July's heat wave and smoky skies continued until the end of the month. The days when it wasn't smoky became cloudy and stormy. Utah can definitely use the precipitation, but a night of stargazing would be great too! Needless to say, I was unable to capture any images or do any serious stargazing in July. Hopefully August will bring better luck!
August is typically one of the hottest months in Utah, which will likely be the case this year with the heatwave we seem to be experiencing. During August, Jupiter and Saturn will reach their long awaited opposition. The Perseid Meteor Shower will return this month and should provide a great show for any observer. There will continue to be some great targets in the summer Milky Way and summer night sky to enjoy before heading back to school and the cooler weather sets in.
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| Mercury |
The innermost planet will be a tough object to view this month. Mercury reaches superior conjunction (opposite side of the Sun from the Earth) on the 1st and then can be found setting after the Sun in the evening sky. An observer will need a clear view of the western horizon to make out the relatively dim planet. Mercury will be found close to the horizon all month, so a higher elevation will also be helpful. On the 18th, Mars will join Mercury in the evening sky and can be found less than 0.1° above the tiny world. Mars will appear quite dim and may require the aid of a telescope or a pair of binoculars to see and separate these two planets. By the end of the month, Mercury will be just 3.5° above the horizon after sunset.
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| Venus |
Venus will be an easy target this month and will likely be the first planet an observer will spot due to its brightness. Our sister planet will start the month off shining brilliantly at magnitude -3.84 and reaching -3.92 by the end of the month. A thin sliver of the Moon will join Venus on the 10th but may be hard to spot since it is just 3 days old. As the sheet of night sky appears to move beneath the bright planet, Spica, in the constellation of Virgo will be found about 7° away from Venus by the end of the month. This relatively bright star, shining at magnitude 0.89, is dim compared to Venus. This pair of celestial objects will continue to approach each other during the first week of September.
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| Mars |
Like Mercury, Mars will be a tough object to view this month. The Earth is speeding away from the Red Planet, causing the two to nearly be on opposite sides of the Sun. The Moon will join Mars in the sky on the 9th, which may be helpful in spotting the Red Planet. Mercury can also be found close to Mars on the 18th, but will outshine our closest neighbor. Use a pair of binoculars or a telescope to aid in viewing this conjunction.
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| Jupiter |
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| Saturn |
The two gas giants will reach their long anticipated opposition this month. This means they will be visible from sundown to sunup, making them prime targets for binoculars, telescopes, and the unaided eye.
Jupiter will rise after Saturn, but since it's closest to the Sun, we will talk about this gas giant first. Jupiter will rise above the Rocky Mountains at approximately 10 on the first night of the month and shine at magnitude -2.68. The King of Planets will reach opposition on the 19th with a magnitude of -2.73 and then begin to slightly dim again. The Full Moon can be found to the lower right of Jupiter on the 21st, which will make observations of the Galilean Moons and detail of the cloud bands more difficult.
Proceeding the opposition of Jupiter, Saturn will reach this most favorable viewing time on the 2nd. Even though the Ringed World doesn't shine as brightly as Jupiter, be sure to point your telescope at it to reveal the majestic rings. Saturn will rise about an hour before Jupiter and can be found in the constellation of Capricornus. The nearly Full Moon will join Saturn on the 20th.
The best viewing time for both of these planets will be when they are high in the sky, which will be around midnight. This will put the planets in a position when Earthlings can gaze at them through less of the atmosphere which causes interference.
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| Neptune |
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| Uranus |
The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars. Uranus will have the best views in the early morning hours before sunrise. It can be found in the southern area of Aries this month. It will be joined by the Moon on the 1st and again on the 28th. The first night of the month will find Uranus rising above the Rocky Mountains at approximately 1:30 in the morning. By the end of the month, this blue-green planet will rise approximately two hours earlier.
The most distant planet in our solar system, Neptune, will be found between Pisces and Aquarius this month. This blue planet will rise above the mountains approximately 30 minutes before midnight and nearly two hours earlier by the end of the month. The Moon can be found near Neptune on the 23rd.
