Stars of the sky

1. Perseids meteor shower

The meteor shower will occur on the night of August 12, beginning at around 11pm and lasting until dawn. The highest frequency of the shower will be 100 meteors per hour, concentrated around the Perseus constellation. The meteor shower will be best observed from remote, dark areas, far from city lights.

2. Zero-shadow sun

This will be this year’s second occurrence of this phenomenon and can be seen on August 16 at 12.22pm. The sun will reach its zenith directly above Bangkok and objects at this time will appear to be shadowless. For times specific to each province, click here.

3. Saturn comes closest to Earth

Saturn’s opposition will be at its closest orbit to Earth, 1.31 billion kilometres away, on August 27. During this time, the Earth will be aligned between the sun and Saturn. After sunset, Saturn will appear bright and visible from the east until the next sunrise. This phenomenon will be observable all over Thailand.

4. Super full and blue moon

The night of August 30 will see two lunar phenomena: a super full moon and a super blue moon. These occur when the moon is closest to Earth (around 357,334 kilometres away) and there is a second full moon in a month respectively. The most recent occurrence of a second full moon in a month was on October 31, 2020.

The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) is preparing to observe Saturn’s opposition on 27 August and the “super blue moon” on August 30 from 6 to 10pm at its four main observatories: the Sirindhorn Astronomical Park, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province and the Observatory in honour of His Majesty the King's 7 Cycle Birthday Anniversary in Nakhon Ratchasima, Songkhla and Chachoengsao. They will also be live-streamed on Narit's Facebook page.