex Young, noting that these active regions are “setting the stage for more volatile days ahead.” earthsky.org In other words, the Sun has a lot of pent-up magnetic energy right now. One of those flares on Aug 26 was fairly strong (M4.5) and did cause a brief high-frequency radio blackout in sunlit areas of Earth ts2.tech. However, none of the recent flares launched a major Earth-directed CME (coronal mass ejection) – either the eruptions were confined to the far side of the Sun or the plasma blasts were weak/missed our planet ts2.tech ts2.tech. So the big flare-ups did not directly trigger geomagnetic storms here (a lucky break!).

Coronal hole & high-speed solar wind: The more relevant space weather influence for this week has been a large coronal hole on the Sun that rotated into geo-effective position. Coronal holes are regions of open magnetic field on the Sun’s surface that spew out streams of fast solar wind. In this case, a broad coronal hole sent a gusty stream of solar wind toward Earth starting around Aug 26–27 ts2.tech. When such high-speed streams hit Earth’s magnetic field, they tend to cause “unsettled” or “active” geomagnetic conditions, and sometimes a minor geomagnetic storm if conditions are right (especially if the solar wind’s magnetic field has a southward orientation upon arrival).

NOAA alerts and forecasts: Early in the week, space-weather forecasters were indeed cautioning about possible auroras. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a minor geomagnetic storm watch for Aug 27, expecting that the coronal hole’s stream could push the planet’s magnetic activity to G1 storm levels (Kp index of 5) for brief periods ts2.tech ts2.tech. They predicted “unsettled to active” conditions through Aug 27 with a slight chance of reaching the G1 (Minor) storm threshold ts2.tech. This meant aurora sightings were possible in upper latitudes on the night of the 27th, though not guaranteed. And in fact, through Aug 27–28 the Earth’s magnetic field did become perturbed (Kp 4–5) at times – enough for some modest auroral displays in places like Iceland, northern Scotland, Canada, Alaska, and Norway (reports of faint green glows came in on space weather forums, consistent with a Kp 4–5 event).

By Aug 28, the effects of that solar wind stream were already waning. NOAA forecast a return to quieter geomagnetic conditions, with perhaps only isolated unsettled periods lingering into Aug 28–29 ts2.tech. The latest outlook suggests no significant geomagnetic storm activity is expected for the nights of Aug 29–30 earthsky.org. The planetary K-index should hover in the low range (Kp 2–3, meaning quiet to slightly unsettled levels) as the solar wind stream dissipates earthsky.org earthsky.org. In summary, the best chance for auroras was during the Aug 27 night window – by the 29th and 30th the Earth’s magnetic field will likely be settling back to normal.

Aurora visibility: If you live in high latitudes, it’s still worth glancing north (or south, for southern hemisphere observers) on the off-chance of any residual auroral activity. Under dark skies, even a minor geomagnetic uptick can produce a faint greenish glow low on the horizon. With the Moon out of the way, any such aurora would be easier to spot. Observers in far-northern locations – e.g. latitude 55°N and above, like northern Canada, Alaska, northern UK/Scandinavia, or in the south around Tasmania and New Zealand’s South Island – should watch the sky after local midnight for any diffuse glows or curtained lights. Keep expectations low, though. As NOAA notes, we’re likely below storm level now, so the aurora “usual zone” (polar regions) is where activity will stay earthsky.org.

For context, a G1 storm (Kp 5) is fairly mild. It can drive auroras a bit farther from the poles – sometimes down to ~50° magnetic latitude (which includes the northernmost U.S. states, northern Europe, etc.) ts2.tech. In this case, since a G1 was only a slight possibility earlier in the week, anything less (Kp 4 or lower) probably keeps auroras confined to the Arctic/Antarctic circles. One space-weather expert pointed out that even a minor G1 storm can occasionally be seen “as far south as northern-tier U.S. states or mid-latitude Europe” under good conditions ts2.tech. So if by chance auroral activity does bump up unexpectedly, those in e.g. Canada–US border states or central Europe might check the northern horizon just in case. But again, the forecast for Aug 29–30 is quiet. Realistically, only dedicated aurora chasers with clear, dark skies in high latitudes might catch a subtle auroral arc or pulses of color.

If you want to monitor the aurora potential in real time, use resources like NOAA SWPC’s Aurora 30-minute Forecast or citizen science apps/alerts (there are Twitter/X accounts and apps that send alerts when geomagnetic indexes spike). And if nothing else, enjoy the sky itself – the very dark, moonless sky this weekend means you’ll see plenty of stars. Sometimes the Milky Way and airglow can put on a show of their own, painting the sky in ghostly light. Those phenomena, while not auroras, are beautiful to behold on a clear, dark night.

