August, the month of eclipses !
On August 12, a partial solar eclipse occurs at sunset in Montmaur :
First contact at 19:29:26, the Sun will be 12° above the horizon
Maximum at 20:23:07, 94.6% of the Sun will be hidden by the Moon. The Sun will be 3° above the horizon, which may be under the mountain ridges in our region...
At the time of sunset, the eclipse will not be over.
WARNING : To safely attend this event, you must wear protective goggles specifically designed to observe the sun by filtering out 100% UV rays, in accordance with standard EN ISO 12312-2: 2015.
More informations on economie.gouv.fr
On August 28 an eclipse of the moon occurs at moonset :
Entry into the penumbra at 3:23 a.m.
Entering the shadows at 4:33 a.m.
Maximum at 6:12 a.m., shortly before sunrise
It’s a partial eclipse : there will be a small portion of the Moon left outside the Earth’s shadow.
In the sky
- In the sky, the Sun is at the beginning of the month in front of the constellation of Cancer.
He continues his journey to place himself at the end of the month in front of the constellation of Leo.
- Venus, the Shepherd’s Star, keeps shining above the western horizon, the first celestial body visible after sunset, which occurs increasingly earlier. Throughout the month of August, it skirts the constellation of Virgo. The Moon makes a discreet visit to it between the 16th and 18th with its thin crescent and its ashen light. The star Spica, α Virginis, then forms a trio with them.
In August, the Summer Triangle takes center stage in the sky between the zenith and the south at the beginning of night. It consists of :
- Vega, α Lyrae, white star in the constellation of Lyra
- Deneb, α Cygni, white supergiant star, from the constellation of Swan
- Altaïr, α Aquilae, white star in the constellation of Aquila, closest to the southern horizon
Its tip, Altaïr, aims between the constellations of Sagittarius and Capricorn
- Early August is the time of the Perseids, also called "tears of Saint Lawrence" because the maximum is often around August 10.
The Perseids period is already underway at the beginning of August. It grows stronger from August 10 to 14 : the maximum for 2026 is during the night of August 12 to 13, just after the eclipse. The show will therefore not be hindered by the light of the Moon.
The Perseids are a meteor swarm (or meteor shower), made of debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle whose size is between that of a grain of sand and that of a pea. They move at a speed of 58 km/s, about 210,000 km/h. On average, one can usually observe 100 per hour. They begin to become luminous at about 115 km of altitude and turn off at about 90 km.