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August


August is the eighth month of the year (between July and September) in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the fifth month to have the length of 31 days.

In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In many European countries, August is the holiday month for most workers.

Certain meteor showers take place in August. The Kappa Cygnids take place in August with the dates varying each year, the Alpha Capricornids meteor shower takes place as early as July 10 and ends at around August 10, and the Southern Delta Aquariids take place from mid-July to mid-August with the peak usually around July 28–29. The Perseids, a major meteor shower, typically takes place between July 17 - August 24, with the days of the peak varying yearly.

The star cluster of Messier 30 is best observed around August.

This month was originally named Sextilis in Latin, because it was the sixth month in the original ten-month Roman calendar under Romulus in 753 BC, when March was the first month of the year. About 700 BC it became the eighth month when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Julius Caesar added two days when he created the Julian calendar in 45 BC giving it its modern length of 31 days. In 8 BC it was renamed in honor of Augustus (despite common belief, he did not take a day from February; see the debunked theory on month lengths). According to a Senatus consultum quoted by Macrobius, he chose this month because it was the time of several of his great triumphs, including the conquest of Egypt.


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