SKY NOTES
All times in this newsletter are in Universal Time (UT)
Sky Notes: August 13 to September 10 2010 No. 154
Click an icon for more information on the Sun, Moon and planets.
Sun.  | The
Sun has now become relatively active with two or three active areas
visible at the same time. Keep a look out for naked eye Sun spots.
Don't forget looking at the sun without the correct eye protection can
cause eye damage. |
Moon.  |
ALL TIMES ARE IN GMT(UT) FOR BST ADD ONE HOUR Moon New First Quarter Full Last Quarter Perigee Apogee Aug.10 Aug 16 Aug 24 Sept 01 Aug 10 Aug 25 Sept 08 Sept 15 Sept 23 Oct 01 Sept 08 Sept 21 |
Mercury. 
|
MERCURY experiences an eastern elongation early on in the month, but this is unfavourable for observers in the northern hemisphere. |
Venus. | VENUS sets an
hour after the Sun. To find it before it is lost to the evening
twilight altogether look very low down to the south west not long after
Sunset. However this is a good time to observe it as it is approaching
half phase. Of academic interest Venus is 2 degrees south
of Mars on August 20 but Mars will be very hard to see due to (a)
its faintness and (b) its proximity to the evening twilight. During
September the phase will rapidly diminish as Venus swings in between
the Earth and the Sun. |
Mars.
 |
MARS,
as mentioned above is now a very poor object as it hogs the south west
horizon after Sunset. It is of magnitude plus 1.5 now and its apparent
diameter is a tiny 4.5 arc seconds across. |
Jupiter.  |
JUPITER
is heading towards opposition next month and is brightening nicely in
the south east after Sunset. It presents a large disk for observation
and as it crosses the meridian after midnight it is a glorious sight in
Pisces and is the most favourable planet at the present. On
August 27 at 08h Jupiter is 6 degrees below the Moon. At the start of
August Jupiter is three degrees from Uranus, but by the end of the
month it has closed to only 1 degree. A conjunction (appulse) when they
both have the same RA occur towards the end of September month. |
Saturn. |
SATURN, after its dance with Mars and Venus last month, sets about two hours after the Sun and has a conjunction with Venus on the 8th when the two planets are 2.5 degrees away from each other at 03h. Try to find Venus on August 7 and 8 in the evening to see how the planets are moving with respect to each other. |
Uranus.  | URANUS is nicely placed to try finding this planet which is just beyond naked-eye visibility for most people. Use a suitable star chart to locate Uranus among the stars of Pisces. Jupiter is an excellent guide in locating the area and a pair of binoculars should do just fine for identifying the planet from the background stars. |
Neptune. |
NEPTUNE is at opposition on August 20 and lies to the right of Jupiter. Use July's chart to find the planet and follow its progress as it moved through Capricornus. |
| Pluto.
 |
Pluto is low in the east before dawn in Sagittarius. |
Meteor Showers and other Naked Eye
Phenomena
Meteor showers.
August is always a very good month for observing meteors as five showers reach their respective peaks: On the 2nd the alpha Capricornids are at an unfavourable maximum. Expect poor rates though of around 5 per hour. Better are the iota Aquarids on the 6fh with a rate of 10 per hour. A day later the delta Aquarids reach a favourable peak, also with a rate of 10 per hour. The highlight of the month is the Perseid shower with a high rate of around 80 per hour. The shower peaks on the 12th/ 13th but try to observe throughout the hours of darkness as the Moon is well out of the way and shower is favourable this year. Finally, the alpha Aurigids are fairly favourable on the 28th with a rate of around 10 per hour. Active
None active
Shower
Type
of shower expected Morning of maximum
Hourly
rate
Quadrantids
Medium
January
3-4 60-120
Lyrids
Swift streaks
April 21-22
10-20
Eta Aquarids
Very swift, long paths
May 4-5
20-40
Delta
Aquarid Slow,
long paths July 27
20
Perseid
Very
swift, rich display Aug.
12 60
Orionid
Swift
streaks Oct.
21 10-15
South
Taurids Very
slow, bright November
2-4 10-20
Leonid
Very
swift Nov.
17 10
North
Taurids Slow
fireballs November
12-14 10-20
Geminid
Medium
Dec.
14 75
Ursids
Medium
December
22-23 15-25
Comets.
Comet Mc Naught is observable and circumpolar all night, but rather faint and low down. It is not a spectacular comet.
Comets can be spectacular as can be seen with these images.
Noctilucent clouds.
Don't forget to look for these luminous
clouds
high in the northern sky just before retiring for the evening. The
clouds photograph well with simple digital cameras. If you can change
the ISO number then try different settings to find the best for that
evening, otherwise "suck it and see"
|
Highlights for
2008. |
Summary of Forthcoming Astronomical Events |
| Month Date | Event |
Back issues of Mira
are on line.