You know those beautiful sci-fi portraits of humans in space suits looking up at a huge moon as it horizons over a dry, rocky land … well this month that portrait will come to life – minus the spacesuits.

On Aug. 19 not only will it be a full moon but it will also be a supermoon.

“A supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest to Earth at the same time the Moon is full …. The Moon orbits Earth in an ellipse, an oval that brings it closer to and farther from Earth as it goes around. The farthest point in this ellipse is called the apogee and is about 253,000 miles (405,500 kilometers) from Earth on average. Its closest point is the perigee, which is an average distance of about 226,000 miles (363,300 kilometers) from Earth. When a full moon appears at perigee it is slightly brighter and larger than a regular full moon – and that’s where we get a ‘supermoon,’” according to NASA.

During the perigee the Moon can actually appear 14% larger and 30% brighter.

In addition to the supermoon there will be a super close meet-up between Mars and Jupiter, according to JPL/NASA.

“During the month of August, the Red Planet, Mars, speeds past our solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, in the a.m. sky. They have an extremely close pair-up, called a conjunction, on Aug. 14, when they’ll appear just a third of a degree apart, which is less than the width of the full Moon,” according to What’s Up-August 2024, JPL/NASA.

The two planets will be along the same line of sight, so they appear closer together. Mars quickly moves away from Jupiter over the following mornings but on Aug. 27 the crescent Moon joins the two planets to form a captivating trio in the morning sky, according to JPL/NASA.

And let us not forget the Perseid meteor shower. The peak of this meteor show will be on Aug. 11 and into the early morning hours of Aug. 12. Perseid has actually been busy in the sky since mid-July. The best time to see this shower is 3:40 a.m. to 4:40 a.m. and of course the best place to see it is away from the city’s artificial light.

Griffith Observatory estimates people will be viewing 83 meteors per hour.

Deukmejian Wilderness Park will be holding a “shower viewing party” on Friday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. All are advised to bring blankets and chairs and to dress in layers. There will be “astronomy-themed snacks” served. To RSVP and/or for more information visit https://tinyurl.com/393r9w6r. Deukmejian Wilderness Park is located at 3429 Markridge Road in La Crescenta/Glendale.

But wait … there’s more! There’ll be a chance to see the Lagoon Nebula, which is located in the constellation Sagittarius.

“The Lagoon Nebula appears high overhead in August for those in the Southern Hemisphere, and quite low for those at higher northern latitudes, but it’s visible throughout the lower 49 United States. If you can locate the stars in the Teapot, you should be able to observe the Nebula too. To find it, follow a line toward the west, twice the distance from the top of the Teapot’s handle to the top of its lid.

Nebulas can be challenging to observe, even with a telescope. But with its large size and relative brightness, the Lagoon Nebula offers a great opportunity to see one of these star forges in August,” according to JPL/NASA.

Just one more thing: the Nebula is located 4,000 light years away. Seriously – August is an amazing sky-watching month.

To get the best stellar guidance visit JPLer at Preston Dyches’ “What’s Up” at https://tinyurl.com/39ff3z32. Dyches’ enthusiasm comes through the written page along with his continued wonderment of the night sky. Dyches is a JPL public engagement specialist and producer of NASA’s month skywatch video series.

The weather will continue to be hot as we go into the weekend. Temperatures will be in the mid to low 90s, with lows a more pleasant upper to mid 60s.

Today may be our coolest temperature – in the high 80s to low 90s – just a little above normal. Then we heat up again on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to the upper 90s, according to Rich Thompson, meteorologist with NOAA.

This heat will not be enough for NOAA to issue a heat advisory. We will see just above average temperatures. Tuesday will be a little cooler with temps in the upper 80s.

There is no threat of thunderstorms, according to Thompson.