Jupiter is 1.5 degrees north and Saturn is 2 degrees north, respectively. Pluto, if you can find it, is 1.1 degrees north, as well. Full Moon is on the 3rd. On the 9th, Mars is less than a degree north of the Moon, which is an occultation in the extreme Southern Hemisphere. On the 10th, Uranus is 4 degrees north of the last-quarter Moon. The 15th sees Venus 4 degrees south of the Moon; the 17th has our very thin satellite skimming the stars of the Beehive Cluster (M44); the Moon is new on the 19th. By the 28th, the Moon had made a complete orbit and is again joined up with Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto.
Mercury, the speedy planet is easily seen in the eastern early morning sky, but quickly rounds behind the Sun by mid-month, and becoming an evening object by month-end.
Venus, often called the Morning Star, shines brightly high in the eastern sky. It reaches greatest elongation west (GEW) on the 13th, then slowly begins its descent to orbit behind the Sun. By the 15th the crescent Moon has caught up to Venus, gliding by 4 degrees to the north. In the last part of August, Venus moves through the stars of Gemini.
Mars gains prominence in the late evening and through the night as it nears Earth. Astrophotographers are already getting clear images of the Red Planet as it closes in on opposition in October. The waning gibbous Moon glides closely by on the 9th.
Jupiter shows off its stripes in the evening, also a good opportunity to see the nightly dance of the Galilean moons as they change position, sometimes right before your eyes. The nearly full Moon passes by on the 1st and 2nd and the 28th.
Saturn is just to the east of Jupiter, which is ten times brighter. A telescope can bring out the rings and even some of Saturn’s tiny moons – as many as five can be seen on a good night of steady seeing. The Moon is nearby on the 2nd and the 29th.
Uranus is just a few degrees east of Mars, rising around 11 p.m. The Moon is 4 degrees south on the 10th. The blue-green gas planet begins to retrograde after August 15.
Neptune rises about 10 p.m. and crosses the sky all through the night. The Moon is close by on the 6th
August 12 brings the annual meteor shower, the Perseids.
James Edgar has had an interest in the night sky all his life. He joined The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada in 2000, was National President for two terms, is now the Editor of the renowned Observer’s Handbook, and Production Manager of the bi-monthly RASC Journal. The IAU named asteroid 1995 XC5 “(22421) Jamesedgar” in his honour.
Comment on this Below