August will be a great month to continue viewing the planets and the Moon. August will also bring one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Perseids. This year should prove to be exceptional since the peak date will coincide with a New Moon. I hope you will be able to enjoy this meteor shower, as well as the other great sights in the night sky.
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| Mercury |
If you like viewing Mercury, you will have to wait until the final week of August where it will again return to the morning sky. The innermost planet will be found about 10° high in the sky about 45 minutes before sunrise. You may have to find a location with an unobstructed view to the east as the glare from the morning Sun may wash out the glow of Mercury.
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| Venus |
You should start your evenings out by viewing Venus just after sunset. It will be easy to spot as the brightest object in the western sky, unless the Moon happens to join Venus. This will happen on the nights of the 13th and the 14th. If you haven't noticed this pairing over the past few months, be sure to check it out this month. It is quite a beautiful sight and the pictures I take don't do it any justice. Venus will also increase in magnitude from -4.3 to -4.6 during August. Our sister planet will be found in the constellation of Virgo all month and make a close approach to the star Spica in this constellation.
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| Mars |
Mars will still be a great target throughout August. It reached opposition during the final week of July which provided great views of the red planet. Mars will begin to lose its brightness during August, so if you get a chance to view the planet, the earlier in the month, the better. If you use a telescope, be sure to wait until Mars is high in the sky where you will have less atmospheric interference. While you are waiting for Mars to climb higher in the sky, turn your attention to Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn. Mars will be found between the constellations of Sagittarius and Capricornus.
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| Jupiter |
After viewing Venus, point your telescope to the south to view the largest planet of our solar system, Jupiter. Jupiter will be in a great location in our sky to view through a telescope or binoculars. Jupiter can be found in the constellation Libra throughout the month. You can easily make out a few moons of Jupiter through binoculars and through most telescopes, you will be able to make out the cloud bands. Using colored eyepiece filters will help tease out the details.
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| Saturn |
After viewing Jupiter, you should turn your attention to Saturn. It can be found in the southwest sky after sunset and should be easy to spot. The ringed world can be found in the constellation of Sagittarius all month which places it near some great deep sky objects. If you own a telescope, be sure to target these as well. They include a couple of nebulae, M20 and M8, and also an open star cluster, M21. When viewing Saturn through a telescope, you will be mesmerized by the majestic rings, but don't forget to look for Titan, Tethys, and other moons of Saturn.
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| Uranus |
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| Neptune |
Uranus will rise around 1 AM during the first week of August and by midnight at months end. Uranus can be seen with the unaided eye if you are able to get away from city lights. Using a pair of binoculars or a telescope will make finding this planet easier. Uranus will be found in the constellation of Aries throughout August. Our outermost planet will rise 3 hours earlier but will require binoculars or a telescope to view. Neptune will be found in Aquarius during the month.
Meteor Shower
The meteor shower that you have been waiting for all year is finally here. The Perseids will peak on the night of the 12th, morning of the 13th this year. This coincides with a New Moon, so you should be able to see up to 110 meteors per hour. Get away from the city lights to increase the number of meteors you will see. This shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Perseus which can be found in our northeast sky.
Monthly Breakdown
August 03: Moon and Uranus pass within 5°
August 04: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
August 11: New Moon 🌑
August 12: Perseid Meteor Shower peaks 🌠
August 14: Moon and Venus pass within 6°
August 17: Moon and Jupiter pass within 5°
August 18: First Quarter Moon 🌓
August 21: Moon and Saturn pass within 2°
August 23: Moon and Mars pass within 7°
August 26: Full Moon 🌕
August 27: Moon and Neptune pass within 2°
Think About This....💡
This month offers one of the best meteor showers of the year. It is usually easy to view since the nights are still warm. All you really need is your favorite chair or blanket which will allow you to be comfortable while gazing up at the sky. But what exactly are you seeing when you are enjoying a meteor shower? I have lightly touched on this topic in a previous post, but I thought I should remind you so you have something to consider while watching this years Perseid Meteor Shower.
I'm sure you have heard of comets, such as Halley's Comet and Hale-Bopp, and maybe even know that comets are basically just a dirty snowball, made up of ice, dust and small rocks. Comets reside in the Oort Cloud which lies at the outer edge of our solar system, some 5,000 AU away and extends up to 100,000 AU. Occasionally, a comet will get nudged out of its orbit in this region of space which can cause it to come towards the inner solar system and the Sun. As the comet approaches the Sun, the heat will begin to melt the ice which causes the small rocks and dust to break loose. This creates a "tail" that can shine bright enough that it can be seen with the unaided eye on Earth. The "tail" leaves a trail of debris which I will talk about more later. Some comets are periodic, such as Halley's Comet, which has an orbital period of 75 years and others only make one trip towards the Sun and get destroyed from the heat and gravity.
You have also likely heard about asteroids, which seem to be in the news quite a bit lately. These are generally composed of rock and sometimes of metal, such as iron. Most of the asteroids are found in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Occasionally the asteroids can smash into one another and break apart. This can cause pieces to fall in towards the Sun, and sometimes the Earth gets in the way and gets hit by these, usually small, pieces of rock or metal.
Meteoroids range in size from a grain of sand to a large boulder and are flying freely through space. This can be the debris left from the tail of a comet and asteroids smashing together. In the case of a meteor shower, the Earth is typically in a place of its orbit where it passes through the debris field of a comet tail. The Perseids for example occur when the Earth passes through the debris left behind from Comet Swift-Tuttle. The streak that you see across the sky during a meteor shower is called (surprise!), a meteor or, as commonly heard on the news, a shooting star. If the meteor survives passing through the Earth's atmosphere and makes it to the ground, it is called a meteorite. Most meteors are around 60 miles above the Earth when they begin to burn up.
I'm sure you have heard of comets, such as Halley's Comet and Hale-Bopp, and maybe even know that comets are basically just a dirty snowball, made up of ice, dust and small rocks. Comets reside in the Oort Cloud which lies at the outer edge of our solar system, some 5,000 AU away and extends up to 100,000 AU. Occasionally, a comet will get nudged out of its orbit in this region of space which can cause it to come towards the inner solar system and the Sun. As the comet approaches the Sun, the heat will begin to melt the ice which causes the small rocks and dust to break loose. This creates a "tail" that can shine bright enough that it can be seen with the unaided eye on Earth. The "tail" leaves a trail of debris which I will talk about more later. Some comets are periodic, such as Halley's Comet, which has an orbital period of 75 years and others only make one trip towards the Sun and get destroyed from the heat and gravity.
You have also likely heard about asteroids, which seem to be in the news quite a bit lately. These are generally composed of rock and sometimes of metal, such as iron. Most of the asteroids are found in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Occasionally the asteroids can smash into one another and break apart. This can cause pieces to fall in towards the Sun, and sometimes the Earth gets in the way and gets hit by these, usually small, pieces of rock or metal.
Meteoroids range in size from a grain of sand to a large boulder and are flying freely through space. This can be the debris left from the tail of a comet and asteroids smashing together. In the case of a meteor shower, the Earth is typically in a place of its orbit where it passes through the debris field of a comet tail. The Perseids for example occur when the Earth passes through the debris left behind from Comet Swift-Tuttle. The streak that you see across the sky during a meteor shower is called (surprise!), a meteor or, as commonly heard on the news, a shooting star. If the meteor survives passing through the Earth's atmosphere and makes it to the ground, it is called a meteorite. Most meteors are around 60 miles above the Earth when they begin to burn up.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images taken by NASA.
Above image taken by Jeff Greenland.
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