August Night Sky
D.W.Q.M.: Duke Juliano: "There's this man in Florence claims that by arranging ground glasses in a certain order, it's possible to see the moon and stars as large as your hand."
Marco: "Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, the Masque of Madragora)
I've decided that if I don't get to the night sky posts until the middle of the month, I'll still write about events that happened in the past.
Today's astronomy post is brought to you by Sky and Telescope.
Sky Events
August 2nd: Jupiter reaches quadrature (90 degrees east of the Sun)
August 7th-10th: Mercury is 2 degrees below Venus near the eastern horizon at the first hint of dawn twilight.
August 9th: Full Moon
August 10th: Neptune in opposition.
August 11th-12th: This morning and tomorrow, Venus forms a nearly straight line with Castor and Pollux.
August 12th: Perseids peak, but the moon interferes (see below).
August 16th: From now until the end of the month-10:30pm-1:00am is the best time to see the Milky Way.
August 21st: Low in the bright predawn sky, Saturn is 1 degree to the upper right of Mercury (you'll probably need binoculars).
August 27th: Saturn is just above and to the right of Venus
August 29th: The Moon is below Jupiter in the evening sky.
August Meteors
The peak nights for the Perseids this year are August 11th-12th and 12th-13th. Unfortunately, the moon will be in it's waning gibbous phase, just around the best time to see the meteors (11pm (or 12am) till first light). However, the moonlight will only fade faint meteors, so if it's quality instead of quantity that you're after, go right ahead! (I know I'll still be trying.) The Perseids will appear anywhere in the sky, so just arrange to watch the sky in a direction where the moonlight won't be directly in your eyes.
This Day in Astronomy
August 17th, 1877: Asaph Hall discovered Phobos and Deimos, 2 moons of Mars.
August 24th, 1989: Voyager 2 flies by Neptune.
Just because...an interesting fact.
August is considered the Meteor Month-not only because it is the month of the Perseids, but there are several minor showers that occur throughout the month as well.
Clear skies and happy viewing!!
Marco: "Is that a good thing?" (from the Fourth Doctor story, the Masque of Madragora)
I've decided that if I don't get to the night sky posts until the middle of the month, I'll still write about events that happened in the past.
Today's astronomy post is brought to you by Sky and Telescope.
Sky Events
August 2nd: Jupiter reaches quadrature (90 degrees east of the Sun)
August 7th-10th: Mercury is 2 degrees below Venus near the eastern horizon at the first hint of dawn twilight.
August 9th: Full Moon
August 10th: Neptune in opposition.
August 11th-12th: This morning and tomorrow, Venus forms a nearly straight line with Castor and Pollux.
August 12th: Perseids peak, but the moon interferes (see below).
August 16th: From now until the end of the month-10:30pm-1:00am is the best time to see the Milky Way.
August 21st: Low in the bright predawn sky, Saturn is 1 degree to the upper right of Mercury (you'll probably need binoculars).
August 27th: Saturn is just above and to the right of Venus
August 29th: The Moon is below Jupiter in the evening sky.
August Meteors
The peak nights for the Perseids this year are August 11th-12th and 12th-13th. Unfortunately, the moon will be in it's waning gibbous phase, just around the best time to see the meteors (11pm (or 12am) till first light). However, the moonlight will only fade faint meteors, so if it's quality instead of quantity that you're after, go right ahead! (I know I'll still be trying.) The Perseids will appear anywhere in the sky, so just arrange to watch the sky in a direction where the moonlight won't be directly in your eyes.
This Day in Astronomy
August 17th, 1877: Asaph Hall discovered Phobos and Deimos, 2 moons of Mars.
August 24th, 1989: Voyager 2 flies by Neptune.
Just because...an interesting fact.
August is considered the Meteor Month-not only because it is the month of the Perseids, but there are several minor showers that occur throughout the month as well.
Clear skies and happy viewing!!
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