The Night Sky for August 2008
The Perseid Meteor Shower, Five Planets at Once, the Return of Venus
Solar Eclipse August 1, 2008
The solar eclipse that occurs on August 1, 2008, will spread across far northern Canada, the Arctic, Siberia, Mongolia, and western China - all locations that are mostly uninhabited. Learn more about how to view the eclipse if you are willing to travel.
See All the Naked-Eye Planets
Five planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, have been known since man first started to look in curiosity at the sky. These five planets, known as the classical planets, can be seen without any optical aid. They were distinctive from background stars because they wandered against the set patterns of constellations in the night sky.
In August all five planets will be visible in the night sky at one time, an unusual occurrence. In the Northern Hemisphere, the planets will be visible after sunset from about August 6 to 24. Those living closer to the equator can see the planets during most of these dates, while the farther north you are, the narrower your observing window is. August 14-16 are the dates to try if you live around the 38th parallel, which, in the United States, runs from Colorado through Illinois through Viriginia.
A clear, flat view to the western horizon is essential, because four of the five planets are gathered there. Three of those, Saturn, Venus, and Mecury, will be only five degrees apart just at the horizon. A pair of binoculars may help you catch them all. Mars will be a bit about 15 degrees above the trio, with Jupiter shining brightly in the south-southeast.
Planetary Conjunctions in August
The conjunctions of August are numerous, however, most are difficult to see because they occur at sunset near the western horizon. The entire week of August 11th through the 16th provides the trio of Mercury, Venus, and Saturn near the western horizon just after sunset. Venus will be the brightest at magnitude -3.9, Mercury will be second brightest at -0.6, and Saturn shine dimmest at magnitude 0.8.
On August 13, Venus and Saturn will come their closest as they lie less than a half degree apart. Saturn will quickly sink from view over the month as Venus and Mercury climb higher in the sky. On August 20, Venus and Mercury will get their closest for the month as the pair lie less one degree apart. The two inner planets will continue to head toward Mars for a conjunction next month. As bright Venus rises higher over August it will return to glory as the "Evening Star" where it will remain for the rest of 2008.
The Moon in August
The full moon of August goes by the name of the Sturgeon Moon, the Green Corn Moon, or just the Corn Moon. August's full moon occurs at 5:16 pm EDT. New moon occurred on the first day of the month August 1, at 6:13 am EDT. On August 2 and 3 try to spot the young moon near the horizon at sunset in the presence of the planetary trio, mentioned above. The moon passes bright Jupiter over the dates of August 11 and August 12.
The Perseid Meteor Shower
The favorite meteor shower of summer is the Perseids, because it provides the most abundant meteors of the season at a time when many people are outdoors at night. Perseid meteors have a broad show, occuring from July 25 to August 18, but the peak of activity occurs over the 11th,12th, and 13th. The best time to look in 2008 is just before dawn in North America on August 12.
Don't worry, if you are not a morning person, you can still catch the streaks of light in the evening hours. The waxing moon will be up in the south over these dates, though, spoiling some of the view. Perseid meteors seem to emanate from the constellation Perseus, which spends most of its evening in the north, not far from the W shape of Cassiopeia. Swift-Tuttle is the comet responsible for the debris that burns up as it enters Earth’s atmosphere. At its peak, the Perseid Meteor Shower can produce up to 80 meteors an hour.
