The sky over the bay.
Duxbury has one of the better front-row seats on the South Shore: an open ocean horizon to the east and south, and six miles of beach with no streetlights on it. This page tracks what is happening up there each month. Sky events you can see from town, the constellations worth learning right now, and a horoscope written for people who know what a beach sticker is. Refreshed monthly.
LAST UPDATED: JULY 21, 2026 · COVERING AUGUST 2026
This is a big month. Maybe the biggest.
August 2026 stacks three headline events into seventeen days: a partial solar eclipse over lunch, the best Perseid meteor shower in years that same night, and a near-total eclipse of the full moon to close the month. The chart shows the southern sky from the beach around 10 p.m. in mid August.
The August sky calendar
Everything below is visible from town with your own eyes, weather permitting. Times are local. For the meteor shower and the lunar eclipse, the beach is the move: park yourself facing the water, away from the crossover lights, and give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust.
The Perseids are already falling
The shower runs from mid July to late August, so any clear dark night can produce a few early meteors, often the long, dramatic ones. Rates build steadily toward the peak on the 12th. Consider these nights batting practice.
Six planets share the morning sky
Early risers on the mornings around the 12th can catch a spread of six planets strung along the dawn sky. A few are naked-eye easy and the rest want binoculars. A fine warmup act for what the rest of the day has planned.
Partial solar eclipse over lunch
While Iceland and Spain get a total eclipse, our corner of Massachusetts sees the moon take a bite of roughly one sixth of the sun, peaking just before 2 p.m. It will not get dark and you will not notice it without help, which is exactly why the safety rule matters: certified ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses only, never sunglasses, never a quick unprotected glance. If you kept your glasses from April 2024 and they are undamaged, today they come out of the junk drawer.
Perseid peak under a new moon
This is the night. The Perseids peak with the moon completely absent from the sky, the rare setup that lets the faint meteors through along with the fireballs. Under a properly dark sky the rate can approach 100 per hour; from the beach, with some Boston glow to the northwest, expect a strong showing in the dozens per hour after midnight. Face anywhere with a wide view, though the darkest sky here is out over the water. Bring a blanket, skip the phone, and note that the biggest high tide of the month rolls in right around midnight, so set up well back from the wrack line.
The Sturgeon Moon gets eclipsed
The full moon of August 28 slides almost entirely into Earth's shadow, with about 96 percent covered at maximum just after midnight. Technically a partial eclipse, practically a total one: expect the moon to go deep copper with one bright sliver holding out. No equipment or protection needed, and eastern Massachusetts sees the whole show at a civilized height in the sky. This is the best lunar eclipse visible from anywhere on Earth for the next two years, and it happens over Duxbury Bay.
One more connection worth knowing: the moon driving all of this is unusually close to Earth in mid August, which is why the eclipse lines up and why the tides run big. The week around the 12th brings the highest water of the month, topping out near 11.8 feet. The full picture is on our new Duxbury tide calendar.
Constellations this month
August is the easiest month of the year to learn the sky, because the summer landmarks are all up at once and the weather cooperates. From the beach around 10 p.m.:
Straight up: the Summer Triangle. Three bright stars from three constellations. Vega is the brilliant blue-white one nearly overhead, Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus the swan (whose cross shape flies down the Milky Way), and Altair sits lower toward the south. Find these three and you have your bearings for everything else.
South, over the water: Scorpius and Sagittarius. The scorpion's fishhook of stars hangs low above the ocean with Antares glowing red at its heart. Just east of it, Sagittarius looks exactly like a teapot, and the steam rising from its spout is the actual center of our galaxy. During the moonless week of the 12th, the Milky Way from the beach can look like thin cloud until you realize it is not moving.
Northeast, late: Cassiopeia and Perseus. The wide W of Cassiopeia climbs the sky after 10 p.m. with Perseus rising beneath it. That patch is where the Perseids appear to stream from, which is how the shower got its name.
Northwest: the Big Dipper, sliding down toward the horizon, its two outer bowl stars still pointing faithfully at Polaris. And low in the west, the orange star chasing the sunset is Arcturus, the spring star taking its leave.
A local tip: our darkest sky is to the east and southeast, over open ocean. The glow in the northwest is Boston and Route 3. Face the water and let the mainland argue with itself behind you.
The Duxbury horoscope: August
Written fresh each month for this town specifically. Two eclipses and a new moon in Leo make August what astrologers call eclipse season, a stretch for endings, beginnings, and dramatic gestures. Here is how it lands, sign by sign.
Aries
The Leo new moon on the 12th lights your courage. Say the bold thing at the cookout; someone useful is listening. By the eclipse moon on the 28th, take one old grudge to the transfer station with the rest of the recycling.
Taurus
Home is the project. The urge to redo the porch is real, so price it out before Virgo season makes you cautious. A neighbor repays an old favor near the 28th, probably with zucchini.
Gemini
Your words carry farther than usual this month, like sound over calm water. Send the message you have been redrafting since July. Small talk at the farmers market turns into an actual plan.
Cancer
The new moon points at your money house: ask for it, list it, invoice it. You are ruled by the Moon, and this month yours gets eclipsed. Let the 28th loosen your grip on one thing you have held too tight.
Leo
Your season, your new moon, and a meteor shower for a birthday sparkler. Make one clean start on the 12th and tell exactly two people about it. The sky is doing enough announcing for both of you.
Virgo
Rest before your season opens on the 22nd. Fog mornings count as self-care and require no explanation. What you quietly fix in August gets loudly appreciated in September.
Libra
Your calendar is crowded, so choose the invitations that end outdoors. A friendship shifts into something steadier around the eclipse. Bring dessert, not opinions.
Scorpio
Career house lit. Someone senior is watching how you handle a small mess, so handle it like a harbormaster. Your own red star Antares hangs over the bay all month, reminding you to burn steady, not hot.
Sagittarius
Wander. A ferry, a rail trail, a town you never bothered with. The meteor peak on the 12th is an archer's sky; make one wish per fireball and mean at least one of them.
Capricorn
Shared matters surface: bills, boats, in-laws. Untangle one knot on paper before the 28th and the rest loosens on its own. An oyster dinner settles more than a meeting would.
Aquarius
The eclipses land across your relationship line, and partnerships of every kind want plain terms this month. Say what you actually want. Watch the moon get swallowed on the 28th and let one arrangement end well.
Pisces
The lunar eclipse on the 28th happens in your sign, the closest thing August has to a personal note. Feelings run like a moon tide: real, strong, and temporary. Swim early, decide late.