(Looking for last month’s ‘Night Sky’? Find it at this link…)
Jupiter and Mars, both tangled in the horns of Taurus, play cat and mouse in the morning sky before dawn. The Perseid meteor shower is underway as August begins and peaks on August 11-12 with the Moon mostly out of the way. Venus hangs low and bright over the northwestern horizon after sunset. Later in the month, the Moon passes near (and in front of) brightening Saturn and faint Neptune. And the thickest part of the Milky Way shines overhead and arcs down to the south. Here’s what to see in the night sky this month.
2 August 2024. As dawn arrives, look east to see a sliver of Moon near the bright stars Castor and Pollux in the northeast, about 6o from each of these two bright stars in Gemini. Further west and south you see the bright stars of Taurus, Auriga, and Orion emerging above the horizon as the sky brightens.
3 Aug. The Moon is now lost in the morning twilight, but look higher in the east to see brilliant Jupiter and brightening Mars among the stars of Taurus. Jupiter shines at magnitude -2.1 and spans nearly 36”, big enough to reveal detail in a telescope. Mars shines at magnitude +0.9 and has grown to a (still small) size of almost 6”. The planet appears nearly the same color and brightness as the star Aldebaran which lies 5o to its southeast.
4 Aug. New Moon, 11:13 UT
5 Aug. The Moon returns to the evening sky as a wisp of a crescent that sits just half a degree from Venus very low in the west-northwest. Both lie in the constellation Leo. To see this dazzling view, you need a clear view of the horizon. A pair of binoculars will help pull this fleeting vista from the evening twilight.
11-12 Aug. The Perseid meteor shower peaks. This is the finest meteor shower of the year for northern stargazers, with 40-60 meteors per hour visible at the peak in the hours before dawn on August 13. Once called the Tears of St. Lawrence, this meteor shower occurs as the Earth moves through a stream of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. This year the Moon is at first quarter and gets out of the way after midnight for the best part of the show. Stay away from city lights, if you can, and you will be rewarded with a bright meteor every minute or two.
12 Aug. First Quarter Moon, 15:19 UT
13 Aug. The fattening gibbous Moon lies about 1.5o from Antares in the southwestern sky.
14 Aug. Mars has been on the move since the beginning of the month and now finds itself just half a degree from Jupiter in the early-morning sky. Both planets lie among the stars of the horns of Taurus.
19 Aug. Full Moon, 18:26 UT (the ‘Sturgeon Moon’)
20-21 Aug. The brilliant Moon, just a day past full, rises together with Saturn in the southeastern sky in Aquarius. At magnitude +0.7, Saturn is brighter than any star in this part of the sky. The planet spans about 19” and its rings are tilted nearly to our line of sight, but they’re still visible in a telescope. The planet continues to grow and brighten on its way to opposition next month. NOTE: Observers in most of Europe and northern South America will see Saturn occulted by the Moon on the night and early morning of Aug. 20-21. See timing for the occultation for many locations at this link.
21 Aug. After occulting Saturn less than a day ago, the Moon passes in front of Neptune during the evening of Aug. 21 for observers in north Africa and parts of Europe. Timing and visibility here.
26 Aug. Last Quarter Moon, 09:26 UT
27 Aug. Look in the eastern morning sky to see Jupiter, Mars, and the waning crescent Moon gathered in Taurus along with the bright stars of Auriga and Orion. It’s a beautiful sight – no optics required.