Home > Ephemeris Program, Naked-eye planets, Observing > Ephemeris: 08/12/2026 – Eclipses, meteors and planets, oh my!

Ephemeris: 08/12/2026 – Eclipses, meteors and planets, oh my!

August 12, 2026

This is Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 12th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 11 minutes, setting at 8:53, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:42. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.

Today’s a double header of astronomical events with a slight eclipse of the sun from around 12:51 to 2:04 this afternoon for Northern Michigan, and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower tonight. Also our weekly look at the naked eye planets. Venus is our brilliant evening star low in the west after sunset. This Saturday Venus will achieve it’s greatest angular separation from the sun. It will then rapidly close the distance to the sun in 2 1/2 months. It will actually be moving around and between the earth and the sun growing a larger but thinner crescent in telescopes. In the morning, Saturn and Mars will be visible in the southeast and east respectively. Mars is competing with the brighter stars of winter, including the orange Aldebaran, and the red giant star Betelgeuse.

The astronomical event times given in this blog are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (Lat 44.7° N, Long 85.7° W; EDT, UT – 4 hours) unless stated otherwise. Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

More on the solar eclipse here.

More on the Perseid meteor shower here.

Venus in the western sky at 9:30 PM tonight.
Venus in the western sky at 9:30 PM tonight, August 12, 2026. Created using Stellarium.
Saturn, and Mars will be seen at 5:45 AM tomorrow morning August 13, 2026. Mars is entering the part of the sky with bright stars, the winter sky. So it won’t stand out until it gets much closer to the Earth.
Saturn, and Mars will be seen at 5:45 AM tomorrow morning August 13, 2026. Mars is entering the part of the sky with bright stars, the winter sky. So it won’t stand out until it gets much closer to the Earth. Mercury will be actually impossible to spot. Created using Stellarium.
Telescopic Venus at 9:30 PM tonight, August 12, 2026, and Saturn at 5:45 AM on the 13th.
Telescopic Venus at 9:30 PM tonight, August 12, 2026, and Saturn at 5:45 AM on the 13th (north up), as they would be seen in a small telescope with the same magnification. Venus’ apparent diameter will be 23.7″, and be 49.9% illuminated. Saturn will be 18.9″ in diameter, and its rings extend to 43.9″. Mars, not shown, will appear 4.8″ in diameter. The (”) symbol means seconds of arc, or 1/3600th of a degree. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts), LibreOffice Draw and GIMP.
The naked-eye planets at sunset and sunrise on a single night, starting with sunset on the right on August 12th, 2026. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 13th. Click or tap on the image to enlarge it. Created using my LookingUp app and GIMP.

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