August 2-5, 2026: Watch the waning moon approach and pass Saturn during morning twilight. Follow the moon’s eastward motion from Pisces’ starfield toward Aries before the Last Quarter phase.
by Jeffrey L. Hunt
Venus as an Evening Star
Saturn, Morning Moon
The bright moon is visible in the southern sky before sunrise. Watch its eastward motion against the starfield from one morning to the next as it approaches Saturn, passes the planet, and then appears farther eastward. The lunar orb approaches the morning half (Last Quarter) phase.
Step outside an hour before sunrise. The bright waning moon is in the southern sky. Golden Saturn is over halfway up in the south. The Ringed Wonder retrogrades in front of Pisces’ dim stars, further veiled by moonlight and morning twilight. While Saturn retrogrades slowly against Pisces, the moon’s eastward motion is much easier to see from one morning to the next.
Saturn rises before local midnight. By three hours before sunrise, it is halfway from the southeast horizon to overhead. It is a good target through a telescope. The rings are easy to see through the eyepiece until mid-twilight.
Look each morning to see the moon wane and pass Saturn. Here’s what to see an hour before sunrise:
Highlights
• August 2: The bright moon, 86% illuminated, is nearly 45° above the south-southwest horizon. It is 21° to Saturn’s lower right.
• August 3: The waning moon, 78% illuminated, is nearly 55° above the southern horizon, nearly 10° to Saturn’s upper right.
• August 4: The gibbous moon, 69% illuminated, is about 60° above the south-southeast horizon and 8.3° to Saturn’s upper right.
• August 5: By this morning, the moon appears in front of Aries after passing Saturn. Approaching the Last Quarter phase, the moon is 60° above the southeast horizon and 6.9° to Hamal’s lower right, Aries’ brightest star. Saturn is over 20° to the lower right. The morning half phase occurs at 9:21 p.m. Central Time before the moon rises across most of the Americas.
Watch the moon wane, pass Saturn, and continue eastward against the starfield during morning twilight. This sequence provides an easy way to see the moon’s nightly eastward motion compared to the slower motion of the planets and stars.
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