Planetary Parade: Five Bright Planets in One Night

Stargazers are in for a treat as all five bright planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – make appearances in the night sky on Aug 29–30. You’ll need to time your observations since they aren’t all visible at the same moment, but with a bit of planning (and persistence in the case of faint Mercury) you can tick off all five worlds in one night.

Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

• Mars – Subtle at Sunset: Mars is the most challenging of the bunch (aside from Mercury). The Red Planet is currently a distant, dim speck – only about magnitude +1.7, similar to the average stars of the Big Dipper science.nasa.gov. It’s also very low to the horizon at dusk. Look just after sunset toward the west-northwest. Mars will appear as a tiny ruddy star low in twilight, roughly 4–10 degrees above the horizon (depending on your latitude) during the first hour after sunset. By about 60–90 minutes post-sunset, Mars sets and disappears. On Aug 29, a thick crescent Moon lies higher up in the southwest after sunset, so Mars won’t be near the Moon on those nights (they had a close pairing a few days earlier, on Aug 26). You may need binoculars to pick Mars out of the twilight glow. If you succeed, congrats – you’ve nabbed planet #1!
• Saturn – All Night Long: As Mars exits, Saturn enters. The ringed planet is approaching its 2025 opposition (which actually falls on Sept 21, 2025 earthsky.org), meaning it’s nearly at its brightest and visible all night. In late August, Saturn rises in the east by around 8:30–9:00 pm local time (earlier at more northern latitudes) space.com space.com. By about 10–11 pm it will be high enough above the horizon to observe clearly (it starts ~17° above SE horizon by 10:30 pm on Aug 24, as one guide noted space.com). Saturn then climbs to its highest in the south around 2–3 am and sets in the west around sunrise space.com space.com. To the naked eye, Saturn shines a steady golden-yellow at about magnitude +0.5 to +0.6 – not as brilliant as Jupiter or Venus, but one of the brighter “stars” in the late-night sky. It currently resides in the constellation Pisces, which has no bright stars, so Saturn should stand out clearly space.com. If you have a telescope, now’s a great time to view Saturn’s rings (they’re tilted nearly edge-on this year, appearing thin) and its brightest moons. Even binoculars might show a hint of Saturn’s oblate shape. But even without any optics, Saturn is a delight to see – it’s amazing to realize that point of light is a gas giant 800+ million miles away with a majestic ring system. Don’t forget to point it out to friends or family who’ve never seen Saturn; many first-timers are thrilled knowing that dot is the famous ringed planet.
• Jupiter – Late Night/Dawn Beacon: Next up is Jupiter, the largest planet, which rises much later at night. In late August Jupiter is a predawn object, not rising until the wee hours. Around Aug 29–30, Jupiter comes up in the east-northeast roughly between 2:00 and 3:00 am local time (earlier if you’re farther north) space.com. By dawn, Jupiter is fairly high in the east. You’ll know it by its intense brightness – around magnitude –2.5 now – easily outshining every star in the morning sky ts2.tech. Jupiter appears as a bold, steady white dot; if you catch it low on the horizon, it may twinkle a bit due to atmospheric turbulence, but higher up it’s a bright, non-twinkling beacon. On these dates Jupiter is hanging out in the constellation Aries, not far from the Pleiades cluster and the horns of Taurus (though the gathering dawn light will likely obscure those fainter neighbors). Fun fact: Jupiter and Venus had a very close conjunction earlier this month (Aug 11–12) when they passed within a degree. They’ve separated a bit now, but both are still in the same general part of the sky before sunrise science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov. As Jupiter rises, Saturn will be sinking toward the west – around 5:00 am you might see Jupiter in the east and Saturn low in the west simultaneously, a nice bookending of the sky by two gas giants.
• Venus – The Morning Star: The undisputed brightest planet is Venus, and it’s currently shining like a floodlight in the eastern pre-dawn sky. After spending a couple months lost in the Sun’s glare (during its inferior conjunction in August), Venus has re-emerged as the “Morning Star.” In late August it rises roughly 3.5–4 hours before the Sun. So on Aug 30, for example, Venus pops above the horizon around ~4:00–4:30 am local time (again depending on latitude) and is already ~20–30° high by dawn science.nasa.gov. At magnitude ~–4.5, Venus is utterly unmistakable – it’s the first “star” you’ll see fading into the blue morning twilight. Many casual observers have even mistaken it for an airplane’s landing light or something outlandish because of how intensely it gleams. If you’re up at 4–5 am, look east: Venus will be the dazzling white “morning star” lighting up that part of the sky ts2.tech science.nasa.gov. This is an excellent time to view Venus through a telescope too, as it currently shows a large slender crescent phase (since it’s on the near side of the Sun from us). But eye safety first: ensure the Sun isn’t above the horizon if aiming optics, as accidental sun-glare can damage your eyes or equipment. Naked-eye, there’s no risk – just enjoy Venus’s brilliance. Around these dates, Venus is moving through Cancer into Leo, and interestingly it passed near Jupiter earlier in the month as noted. It also had a nice pairing with the crescent Moon on Aug 19–20, which some early risers might have caught science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov.
• Mercury – Blink and You’ll Miss It: Last but not least, Mercury is technically visible just before sunrise, but it’s a tough catch. Mercury, the innermost planet, never strays far from the Sun from our viewpoint, so it only peeks out during brief windows at dawn or dusk a few times a year. In late August 2025, Mercury is having a morning apparition. It reaches greatest western elongation (furthest apparent separation from the Sun in the morning sky) in early September. By Aug 29–30, Mercury is just beginning to emerge from the sunrise glare. Look for it extremely low on the east-northeast horizon about 30–45 minutes before sunrise. That’s roughly around 5:30–6:00 am local time for many mid-latitudes (given sunrise near 6:15–6:45 am this time of year). Mercury will be perhaps 5–8 degrees above the true horizon at that time – about one outstretched fist-width at arm’s length. It shines around magnitude +0.8, so it’s not very bright and the brightening dawn will make it harder to spot science.nasa.gov. Use binoculars if you have a clear view of the horizon (like over the ocean or a flat plain) – scan just above where the Sun will rise. If you see a tiny star-like point that doesn’t twinkle, that’s likely Mercury. Don’t be discouraged if you miss it; Mercury sightings are a challenge even for seasoned skywatchers. It will become a bit easier in the first days of September as it climbs slightly higher and brightens. But by mid-September it will drop back toward the Sun again. So catching Mercury now gives you the full quintet of classical planets in one night/morning.

