Overview

• Mid‑August brings standout visibility of three clusters across the Northern Hemisphere, with India included in the viewing range.
• The Hyades is expected to peak before dawn around August 21 in Taurus, with the Pleiades sitting about 10 degrees above it.
• M13, the Great Hercules Cluster, lies about 25,000 light‑years away with roughly 100,000 stars, best found near Hercules’ Keystone between Vega and Arcturus.
• The Hyades, at roughly 150 light‑years away, forms the bull’s V‑shaped face, while Aldebaran appears within it but is a foreground star about 65 light‑years from Earth.
• The Pleiades hosts over a thousand young stars about 440 light‑years distant, with naked‑eye views improved by 10x50 binoculars or a 6‑inch telescope plus dark adaptation and averted vision.