Monthly Night Sky Report: August 2022

     Introduction

    Aside from a few evening thunderstorms, July was a great month for stargazing over Utah. The warm temperatures and clear nights offered ample opportunities for viewing the planets and Messier objects discussed so far, among many other night sky wonders. 

    Weather permitting, August will also be a great month for stargazing. The Messier objects belonging to Draco, Hercules, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Scorpius, Scutum, and Serpens will still be in a great position in the sky for viewing. This month will bring the return of the Perseid Meteor Shower which should offer stargazers the chance to view some bright meteors. Saturn will reach opposition this month, which creates a great time to view the ringed world. The two posts this month will focus on the many Messier objects belonging to Sagittarius. Let's dive in!  

             

Mercury

       As usual, I'll start the month off with the innermost planet, Mercury. This tiny planet will be found in the western sky after sunset during August. Mercury will be a challenging object since it doesn't quite make it out of the Sun's evening glow. Mercury does reach its greatest eastern elongation on the 27th and will be joined by a thin crescent Moon on the 28th and 29th which could aid in finding it in the evening twilight.   

  

Venus

    Venus will continue to be found in the eastern sky before sunrise and shouldn't be hard to miss due to its brightness. For the first week or so, Venus will be found in Gemini and close to the stars Castor and Pollux. The three celestial bodies will create a line in the sky between the 9th and 11th of this month, with Venus being the closest to the horizon. Around these dates, Venus will pass into Cancer the Crab and can be found close to the Beehive Cluster (M44) on the 17th. A thin crescent Moon will join Venus in the sky on the 25th. Venus will pass into Leo the Lion by the end of August. 

    

Mars

    Mars will start the month off rising above the mountains around 1:30 in the morning. By the end of the month, the Red Planet will rise about 2 hours earlier. Between the 16th and 19th, Mars and the Pleiades can be found within 6° of each other, creating a nice contrast between the orangish-red of Mars and the blue-white of the Pleiades. For observers staying out late, be sure to target Mars with your telescope as it rises higher in the sky. The Red Planet is a few months away from its opposition but some surface detail may be seen under favorable conditions.    

Jupiter

Saturn

    Jupiter will reach opposition next month, but August will still be a great time to view this planet. Jupiter will rise above the eastern horizon shortly after midnight at the beginning of the month and a full two hours earlier before September. The nearly Full Moon will be less than 2° from Jupiter on the 15th. Jupiter is an awesome target through both binoculars and a telescope. A telescope will allow an observer to see the cloud bands, Great Red Spot, the Galilean Moons, and shadows on the cloud tops as the Galilean Moons transit their parent planet. 

    Saturn may steal the show this month for stargazers. The ringed world will reach opposition on the 14th, making it a great target shortly after sunset. Of course, the best views are when this planet can be found high in the sky so there is less atmospheric interference. The Moon will join Saturn in the sky on the 12th. Views through a telescope will reveal the majestic rings and also the second largest moon in the solar system, Titan. A modest-sized telescope will allow observers to view the divisions in the rings, the most famous of which is the Cassini Division.    

   

       

Neptune

Uranus

    

    The outer two planets are best viewed through a telescope but can still be seen through a pair of binoculars.  Uranus can be found rising in the early morning sky with Mars at the beginning of the month. A few short days later, Mars will leave Uranus' side leaving the second most distant planet by itself. The Moon will join Uranus in the sky on the 18th.

   

    Neptune will be found between Saturn and Jupiter during August. The most distant planet will reach opposition in September. The Moon will join Neptune in the sky on the 14th. 

Meteor Shower 

   The Perseid Meteor Shower has finally arrived! Unfortunately, only the brightest meteors will be spotted this year as the nearly Full Moon will dominate the sky on the 12th, the peak date for the Perseids. The best time to view the Perseids this year is a few days before the Full Moon. As the Moon sets in the west, turn your attention to the eastern sky when Perseus will be high in the sky. On the 10th, the Moon will sink below the horizon around 4:30 in the morning and an hour earlier with each day prior to the 10th. Occasionally, a Perseid meteor can be bright enough to see even during a Full Moon, but you need to be looking in the right area of the sky at the right time to catch it. To increase your chances of viewing the Perseids, remember to travel to a dark sky area, away from as much light pollution as possible. 

Spot Me....🕵️  

    This month will focus on the many Messier objects that can be found in Sagittarius. These objects include globular clusters, open clusters, and nebulae. Similar to July's Midmonth Check-In, I will describe how to locate the objects and provide a couple of images for clarification. I will also include a couple of images at the end of the post that shows the locations of all the objects discussed for those that want an all-inclusive image.  

    The following image from Stellarium shows what the night sky will look like during August when facing south-southwest after sunset. Notice Saturn on the far left of this image. 

Looking south-southwest after sunset during August. 

    The image below shows the same sky but with constellation lines and labels to help identify the constellations in this region of the sky.  

Constellation labels and lines for clarification.

