Asronomy for August -
"On August 9, 2020, look eastward before going to bed, and you might just catch the waning gibbous moon and red planet Mars. After this brilliant twosome rises, the moon and Mars will travel westward across the nighttime sky. They’ll reach their high point for the night at or near morning dawn.

For many months now, Mars has been either absent from our sky or inconspicuous. But now Mars is brightening, day by day, as Earth sweeps up from behind Mars in our smaller, faster orbit. By September 2020, our faster motion will have brought us even nearer to Mars. The red planet will then outshine Sirius, the brightest star in our sky (besides the sun). In October – when Earth will sweep between the sun and Mars, bringing Mars to its every-other-year opposition – Mars will outshine not only all the stars, but also Jupiter, the second-brightest planet.

Mars will beam at its brightest and best for the year in mid-October 2020. At that time, the red planet will shine about 3 1/2 times more brightly than it does now. "