You can’t beat the night sky in the 705. From the blanket of stars to breathtaking Northern Lights, skywatching is a beloved pastime for residents and visitors alike, and this August will have a plethora of astronomical events.
A partial solar eclipse across Canada sets us up for what could be the best Perseid meteor shower in years, to be followed up by another close planetary conjunction in the predawn sky, and a spectacular lunar eclipse at the end of August.
Here are the major astronomical events for Summer 2026:
August 12: Total Solar Eclipse
A spectacular total solar eclipse will sweep across the Northern Hemisphere. The path of totality crosses through the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain, while a partial eclipse will be visible across much of Canada (including parts of Ontario), the northern United States, and western Europe.
August 12–13: Perseid Meteor Shower Peak
The Perseids, one of the most prolific and brightest meteor showers of the year, will peak during dark, moonless skies, offering excellent viewing conditions. Observers can expect up to 100 meteors per hour in the pre-dawn hours.
August 15: Venus at Greatest Elongation East
Venus will shine brilliantly in the western sky after sunset, appearing at its greatest distance from the Sun. This makes it an ideal time to spot the dazzling planet against the evening sky.
August 27–28: Partial Lunar Eclipse
The month closes with a deep partial lunar eclipse, where up to 93% of the Moon will be obscured by the Earth’s shadow. This event will be visible across the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
The Sun reached its highest point in the sky in the northern hemisphere for this year on June 21st. Across Canada, from coast to coast to coast, June 21st is decisively the longest day of the year. However, scattered communities within each time zone have not one longest day, but two, and something unusual occurs in the far northwest.
In Atlantic Canada, Sydney, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., for example, both have their longest days on June 20 AND June 21. Same goes for Granby and Montreal, in Quebec, as well as Ottawa, Peterborough, Hamilton, Kitchener, Guelph, London, North Bay, Sault Ste Marie, and Thunder Bay in Ontario.
Look for the Full Strawberry Moon on June 29-30, the Full Buck Moon on July 28-29, and the Full Sturgeon Moon on August 27-28. The timing of the Full Moons during the season also sets up some excellent astronomical events for the month of August.
Solar Eclipse
During the day on August 12, the Sun, the New Moon, and Earth will line up perfectly to produce a total solar eclipse, where the Moon will completely block the Sun for up to 2 minutes and 18 seconds.
Unlike the April 2024 solar eclipse, the path of totality for this event does not pass over any part of Canada. Instead, it tracks from the Arctic down through Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal, and Spain, before ending in the Mediterranean Sea. However, most of Canada will see a partial solar eclipse throughout the day.
The magnitude of the partial eclipse — the amount of the Sun covered by the Moon — is greatest the farther north and east the observer is. Thus, provided there are clear skies that day, locations on Ellesmere Island and Baffin Island, coastal regions of Labrador, and along the northern and eastern shores of the island of Newfoundland will likely provide the best viewing of this astronomical alignment.
As there is no safe time to view this eclipse from across Canada without eye protection, be sure to use your eclipse viewing glasses to watch this event.
Perseid Meteor Shower
With the New Moon passing in front of the Sun during the day on August 12, we are expected to have perfect conditions for another event that very same night — the Perseid meteor shower. From our home in Magnetawan, we’ve been lucky enough to witness quite a show!
Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through streams of debris in space, left behind by comets or asteroids. The bits of ice, dust, and pebbles in these streams (collectively known as meteoroids) plunge into the planet’s atmosphere at high speed, each compressing the air in its path to the point where that air glows, white hot. This shows up as streaks of light in the sky, which we call meteors.
Every year, from mid-July through late August, we cross the debris stream of a comet named 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which is the source of the Perseid meteor shower. Of the dozen or so significant meteor showers throughout the year, this is one of best, usually producing between 75-100 meteors every hour during the night of its peak.
The Perseids also produce the greatest number of exceptionally bright meteors, known as fireballs. The visibility of normal meteors varies and how well you see them depends on local light pollution and cloud cover. Fireballs, on the other hand, can be easily seen even from the densest urban centres, and are often witnessed by people hundreds of kilometres away. Some can even light up the night sky as if it was daytime for a brief moment.
The radiant of the Perseid meteor shower can be found in the northeastern sky after sunset. It then climbs higher throughout the night, so meteors can be spotted as soon as it becomes dark enough to see them, and the shower tends to be best in the hours before morning twilight, when the radiant is highest in the sky
Around August 9th, the numbers increase dramatically, reaching up to 100 or more per hour by the night of the meteor shower’s peak on August 12-13.
Mercury-Jupiter Conjunction
By mid-August, Jupiter and Mercury will have swung around the Sun from us and switched from setting the western evening sky to rising in the east, predawn. On the morning of August 15th the two will be very close together, forming another planetary conjunction. This is a spectacle for early risers as the two only crest the eastern horizon around 5:15 to 5:20 a.m., local time.
Partial Lunar Eclipse
Roughly two weeks after the August 12 Partial Solar Eclipse, the Sun, Earth, and the Full Moon will again line up, this time causing the Moon to pass through Earth’s shadow. This will result in a Partial Lunar Eclipse. Like the Partial Solar Eclipse, this focuses more on the eastern half of Canada, as the Moon rises after the eclipse has begun in the west. If we’re lucky and have clear skies, all of Canada will be able to see most of this eclipse, including the Maximum Partial Eclipse, where the Moon will be roughly 93 per cent immersed into Earth’s dark umbra.
The Galactic Core
Summer is a great time to spot the bright core of our home galaxy! The Milky Way is visible as a faint band of hazy light arching across the sky all night. The galactic core is visible in our skies throughout much of summer. It’s best to be in a very dark location and just let your eyes adjust to view it.
Fall Equinox
All good things must come to an end. On September 23rd, the Sun crosses the celestial equator headed from north to south. This marks the fall equinox and the beginning of Astronomical Autumn for the northern hemisphere. But the skywatching is not over. In fact, fall is known as meteor shower season, and for good reason. Of the dozen major meteor showers we see each year, over half take place during this season. Starting in early October, there’s at least one meteor shower active each night until the season ends on the Winter Solstice!
