The Sky Today on Friday, August 28: Vesta stands still

Asteroid 4 Vesta comes to a standstill against the background stars of Cetus the Whale, visible late tonight around midnight. | Published: August 28, 2026 Asteroid Vesta (marked by the red crosshairs) comes to a halt in the sky on August 28, located in Cetus the Whale. Credit: Stellarium Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column. August 27: A deep partial lunar eclipse Asteroid 9 Metis reaches opposition at 10 A.M. EDT. It is in the constellation Aquarius and rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. However, with the bright, nearly Full Moon still nearby this evening, the 9th-magnitude asteroid will be a challenge to spot.Asteroid Vesta is stationary at 6 P.M. EDT; like Pallas (whose August 27 standstill is covered in this week’s Sky This Week column), it is also in the constellation Cetus, close to its northern border with Pisces. Not only is it farther from the Moon than Metis this evening, it is also two magnitudes brighter, so you’ve got a much better chance of spotting it with binoculars or a telescope. You can find the large main-belt asteroid by dropping just 2.3° southwest of Alrescha, Pisces’ 4th-magnitude alpha star. The region rises shortly after 10 P.M. local daylight time, so you may want to wait until around midnight or even later to give viewing Vesta a try. Also like Pallas, Vesta is making a switch from prograde (eastward) to retrograde (westward) motion relative to the background stars. Sunrise: 6:24 A.M.Sunset: 7:38 P.M.Moonrise: 7:52 P.M.Moonset: 6:48 A.M.Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (99%)*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 10 P.M. local time from the same location. Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.