Karlie Noon

With lockdowns being implemented across the country, many of us are not only dealing with isolation from other people, but also from the outside world. Hence, there has never been a better time to look up. No matter where you find yourself in the grips of 2021, you can always connect to the night sky.  August is a month of plenty when looking for interesting and stunning objects to gaze at. Regardless of your familiarity with observing the night sky, there is one spectacular event happening this month that everyone can get involved in. That is, Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon will all be positioned in a line (along the ecliptic) starting on August 14 until August 21 or 23, when the moon eventually catches up and overtakes the two gas giants. The alignment will take place directly above in the sky with the moon chasing the two planets from the west as the month progresses, making for some spectacular viewing. Photograph: Sydney Observatory/ Andy Casel "A Rippling Outbreak on Jupiter" as part of the 2021 David Malin Awards. For those with binoculars or telescopes, August is definitely the month to wipe off the dust to take a peek into deep space. There is a plethora of late winter, deep sky objects including an open star cluster, the Eagle Nebula positioned high in the eastern sky, featuring the breathtaking Pillars of Creation; the stunningly colourful dark nebular, Rho Ophiuchi in the Ophiuchus constellation in the northern parts of the sky; and Alpha Centauri, a three-body star