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| The August night sky | The August night sky |
| (6 months later) | |
| The main event of the next few weeks is the great American eclipse but plenty of Perseid meteors should be visible despite a bright moon | |
| Alan Pickup | |
| Sun 30 Jul 2017 21.30 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 19.16 GMT | |
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| The great American eclipse on 21 August is not the only notable event in a crowded month for starwatchers. That total eclipse of the Sun is the first to be visible from the US mainland since 1979 and the first to be visible from coast to coast since 1918. I gave some essential pointers to its safe observation in our previous Starwatch and will return to it again in our next note on 14 August. | The great American eclipse on 21 August is not the only notable event in a crowded month for starwatchers. That total eclipse of the Sun is the first to be visible from the US mainland since 1979 and the first to be visible from coast to coast since 1918. I gave some essential pointers to its safe observation in our previous Starwatch and will return to it again in our next note on 14 August. |
| Watchers in the UK, though, must be content with a shallow partial eclipse in the minutes before sunset on that day. Peak eclipse occurs about 20:00 BST when the Moon hides the lower 6% of the Sun as seen from Penzance but only 2% from E Scotland. For much of England and Wales, the Sun sets before the eclipse is over. | Watchers in the UK, though, must be content with a shallow partial eclipse in the minutes before sunset on that day. Peak eclipse occurs about 20:00 BST when the Moon hides the lower 6% of the Sun as seen from Penzance but only 2% from E Scotland. For much of England and Wales, the Sun sets before the eclipse is over. |
| The southern quarter of the Moon slips through the Earth’s central dark shadow, the umbra, between 18:23 and 20:18 on the 7th while the Moon lies over the Indian Ocean. By moonrise (and sunset) for Britain, the Moon is leaving the lighter penumbral shadow and little if any darkening will be visible. It is free of the penumbra by 21:51. | The southern quarter of the Moon slips through the Earth’s central dark shadow, the umbra, between 18:23 and 20:18 on the 7th while the Moon lies over the Indian Ocean. By moonrise (and sunset) for Britain, the Moon is leaving the lighter penumbral shadow and little if any darkening will be visible. It is free of the penumbra by 21:51. |
| The stars of the Summer Triangle, Deneb, Altair and Vega, stand high in the S at our August map times as Pegasus and Andromeda climb in the E, to the right of Cassiopeia and Perseus. | The stars of the Summer Triangle, Deneb, Altair and Vega, stand high in the S at our August map times as Pegasus and Andromeda climb in the E, to the right of Cassiopeia and Perseus. |
| Meteors of the Perseids shower are already diverging from a radiant point in N Perseus, their numbers increasing sharply as we near a peak on the 12th when upwards of 80 meteors per hour might be counted under ideal conditions. This year, though, bright moonlight from the late evening will depress the numbers seen as the radiant climbs through the NE to approach the zenith before dawn. Perseids are swift and many of the brighter ones leave persistent trains in their wake. | Meteors of the Perseids shower are already diverging from a radiant point in N Perseus, their numbers increasing sharply as we near a peak on the 12th when upwards of 80 meteors per hour might be counted under ideal conditions. This year, though, bright moonlight from the late evening will depress the numbers seen as the radiant climbs through the NE to approach the zenith before dawn. Perseids are swift and many of the brighter ones leave persistent trains in their wake. |
| The planet Jupiter is bright at mag –1.9 to –1.7 but sinks closer to our W horizon at nightfall this month. Saturn, mag 0.4 in S Ophiuchus, is the brightest object low in our SSW evening sky, setting in the SW less than 2 hours after our map times. Venus rises in the NE 3 hours before the Sun to be a brilliant (mag –4.0) morning star in our E sky. Catch it 3° above-left of the waning earthlit Moon on the 19th. Mercury and Mars remain hidden in the Sun’s glare. | The planet Jupiter is bright at mag –1.9 to –1.7 but sinks closer to our W horizon at nightfall this month. Saturn, mag 0.4 in S Ophiuchus, is the brightest object low in our SSW evening sky, setting in the SW less than 2 hours after our map times. Venus rises in the NE 3 hours before the Sun to be a brilliant (mag –4.0) morning star in our E sky. Catch it 3° above-left of the waning earthlit Moon on the 19th. Mercury and Mars remain hidden in the Sun’s glare. |
| August diary | August diary |
| 3th 08h Moon 3° N of Saturn | 3th 08h Moon 3° N of Saturn |
| 7th 19h Full moon and partial lunar eclipse | 7th 19h Full moon and partial lunar eclipse |
| 12th 20h Peak of Perseids meteor shower | 12th 20h Peak of Perseids meteor shower |
| 15th 02h Last quarter | 15th 02h Last quarter |
| 16th 08h Moon 0.4° N of Aldebaran | 16th 08h Moon 0.4° N of Aldebaran |
| 19th 06h Moon 2.2° S of Venus | 19th 06h Moon 2.2° S of Venus |
| 20th 09h Moon 2.8° S of Praesepe | 20th 09h Moon 2.8° S of Praesepe |
| 21st 20h New moon and total solar eclipse | 21st 20h New moon and total solar eclipse |
| 25th 14h Moon 3° N of Jupiter; 16h Saturn stationary | 25th 14h Moon 3° N of Jupiter; 16h Saturn stationary |
| 26th 22h Mercury in inferior conjunction | 26th 22h Mercury in inferior conjunction |
| 29th 09h First quarter | 29th 09h First quarter |
| 30th 15h Moon 4° N of Saturn | 30th 15h Moon 4° N of Saturn |
| * Times are BST | * Times are BST |
| Astronomy | |
| Starwatch | |
| Space | |
| The moon | |
| The sun | |
| Meteors | |
| Jupiter | |
| features | |
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