This month you’ll find Sagittarius, the Archer, lying almost overhead; to its south-west is Scorpius, the Scorpion. When you look towards these constellations, you are looking in the direction of the heart of the Milky Way.

With the rich regions of Sagittarius and Scutum high in the sky, you can pick up a pair of binoculars and “wander” along our galaxy from Scutum to Centaurus. Scutum, the Shield, is the fifth smallest of 88 constellations. It is located between the stars of Aquila and Sagittarius, quite close to the constellation Serpens Cauda, the Snake’s Tail, in a wonderfully rich and interesting part of the Milky Way.

In Sagittarius is M8, the Lagoon Nebula, which appears about three times the size of the full moon and is the largest and brightest of several nebulosities in and around Sagittarius. It is an excellent target for a small telescope, as is M17, the Omega Nebula, a glowing cloud of hydrogen gas that resembles the Greek capital letter Omega. Using a larger telescope with a wide enough field of view you can also glimpse the Trifid Nebula, M20. Its name means ‘divided into three lobes’. M20 is an unusual combination of an open cluster of stars: an emission nebula, a reflection nebula and a dark nebula.

The star field M24 in Sagittarius makes a great binocular target. Looking north you’ll find the planetary nebula M57, or the Ring Nebula. It and the larger planetary nebula M27, or the Dumbbell Nebula, in the constellation Vulpecula, the Fox, are both interesting targets for a small telescope.

This month’s conjunctions, which is when two astronomical objects appear close to each other, include Saturn and Neptune on August 6, Venus and Jupiter on August 12, the moon and Saturn on August 13, the moon and Jupiter on August 19, the moon and Venus on August 20, the moon and Mercury on August 22, and the moon and Mars on August 27.

By Nerida Langcake
This article appeared in the August 2025 issue of the Mornington Peninsula Magazine.