    As mentioned earlier, our target constellation this month is Sagittarius (a centaur) which is located just above the horizon. The first target this month will be M8 (aka Lagoon Nebula, NGC 6523) which, as its name suggests, is a nebula. This nebula is over 4,000 light-years from Earth, but under ideal conditions, can be seen with unaided eyes, but of course, a large telescope will give you much more detail. The Lagoon Nebula is located on the right side of Sagittarius, towards the Milky Way band. To find M8, I locate the two stars inside the Milky Way Band and connect them with an imaginary line. There is a star that lies about halfway between these stars that are roughly the same brightness. M8 can be located in this region of the sky. I start with a low-power eyepiece and gradually increase the magnification to my liking. See the image below for clarification in finding M8 if needed.

 

Location of M8 in Sagittarius.

    The second target this month is M20 (aka Trifid Nebula, NGC 6514) which is actually an open star cluster, like the Pleiades, not a nebula.  If the eyepiece you are using produces a large enough field of view, you should be able to spot it in the same field of view as M8. If not, slowly guide your telescope upwards and toward the center of the Milky Way Band. See the image below for the location of M20 if needed.

Location of M20 in Sagittarius.

    The third target this month is M21 (aka Webb's Cross, NGC 6531) and is another open cluster. This object, as well as M8 and M20, make up the Trifid Trio. All three of these objects should fit inside one field of view if a low-power eyepiece is used with a telescope. If the eyepiece and telescope combination doesn't allow this, simply guide the telescope upwards a very small amount and M21 should pop into view. See the image below for the location of M21.

Location of M21 in Sagittarius. 

    Next up on the Messier Tour in this post is M23 (aka NGC 6494) which is another open star cluster. After getting my fill of the Trifid Trio, I guide my scope toward the zenith and to the right of the center of the Milky Way Band. This object lies on the imaginary border between the stars of Sagittarius and those belonging to Ophiuchus. See the image below for the location of M23.

Location of M23 in Sagittarius.

   The fifth target is M18 (aka Black Swan Cluster, NGC 6613) which is also an open star cluster. I find this cluster by guiding my scope back across the center lane of the Milky Way Band towards Sagittarius, but also upwards, toward Scutum. There are a few different DSOs in this area of the sky. The Black Swan Cluster will have a darker background than any of the other objects in this region. This is due to either a less dusty region of the Milky Way or an area where the dust is not as brightly lit up by surrounding stars. The location of M18 can be seen in the image below.

Location of M18 in Sagittarius.

    

    The sixth target is M17 (aka Omega Nebula, Swan Nebula, Horseshoe Nebula, Lobster Nebula, NGC 6618) which is another open star cluster like the Pleiades. The other names given to M17 can be misleading! This open cluster is located towards Scutum (up towards the zenith from Sagittarius), a constellation that was highlighted in July. When I search for the Omega Nebula, I guide my telescope, with a low-power eyepiece installed, slightly up from M18. The Omega Nebula will have a cloudy-looking background as compared to the Black Swan Cluster. See the image below for the location of M17.

Location of M17 in Sagittarius.

    The final Messier object in this post is M22 (aka Great Sagittarius Cluster, Crackjack Cluster, NGC 6656) which is a globular star cluster. The Great Sagittarius Cluster is located about 228 light years from Earth. To find this object, I first locate the Trifid Trio. From here, I guide my scope to the left edge of the Milky Way Band. If I find the stars in my field of view becoming scarce, I know I have gone too far to the left, so I will slowly move my scope back towards the Trifid Trio. I can usually find the Great Sagittarius Cluster on my first try using this method, but will occasionally have to try again. Using a low-power eyepiece greatly helps. See the image below for the location of M22.

Location of M22 in Sagittarius.

    The following two images show the locations of the Messier Objects discussed throughout this post. 

Discussed Messier Objects in Sagittarius.

 

Discussed Messier Objects with constellation lines and labels.

    We covered quite a few Messier Catalog Objects in this post so take your time to view these objects in the coming weeks. In the next post, I will conclude the Messier Objects belonging to Sagittarius. Here is an updated file of the Messier Catalog.

Monthly Breakdown

August 01:  Mars and Uranus within 2° 
August 05:  First Quarter Moon 🌓 

August 11:  Full Moon 🌕 

August 11:  Moon passes within 4° of Saturn

August 12:  Perseid Meteor Shower peaks 

August 14:  Moon passes within 3° of Neptune

August 14:  Saturn reaches opposition

August 15:  Moon passes within 2° of Jupiter

August 18:  Moon passes within 1° of Uranus 

August 19:  Last Quarter Moon🌗

August 19:  Moon passes within 3° of Mars          

August 25:  Moon passes within 4° of Venus

August 27:  New Moon 🌑

August 27:  Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation

August 29:  Moon passes within 7° of Mercury 

 

       

    Remember to follow me on Instagram @CosmicLure01 to receive notifications for new posts.  You may also follow me on Twitter @CosmicLure.  

    

Now get outside and look up!

Planet images were taken by NASA.

Andrew vs. the Cosmos was taken by Jeff Greenland.