Friday, August 12
The Perseid meteor shower peaks today with a still nearly Full Super Moon in the sky, which will make viewing all but the brightest fireballs difficult. For those at mid-northern latitudes or higher, the radiant in Perseus is always or nearly always above the horizon. So although meteor showers produce fewer shooting stars at night, when observers are on Earth’s trailing hemisphere, it’s still worth looking northeast late tonight, as the radiant in northern Perseus is slowly climbing higher in the sky. Because the Perseids are such an active shower, producing up to 100 meteors per hour at the peak, chances are still good that a few brighter meteors may grace your skies.
While you wait, however, there’s plenty else to enjoy in the evening sky. Bright targets are best, given the blazing Moon, so let’s focus on a favorite summertime asterism: the Summer Triangle. This large asterism straddles the plane of the Milky Way and is drawn from the stars Altair in Aquila the Eagle, Vega in Lyra the Lyre, and Deneb in Cygnus the Swan. The brightest point is Vega at magnitude 0; it sits just over 75° high in the east an hour after sunset. Next comes magnitude 0.8 Altair, which is 35° southeast of Vega (to its lower right) and is the lowest of the three stars in the sky (though it is 45° high at this time). Look 25° east-northeast (to the upper left) of Altair to land on magnitude 1.3 Deneb and complete the triangle’s shape.
Deneb marks the tail of the Swan, but Cygnus’ head is also a great target: 3rd-magnitude Albireo is a stunningly beautiful double star with contrasting colors of orange and blue. With 35″ between them, they can be resolved in either binoculars (10x) or any small telescope.
Sunrise: 6:09 A.M.
Sunset: 8:01 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:57 P.M.
Moonset: 6:32 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (99%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
Saturday, August 13
Mercury remains low in the evening sky all month, moving almost parallel to the horizon night by night. Today, it’s still relatively easy to spot at magnitude –0.1 after sunset. Mercury will continue fading through the rest of August, so now is the time to go looking for it. Half an hour after sunset, the small planet is 5° high in the west, beneath the not-yet-visible hindquarters of Leo the Lion. Through a telescope, Mercury’s disk appears 71 percent lit and is 6″ across. Mercury will reach its greatest eastern elongation from the Sun in two weeks, but will have faded to magnitude 0.3 by then.
You may spot a few bright stars nearby in the fading twilight: magnitude 1 Spica in Virgo and magnitude –0.1 Arcturus in Boötes. Wait a little longer, and Denebola at the tip of Leo’s tail and several of the stars in the Big Dipper will start to appear as well.
Sunrise: 6:10 A.M.
Sunset: 7:59 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:26 P.M.
Moonset: 7:49 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (96%)
Sunday, August 14
The Moon passes 3° south of Neptune at 6 A.M. EDT. The pair is visible early this morning before sunrise, though Neptune (at magnitude 7.7) will require binoculars or a small scope to see. The planet floats in southwestern Pisces, about 8° south of the Circlet asterism.
But the real showstopper today is Saturn, which reaches opposition at 1 P.M. EDT and is rising in Capricornus as the Sun sets. The ringed planet will be visible all night, setting around sunrise, but the best views come in the hours around midnight and into the early morning, when it is highest in the south.
In truth, though, anytime tonight is a great time to view Saturn, which glows at magnitude 0.2 just less than 2.5° northwest of Deneb Algedi. Through a telescope, the planet’s disk is 19″ across — but its rings are what we’re all here for, stretching 43″ across their major axis and 10″ along their minor axis. They’re currently tilted about 14° to our line of sight with their northern face lit. It’s the best view of the rings that we’ll get for another five years or so. In 2025, they will appear edge-on as we “cross” from one side of the rings’ plane to the other (from our point of view here on Earth). Magnify your view at least 100x to try spotting the dark Cassini Division, a 7″-wide gap between the outermost Ring A and the next ring in, Ring B.
Saturn is surrounded by an array of moons, several of which are within easy reach of amateur telescopes. Titan is brightest at magnitude 8.5 and sits about 1′ west-southwest of the planet’s center. Also scattered about are 10th-magnitude Tethys, Dione, and Rhea. Late tonight, Tethys sits 45″ due east of the planet, with Rhea 13″ to Tethys’ southeast and Dione 20″ southwest of Saturn’s disk. Iapetus, now around magnitude 11, is nearly 8′ due west of Saturn.
Sunrise: 6:11 A.M.
Sunset: 7:58 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:51 P.M.
Moonset: 9:02 A.M.
Moon Phase: Waning gibbous (90%)
The Sky This Week: Mighty Saturn reaches opposition
Source: Trending Update Article
0 Comments