What’s Up in the Sky

What’s Up in the Sky

AAA Observers’ August  Guide

By Tony Faddoul

August’s Evening Planets: Mercury will be in Leo the Lion until 9 PM in the first half of August. Find red  Mars moving between Leo the Lion and Virgo the Maiden until 10 PM and setting earlier every night. Bright Jupiter is in Aries the Ram as of midnight and rising earlier every night until 10 PM by the end of August. Find Saturn in Aquarius the Water-bearer all night. Uranus will be in Aries the Ram as of midnight and rising earlier every night. Neptune in Pisces the Fish as of 10 PM and rising earlier every night until 8 PM by the end of the month. Dwarf Pluto will be in Sagittarius the Archer all night.

August’s Evening Stars: Spot the Summer Triangle of Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, and Altair in Aquila the Eagle all night. See Antares in Scorpius the Scorpion, Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, and Arcturus in Boötes the Herdsman. Also, find the stars of constellations Ophiuchus, Libra, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Hercules, Aquarius, Andromeda, Draco, Pegasus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

August’s Morning Planets: Bright Venus will be up around 5 AM in the last week of August between Hydra the Water-snake and Cancer the Crab.  Find Jupiter is in Aries the Ram and Saturn is in Aquarius the Water bearer lingering until sunrise. Uranus will be in Aries the Ram and Neptune in Pisces the Fish until sunrise.

August’s Morning Stars: Look for Capella in Auriga the Charioteer, Vega in Lyra the Harp, Deneb in Cygnus the Swan, Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull, Castor and Pollux in in Gemini the Twins, Beetlejuice and Rigel in Orion the Hunter, as well as the stars of constellations Lyra, Aquarius, Cetus, Orion, Pisces, Aries, Draco, Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Andromeda, Perseus, and Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the Big and Little Dippers).

August  Skylights

Aug   1 Full Sturgeon Super Moon at 2:30 PM

Aug   2 Moon at perigee (223,000 miles away)

Aug   8 Third Quarter Moon at 2:30 AM

Aug 12 Perseid meteor shower peaks, pre-dawn

Aug 16  New Moon at 5:40 AM

Aug 16  Moon at apogee (252,700 miles away)

Aug 24 First Quarter Moon at 5:55 AM

Aug 24 Moon is 1° north of Antares

Aug 27 Saturn at opposition, brightest in 2023

Aug 30 Full Super Blue Moon at 9:35 PM – closest supermoon of 2023

Aug 30 Moon at perigee (221,900 miles away)

Times given in EDT.