The Night Sky in August!
This is not intended to be comprehensive - it is a quick guide to help you find a few things in the night sky without any equipment - just your eyes.
All of these are very bright and easy to find when walking around the village.
The planets
Both Mercury and Venus can be seen setting in the west at sunset. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn rise in the east, and these planets can be seen easily.
Look out for the Perieds meteor shower which peaks on the 12th where you can see around 100 per hour. Give your eyes time to adjust to the dark and look up and they will be seen spreading out across the sky.
The full Moon is a supper Moon and on the 19th it rises in the South East around 9:30pm. It will be close to the horizon - giving it an illusion that it is bigger.
On the 21st there is a Saturn lunar occultation - where the Moon passes in front of Saturn but its very early at 4.28am.
Look out for the attached chart to help you find the Summer triangle.
There are no well placed and bright International Space Station passes (ISS) this month.
I have made or found the following charts to help you find: -
- 12th - Perseids Meteor shower
- 15th - Mars and Jupiter
- 19th - Super Moon
- Phases of the Moon
- The Moon Illusion
- 20th - Moon and Saturn
- 21st - Saturn Luner Occultation
- The Summer Triangle