To summarize the planet schedule: Right after nightfall, catch Mars low in west (briefly). Through the late evening and midnight, enjoy Saturn rising and dominating the southern sky. In the early predawn hours, watch Jupiter join brilliant Venus in the east, and try to spot Mercury right before sunrise. It’s like a relay across the night by our planetary neighbors. And with the Moon only a crescent, you won’t have significant moonlight to interfere (in fact, the pretty crescent Moon itself can be considered an honorary member of the sky show). NASA’s August skywatch guide notes that all month long the planets are arranged for exactly this kind of viewing: “Mars can be observed low in the west during the hour after sunset…Jupiter and Venus shine brightly in the east each morning before sunrise…Saturn [is] observable late night to dawn” science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov. So take advantage of these clear summer nights to meet all the planets!

One more treat: the Milky Way. With the Moon absent for much of the night, the Milky Way’s misty band of stars is readily visible after dark in August. In early evening it arches across the eastern sky, then high overhead by midnight, and toward the west by pre-dawn. Look for the creamy river of light passing through constellations like Cygnus (the Northern Cross), Cassiopeia, and down to Sagittarius in the south. From a dark site, you can make out dark dust lanes and brighter patches (star clouds) in the Milky Way. It’s a reminder that our Sun is just one star in a vast galaxy – an especially fitting backdrop when you’re also hopping from planet to planet with your eyes.

Satellites, “Trains” of Lights, and Space Station Flyovers

Not all the night’s sights are natural – human-made satellites are part of the show too. This weekend, keep watch for some striking satellite phenomena, including the newly launched Starlink “trains” and the trusty International Space Station (ISS) gliding overhead.

Starlink satellite trains: If you spot a line of weird, evenly spaced lights moving across the sky, don’t panic – it’s very likely a batch of SpaceX Starlink satellites. In the past two days (Aug 27 and 28), SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets carrying dozens of Starlink internet satellites. When these flat-panel satellites are first deployed, they stick together in a tight formation and reflect sunlight strongly. The result is a visible “train” of bright lights in the night sky, which has caused many UFO reports from surprised observers. As described by Space.com, “on clear nights, you may spot these satellites as they streak across the sky, resembling a string of bright, evenly spaced lights.” space.com It’s quite the spectacle – a chain of dots moving in unison.

