Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All dates are based on Universal Time (UT).
There are no eclipses this month.
As seen from the Earth, the Sun is moving from the constellation Cancer to the constellation Leo.
The phases of the Moon are
| First Quarter : |
7 August
|
| Full : |
15 August
|
| Last Quarter : |
22 August
|
| New : |
29 August
|
The Moon is at apogee on 11 August and at perigee on 27 August.
The Moon occults three planets this month. Arctic regions, including Alaska and northwestern parts of Canada, will see Venus be occulted on the first day of the month. Parts of Antarctica will observe Neptune disappear behind the Moon on 13 August. The red planet Mars is occulted on 28 August as seen from northern parts of Russia and Alaska.
The word planet is derived from the Greek word for "wanderer." Unlike the background stars, planets seem to move around the sky, keeping mostly to a narrow track called the ecliptic, the path of the Sun across the stars.
- Mercury
- Mercury descends towards the eastern horizon in the morning as it heads for superior conjunction on 22 August. Look for it early in the month as it moves through the constellations Gemini, Cancer, and Leo.
- Venus
- The "evening star" continues to rise in the western skies at sunset, slowly in the northern hemisphere and more quickly as seen from the southern hemisphere. Occulted by the Moon on the first day of the month, Venus can be found in the constellation Leo.
- Mars
- The red planet reappears in the morning sky during the latter part of the month. Look for it in the constellation Cancer on 28 August when it slides behind the disk of the Moon.
- Jupiter
- Rising earlier and earlier in the morning, Jupiter can be found in the constellation Taurus.
- Saturn
- Saturn can be found near Jupiter in the constellation Taurus. The ringed planet reaches west quadrature on 23 August.
- Uranus
- Uranus reaches opposition on 11 August. This is the best time of the year to look for this gas giant, shining a feeble sixth magnitude in the constellation Capricornus.
- Neptune
- Neptune once more falls victim to the Moon when it is occulted on 13 August in the constellation Capricornus.
- Pluto
- Pluto sets just before midnight in the constellation Ophiuchus. However, because it is so small and faint, a large telescope is always needed to see it. It resumes prograde motion on 22 August.
- Minor Planets
- On 12 August, 3 Juno will be at opposition in the constellation Aquarius. At ninth magnitude, binoculars or a small telescope will be necessary to see it.
- Comets
- Last month's (nearly) naked-eye comet C/1999 S4 LINEAR broke up into lots of little pieces as it rounded the Sun in late July and now is no longer visible.
- Meteors
- There are two meteor showers this month. Unfortunately, the nearly Full Moon will wash out the famous Perseids which peak on at 3 UT on 12 August. However, the alpha Aurigids peak on the last day of the month and the young Moon will be setting before the radiant of the shower rises.
Constellations are patterns of stars in the sky. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) recognises 88 different constellations. The brightest stars as seen from the Earth are easy to spot but do you know their proper names? With a set of binoculars you can look for fainter objects such as nebulae and galaxies or some of the closest stars to the Sun.
Descriptions of the sky for observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres are available for the following times this month. Subtract one hour from your local time if daylight savings time is in effect. (Note: These times are approximate.)
Northern Hemisphere : 45° N
- 1730 hours (1830 hours daylight savings)
- 1930 hours (2030 hours daylight savings)
- 2130 hours (2230 hours daylight savings)
- 2330 hours (0030 hours daylight savings)
- 0130 hours (0230 hours daylight savings)
- 0330 hours (0430 hours daylight savings)
- 0530 hours (0630 hours daylight savings)
Southern Hemisphere : 30° S
- 1730 hours (1830 hours daylight savings)
- 1930 hours (2030 hours daylight savings)
- 2130 hours (2230 hours daylight savings)
- 2330 hours (0030 hours daylight savings)
- 0130 hours (0230 hours daylight savings)
- 0330 hours (0430 hours daylight savings)
- 0530 hours (0630 hours daylight savings)
- Consult our online glossary for non-technical explanations of many of the astronomical terms used in these pages.
- Blue moons, eclipses, the dates of Easter and much more can be found at the Interactive Astronomy Pages.
- For more information about the objects and events described in SkyEye, visit these astronomy-related sites.
Credits
Much of this information can be found in this month's issue of Sky & Telescope and in other fine amateur astronomy magazines available in your local bookshop. Another excellent source is the current edition of the Astronomical Calendar by Guy Ottewell and published by the Universal Workshop at Furman University.
The image of the Sun in the SkyEye banner is courtesy of the SOHO/EIT consortium. SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
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Last modified on 31 July 2000
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