Features: Calendar | Lunar Almanac | Monthly Topic
This Month's Night Sky - NOTE: The next paragraph describes the sky as it
appears at 10 pm EST (11 pm EDT) near mid- month. The sky also looks
this way at 11 pm EST (midnight EDT) during the beginning of the month and
at 9 pm EST (10 pm EDT) by month's end.
This month the Summer Triangle asterism is high as the sky
darkens. The reddish glow of Arcturus (Bootes) sinks
towards the W horizon while the stars of another asterism,
the Big Dipper (Ursa Major), dip low in the NW. You may see
Antares, also reddish, (Scorpius)in the SW. Very low in the
SE, Formalhaut [FO-mel-hote](Piscis Austrinus)[PIE-sees
OS-tra-nis], rises all alone. In the E, the Great Square of
Pegasus rises and is followed by the stars of Andromeda.
You may also see Capella (Auriga), high in the NE.
MERCURY is still visible just before Sunrise at the beginning
of the month but moves behind the Sun for the rest of the
month. VENUS does it annual "evening/morning star" trick.
At the beginning of the month look for it low in the W just
after Sunset. By the end of the month, it glows low in the
E just before Sunrise. MARS rises in the ENE at about 1 am
(EDT) at the start of the month but by month's end, at
midnight. JUPITER is the first "light" of the evening all
month growing brighter and brighter in the S as twilight
gives way to night. SATURN remains out of sight all month.
The Perseid Meteor shower peaks on the 12th. It is typically
one of best of the year. This month's new Moon also occurs
on the 12th. which will help the viewing considerably!
Finally there will be a Total Eclipse of the Moon early in
the morning of the 28th. We in the eastern time zone will
see only its end phases but those farther W wills see more
of the eclipse.
Calendar of Events
NOTE: For those observers not in the ET zone, convert the calendar times to your zone's time by subtracting one hour for CT, two for MT and three for PT. Don't forget to adjust for Daylight Savings Time when necessary by subtracting one hour from your planisphere's time.; Dawn and dusk times must also be corrected. See your local newspaper, TV news, or cable TV's Weather Channel for sunrise and sunset times. Unfortunately some of these events may occur during daylight hours in your area.
| DATE | EVENT |
01 |
Look ENE about an hour before dawn to see Mercury very low on the horizon. The bright stars, slanting to the left above Mercury are Pollux (below) and Castor (above), the Gemini "twins". |
02 |
Venus is in conjunction (6 degrees) of the
bright star Regulus (Leo) at midnight. |
05 |
Look for a conjunction (6 degrees) of the Moon and Mercury 5am. |
06 |
Mars is in conjunction (5 degrees) with the Pleiades asterism (Taurus)at about 5 am. |
07 |
Look ENE at 2 am to see the crescent Moon (lower left), the Pleiades (upper, center) and Mars (lower, right) form a lopsided triangle that leans to the right. |
12/13 |
The Perseid meteor shower peaks at about 1 pm on the 13th. This shower is caused by debris shed by Comet Swift - Tuttle as it orbits the Sun every 130 years. In mid August the Earth's orbit passes through the comet's rubble. These particles crash through the upper atmosphere at nearly 40 miles/second(!)and as they vaporize, they ionize the air, creating the hot, bright trails that we see. |
21 |
The Moon is in close conjunction (less that a degree)
with the bright star, Antares (Scorpius) at 9 pm. The Moon is also in conjunction (6 degrees) with Jupiter at 11 pm. |
23 |
Tonight's Full Moon is called the Summer Moon. Look for a very close conjunction of Venus and Saturn. |
28 |
Although a total lunar eclipse occurs this evening, much of it will not be visible here in our area. The beginning (penumbra phase) will begin at 4:20 am and continue around half way through the eclipse until around 6:30 am when dawn masks the rest of the eclipse. Then in the southern part of the Moon an arc, bright yellowish to bluish white should appear just inside the umbra's (shadow cast by the Earth) edge. |
| Phases of the Moon | Phase and Date(s) | Best viewed before local midnight |
 |
New |
Deep Space Objects |
 |
1st. Qtr |
Planets & Moon |
 |
Full |
Moon |
 |
Last |
Deep Space & Planets |
Topic of the month: Lunar feature: Petavius Crater
| Theophilus is another example of a walled
plain. It's walls rise some 14,000 to 18,000 feet and is about 64 miles
in diameter and located along the western edge of Mare
Nectaris. It has a spectacular group of three central peaks.
--See you next month ! |
| The above image was taken from Damian Peach's web site, " The Moon in Close Up" from Damian Peach's Views of the Solar System at www.damianpeach.com. This image is reproduced by permission. | |
This installment of "Whats Up?" is ©2007 Ronald A. Leeseberg, encoded by Dawn Jenkins for Astra's Stargate.
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