If you’re in Florida or the Southeast U.S., you might have even caught the launches themselves: the Aug 27 launch at dawn created a glowing “jellyfish” plume in the sky, and the Aug 28 launch just after midnight lit up the darkness briefly ts2.tech ts2.tech. But where and when can you see the satellite train now? Typically, the best time is 1–3 days after launch, once the satellites have spread out a little but are still relatively low in orbit. That puts Aug 28–30 as prime evenings/mornings to spot these particular Starlink groups. One batch was launched into a dawn orbit, meaning its train might be visible in the evening after sunset (Aug 28–29) for some locations. The other was a midnight launch, implying its train could be seen in the pre-dawn hours (Aug 29–30) as the group passes overhead ts2.tech.

To improve your odds: check online tools like Heavens-Above or FindStarlink. These services let you input your location and will list upcoming pass times for Starlink satellites (often highlighting if a “chain” is expected). Generally, look during the hour or two after sunset or before sunrise, when the satellites are in sunlight but your local sky is dark. They’ll appear as a series of magnitudes ~2–4 “stars” moving together. Initially they may be just a few degrees apart, almost like a dotted line. As days go by, they drift further apart and become less obvious as a coherent train. Also, SpaceX has been adding sunshades and darker coatings (the VisorSat program) to reduce Starlink brightness, so newer satellites are not quite as bright as the early ones in 2019 ts2.tech space.com. Still, many people who have never seen a Starlink train are stunned by the sight – it’s a tangible reminder of how we’re filling the skies with technology.

If you do spot a Starlink train, enjoy it but be mindful that astronomers are a bit concerned by these mega-constellations. Thousands of satellites can create streaks in telescope images and add to night sky light pollution space.com. As of August 2025, there are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit (with around 8,075 currently functioning) space.com – an astounding number that continues to grow. SpaceX launches have become routine (sometimes multiple launches in a week), so satellite trains are becoming a common sight worldwide. It’s an interesting intersection of stargazing and the new space age we live in.

International Space Station (ISS): The ISS is the brightest human-made object in the sky and a favorite target for skywatchers. Orbiting ~400 km above Earth, the station resembles a very bright star moving steadily across the sky, taking about 4–6 minutes to go from one horizon to the other. It does not blink or have colored lights (planes do), and it moves much faster than an airplane – crossing the sky smoothly and setting (dipping into Earth’s shadow) abruptly when it’s done. When visible, the ISS typically shines at magnitude –3 to –4, roughly as bright as Venus at its best ts2.tech ts2.tech. It’s often the brightest “star” in the sky when it passes.

Now, can you see the ISS on Aug 29–30? Almost certainly yes somewhere, but it depends on your location when it will be overhead. The station’s orbit is inclined ~51.6° to the equator, which means it passes over most inhabited areas at some point (as NASA notes, its trajectory covers “more than 90% of Earth’s population” space.com). However, it isn’t constantly visible – you have to catch it when the timing and lighting are right (it needs to be in sunlight while your sky is dark). In late August, the ISS viewing schedule for many mid-northern latitude places (like most of Europe, continental US, etc.) is transitioning to predawn passes. Earlier in the month, evening passes were common, but by the 29th/30th the morning twilight hours are when the ISS tends to appear for those regions ts2.tech ts2.tech. Conversely, in some far northern areas or southern hemisphere locations, there might be evening sightings. The easiest way to know is to use NASA’s Spot the Station website or any number of smartphone apps – input your city and they’ll give you a list of upcoming sighting times.

For example, let’s say you’re in Warsaw, Poland (just as an example of ~52°N latitude). Around Aug 27–30, the app might show ISS passes around 4:30–5:00 AM local time, low in the southwest to east direction ts2.tech ts2.tech. Indeed, TS2 Space (a skywatch blog) reported bright ISS flyovers for Warsaw at ~4:40 am on Aug 27–28, moving low across the south ts2.tech. By Aug 29–30 those times shift slightly, but the pattern is similar – early morning, coming from the west/southwest and heading east or northeast before fading. If you’re instead in, say, the southern U.S., your times could differ, but likely also predawn this week. The ISS orbit repeats roughly every 90 minutes, but you might only get one or two good passes in a given night for your area (or sometimes none on a particular day, depending on orbital alignment).

Whenever an ISS pass is due, go out a few minutes early. Look in the direction and altitude indicated (e.g. “appears 10° above WSW horizon, disappears 30° above NE horizon” etc.). At the given time, you’ll see a bright light rising or moving in that path. It will not have flashing aircraft lights; it’s distinctly a constant glow. If it’s a high pass, it’ll get brightest when it’s high in the sky. If it’s a low pass, it might not reach peak brightness but still very visible if skies are clear. It’s fun to track it across – and realize there are currently 7 people living and working on that moving laboratory! Feel free to give a wave; the astronauts likely won’t see you, but it’s a tradition among enthusiasts. For added fun, some people like to use binoculars to try to glimpse the actual shape of the station (you might just resolve an oblong shape with solar panels in steady binoculars, or you can set up a telescope to track it with practice).

