Welcome to the August night sky. This is the month in the northern hemisphere when the nighttime temperatures become slightly cooler.
This is also the month of the famous Perseid meteor shower. This shower peaks on the night of the 12th, but the Moon is full on the 9th, so this could hinder the visibility of any faint shooting stars.
The Perseids will be coming from the direction of the constellation of Perseus. This constellation is to be seen to the upper left of the star cluster called the Pleiades; and to the upper right of the star called Capella in the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer.
In the early morning of the 12th, two hours before sunrise and looking low down over in the east can be seen rising the planet Venus and the gas giant Jupiter very close together in the morning sky.
The parent comet for the Perseid meteor shower is called Swift-Tuttle discovered in 1862 using a small telescope. The comet was seen to return in 1992. This comet was also seen in 69 B.C. and the year 188 A.D.
The planet Mercury is a difficult morning object low in the east and just 18 degrees away from the Sun on the 20th. The bright planet Venus is also a morning object in the constellation of Gemini and close to Jupiter on the 12th.
The red planet Mars is an evening object soon being lost in the evening twilight. The gas planet Jupiter is in the constellation of Gemini. The ringed planet Saturn is a morning object as well as Uranus and Neptune. The gas planet Neptune will be near to Saturn on the 6th.
The Moon is near to Saturn and Neptune on the 12th, and on the 19th the Moon will be near to Jupiter. During the early morning of the 21st, the very thin Moon is near to Mercury, and also on the 26th the 11% illuminated Moon will be near to Mars.
The Moon is at first quarter on the 1st,full on the 9th, last quarter on the 16th, new on the 23rd and first quarter again on August 31.
Camera Obscura
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To see the August Sky Map, click on the link below