Meteor Shower
August will bring the return of one of the most famous meteor showers, the Perseids. This shower has the potential of producing bright fireballs and typically has a maximum of 110 meteors per hour. Conditions this year will be favorable as the Moon will have fallen below the horizon before midnight on the peak date of August 12th. The constellation of interest, Perseus, will be rising in the northeast as the Moon sets. Perseus will climb higher in the sky as sunrise approaches creating the best viewing angle for these meteors. The peak date falls on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning which may be hard for some to stay up and watch due to a work schedule. By waiting a night or two, observers will still notice many meteors in the sky, but not quite as many as they would on the peak date.
Spot Me....🕵️
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| Looking south after sunset. |
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| M8 and NGC 6530 are in the red circle |
From here, you should be able to spot the open star cluster and the Lagoon Nebula. Be sure to get away from all sources of light pollution to improve your view!
In addition to these two objects, I would like you to try view the Ring Nebula (M57) which is a planetary nebula. Planetary nebula get their name because they look like, well, a planet! They are formed when a star expands and then shrinks down to a white dwarf, much like our own Sun will in another 4 billion years.
To locate the Ring Nebula, first find Vega in the night sky. If you know your constellations, this is the brightest star in Lyra. Vega is also one of the stars that make up the Summer Triangle with Deneb, the tail of Cygnus the Swan, and Altair, the head of Aquila the Eagle. The three stars that make up the Summer Triangle are quite bright and will be high in the eastern sky after sunset. Vega will be the brightest and the highest or western-most star of this trio. See the image below.
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| Summer Triangle - looking east/up after sunset |
Allow your gaze to fall slightly below Vega (to the lower right in the image above), which brings your vision inside of the Summer Triangle, and you should notice a diamond shape or parallelogram made up of 4 stars. The two stars that make up the vertical edge farthest away from Vega is where you should direct your attention. See the image below for clarification if needed.
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| Locate these two stars below Vega |
Now point your telescope at the midpoint between these two stars. An eyepiece allowing a wide field of view in your scope will likely help you find the area a little easier. After locating the approximate midpoint, switch to a higher power eyepiece. You should be able to see the Ring Nebula! If you own a zoom eyepiece, I highly recommend using it here as it will allow you to quickly zoom in on the Ring Nebula without having to switch eyepieces. I also encourage you to look at this target for more than a few minutes. The longer you view this or any other faint object in the night sky, the more detail your eye will be able to see. The image below shows the two bright stars of Lyra (Sulafat and Sheliak) and almost exactly in the middle you will find the Ring Nebula.
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| You have found the Ring Nebula! |
The above images are from Stellarium, an astronomy/planetarium software.
After viewing the Ring Nebula, I encourage you to look around inside the Summer Triangle. There are many great DSO's for all sizes of telescopes. If time allows, you can also return to the southern Milky Way band to find even more DSO's!
As always, leave a comment to let me and others know what you see!
Monthly Breakdown
August 01: Mercury Superior Conjunction
August 02: Saturn reaches opposition
August 08: New Moon 🌑
August 09: Moon passes within 4° of Mars
August 11: Moon passes within 4° of Venus
August 12: Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks
August 15: First Quarter Moon 🌓
August 18: Mercury and Mars within 0.1°
August 19: Jupiter reaches opposition
August 20: Moon passes within 4° of Saturn
August 22: Moon passes within 4° of Jupiter
August 22: Full Moon 🌕
August 23: Moon passes within 4° of Neptune
August 28: Moon passes within 2° of Uranus
August 30: Last Quarter Moon 🌗
Think About This....💡
The monthly night sky reports can sometimes get a little long with this section. Due to this, I've decided to move this section to my midmonth check-in post.
Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts. You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.
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| Now get outside and look up! |
Planet images taken by NASA.
Andrew vs. the Cosmos taken by Jeff Greenland.
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