Another note: besides Starlinks and the ISS, many other satellites can be spotted. These include the Chinese Tiangong space station (also bright but not as frequently overhead unless you’re at certain latitudes), old rocket bodies, surveillance satellites, etc. Occasionally, Iridium flares were a thing (flashes from Iridium comm satellites), but those satellites have been mostly retired, so they’re rarer now. Still, if you catch a sudden brief flash in the sky, it could be a glint off some spacecraft. The NOSS satellites (in visible formation of triplets), the Hubble Space Telescope, and others are trackable via apps. But for the public alert purposes, Starlink and ISS are the main highlights to mention.

If you’re out late (or early) doing some planet or meteor observing, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll see a few random satellites sliding by. They look like moving stars – usually dimmer than the ISS. Seeing one is a nice reminder of how much human activity now occupies low Earth orbit. Just this week, a stunning time-lapse from the ISS captured an astronaut’s view of city lights and even a lightning storm on Earth with star trails and satellite streaks in the background space.com – highlighting both natural beauty and our footprint in space.

Lastly, if you happen to be in certain areas, rocket launch sightings were an additional treat around these dates. As mentioned, Florida’s Space Coast had two launches that created visible effects (the “space jellyfish” from the dawn launch of Aug 27 was seen by early risers across Florida). There was also a planned Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital launch in West Texas on Aug 27, but it was scrubbed due to technical issues ts2.tech. That one might be rescheduled soon; if it launches on a clear morning, folks in West Texas sometimes see a contrail or the booster’s flame. And space fans are keeping tabs on SpaceX’s Starship Flight 10 test, which had been hoped for around Aug 26 but didn’t happen – it’s unlikely to occur during the Aug 29–30 window, but if it did, it would be a massive spectacle visible for many miles (however, any potential Starship launch will be announced and is subject to FAA approvals, etc. ts2.tech).

In summary, this Aug 29–30 weekend offers a bit of everything: dark skies for meteors, a parade of planets, a possible faint aurora if you’re lucky up north, and plenty of satellites and space station flybys to keep your eyes busy. It’s a great opportunity to simply go outside, look up, and appreciate the dynamic sky above us. Clear skies and happy skywatching!

Sources:

• NASA Watch the Skies blog – Perseid meteor shower outlook for 2025, quoting Bill Cooke on expected rates nasa.gov.
• NASA What’s Up: August 2025 skywatching guide – planet visibility and Perseids info science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov.
• Star Walk (Vito Technology) – summary of the 2025 Aurigid meteor shower (active Aug 28–Sept 5, peak ~Sept 1 ~10 meteors/hour) starwalk.space.
• TS2 Spaceweather Alert (Aug 28–29, 2025) – details on Black Moon dark skies, meteor showers and space events ts2.tech ts2.tech.
• EarthSky solar activity update (Aug 27–29, 2025) – reports of multiple M-class flares, coronal hole high-speed stream, and geomagnetic forecast (unsettled, no major storms by Aug 30) earthsky.org earthsky.org.
• EarthSky sun news (Aug 25–26, 2025) – Alex Young quote on active regions causing “volatile days ahead” and NOAA forecast of unsettled-to-active with G1 chance Aug 26–27 earthsky.org earthsky.org.
• NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (Weekly Forecast) – expected active/G1 geomagnetic conditions Aug 25–30 due to recurrent coronal hole stream ts2.tech ts2.tech.
• Space.com – “New Moon of August 2025 brings a rare Black Moon…” (J. Emspak, Aug 22, 2025) – explains Black Moon and notes next eclipse on Sept 21, 2025 space.com.
• Space.com – Daisy Dobrijevic, “Track the ISS: How and where to see it” – notes ISS orbit covers >90% of humanity space.com.
• Space.com – “Starlink satellite train: how to see and track it” (D. Dobrijevic, Aug 1, 2025) – description of Starlink trains as “string of bright, evenly spaced lights” and current satellite counts space.com space.com.
• TS2 Space alert – details on Starlink launches Aug 27–28, expected visibility of satellite trains, and ISS morning passes (example given for Warsaw) ts2.tech ts2.tech.
• Space.com – “Night sky for tonight” and “August 2025: What you can see” guides – provided context on planet rise times and constellation positions space.com space.com.