Welcome to SkyEye, your guide to this month's celestial events. All times and dates are given in Universal Time (UT). Daily darkness estimates are calculated for Greenwich, London (51.5° N, 0° W).
Calendar of Events - August
| Date | Event |
|---|
| 5 | Thu |
Neptune at opposition |
| 7 | Sat |
Last Quarter Moon |
| 8 | Sun |
The northern branch of the Delta Aquariids meteor shower is better placed for observing this year than its southern neighbour last month. |
| 11 | Wed |
Moon at apogee |
| 12 | Thu |
The most famous of meteor showers, the Perseids are favoured with dark skies this year. The shower is expected peak at approximately 1200 UT although some experts are predicting an earlier peak at 2100 UT on the 11th.
|
| 16 | Mon |
New Moon |
| 17 | Tue |
Venus at greatest elongation west |
| 23 | Mon |
First Quarter Moon |
| Mercury at inferior conjunction |
| 27 | Fri |
Moon at perigee |
| Uranus at opposition |
| 30 | Mon |
Full Moon |
| 31 | Tue |
The nearly full Moon destroys any chance of observing the Alpha Aurigids meteor shower. |
The Solar System
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.
- Sun
- Location: Cancer -> Leo
- Mercury
- Location: Leo -> Sextans -> Leo
Mercury sinks quickly and is gone from view early in the month for northern hemisphere observers. It lasts a little longer for those watching from southern latitudes but the tiny planet eventually disappears as it heads for conjunction on 23 August.
- Venus
- Location: Taurus -> Orion -> Gemini
The "morning star" is very high for northern viewers and continues to climb above the horison in the eastern sky before sunrise. For southern hemisphere observers, the bright planet is not as high in the sky and is already starting to descend back towards the horizon.
- Mars
- Location: Leo
Mars is getting hard to see as it sets soon after the Sun.
- Jupiter
- Location: Leo -> Virgo
The largest planet in the solar system is getting increasingly difficult to observe low in the western sky at sunset.
- Saturn
- Location: Gemini
After last month's conjunction, Saturn becomes a morning sky object, rising in the early hours.
- Uranus
- Location: Aquarius
Reaching opposition on 27 August means that Uranus is at its brightest. However, it is still only sixth magnitude, just on the edge of naked eye visibility.
- Neptune
- Location: Capricornus
Neptune reaches opposition on 6 August and thus, is in the sky all night.
- Pluto
- Location: Serpens (Cauda) -> Ophiuchus -> Serpens (Cauda)
With a brightness of around fourteenth magnitude, the smallest planet in the solar system can be seen only through a good-sized telescope. It sets just after midnight.
The Celestial Sphere
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)
For More Information...
- 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 your favourite amateur astronomy magazine 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. Used with permission.
Copyright © 1995-2004 by David Harper and L.M. Stockman
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Obliquity
Last modified on 31 July 2004
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