Friday, August 16
Saturn is the place all of the motion is at this night, because the planet’s brightest moon, Titan, slips beneath Saturn’s south pole. The planet rises round 9 P.M. native daylight time and stands greater than 20° excessive inside two hours. Glowing at magnitude 0.7, the ringed planet is comparatively straightforward to identify in Aquarius, because it outshines the constellation’s stars. You could find it to the correct of the Circlet asterism in Pisces as this area of sky is rising.
As soon as you possibly can spot it in your telescope, look simply south of the disk to find Titan, shifting from east to west and standing roughly due south of Saturn at 12:30 A.M. EDT (on the seventeenth within the Jap time zone solely, late on the sixteenth for these farther west). The moon stands a scant 1″ beneath the planet at its closest, so it could be exhausting to make out.
In the meantime, there’s an “intruder” close by: The elusive moon Iapetus is one day previous superior conjunction and nonetheless comparatively near the planet, standing about 1.5′ to Saturn’s southeast and glowing at magnitude 11. It’s now heading towards its fainter jap elongation, slowly dimming to magnitude 12.
However wait — there’s one other intruder, and this one is actual. Simply 1′ west of Iapetus is a brighter, Ninth-magnitude area star. Don’t mistake it for the moon — of the 2, the thing that’s farther east of the planet is Iapetus, whereas the star is nearer to due south. (Don’t mistake it for Titan, both — the star is 1′ from the planet, whereas Titan is skimming a lot nearer to the pole.)
Dawn: 6:13 A.M.
Sundown: 7:55 P.M.
Moonrise: 6:16 P.M.
Moonset: 2:04 A.M.
Moon Section: Waxing gibbous (88%)
*Instances for dawn, sundown, moonrise, and moonset are given in native time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. native time from the identical location.
Saturday, August 17
Comet 13P/Olbers remains to be making its approach via the big Coma Star Cluster (Melotte 111) in Coma Berenices this night. Seen for a couple of good hours after sundown, search for the comet simply 2.1° south of 4th-magnitude Gamma (γ) Comae Berenices.
Olbers is roughly Eighth magnitude, making it nonetheless straightforward to web with good binoculars or a telescope. It’s now almost 187 million miles (301 million kilometers) from Earth and fading, following its shut go of the Solar earlier this yr.
The Moon’s shiny mild might intervene together with your visible search, so attempt taking a long-exposure astrophoto of the realm to seize extra photons and produce out its faint glow, in addition to the numerous stars of the Coma cluster. The grouping accommodates almost 300 younger stars and has been identified since antiquity, because it’s a naked-eye object underneath a transparent, darkish sky — although once more, tonight, the Moon will intervene. Come again in a number of days when the Moon rises later within the night, although, to see whether or not you can also make out the faint, misty, magnitude 1.8 glow of the cluster’s stars mixed.
Dawn: 6:14 A.M.
Sundown: 7:53 P.M.
Moonrise: 7:02 P.M.
Moonset: 3:14 A.M.
Moon Section: Waxing gibbous (94%)
Sunday, August 18
Mercury reaches inferior conjunction at 10 P.M. EDT, rendering it invisible within the glare of the Solar. Now that it has left the night sky, it can seem within the morning sky later this month.
Talking of the morning sky, when you’re up early, it’s an important alternative to catch a glimpse of the solar system’s penultimate planet, Uranus. Excessive within the east within the few hours earlier than dawn, Uranus is situated in western Taurus close to the easy-to-spot Pleiades star cluster (M45). The Pleiades is also referred to as the Seven Sisters — what number of stars are you able to make out with the bare eye? Most individuals can see between 5 and 7. In total, the Pleiades seemingly accommodates 1000’s of stars; you possibly can see quite a few members with binoculars or a low-power telescope eyepiece. Decrease powers are finest, because the cluster is unfold out over a big space of sky, so zooming in an excessive amount of eliminates lots of its stars from view.
Transferring on to Uranus, the ice giant is about 5° south-southwest of the cluster. It glows at magnitude 5.8, and you should utilize two equally shiny stars — 13 and 14 Tauri — that can assist you discover it. These two Sixth-magnitude suns stand aspect by aspect within the sky, with 13 barely west of 14. Uranus is now roughly 1° southwest of 13 Tau, so attempt utilizing this pairing as a signpost to information your strategy to the distant planet. Binoculars or a telescope will present it, however a telescope will will let you word Uranus’ tiny, 4″-wide disk, which is able to look extra like a “flat,” gray-blue disk than the white or blue pinpricks of close by stars.
Dawn: 6:15 A.M.
Sundown: 7:52 P.M.
Moonrise: 7:40 P.M.
Moonset: 4:30 A.M.
Moon Section: Waxing gibbous (98%)
Monday, August 19
Full Moon happens at 2:26 P.M. EDT. The August Full Moon can also be known as the Sturgeon Moon, and this one is particular as a result of it’s also a Blue Moon — although not in the best way you could be most aware of.
Most individuals have heard of a month-to-month Blue Moon, which is the second Full Moon to happen inside a single calendar month. However this week’s Full Moon is a seasonal Blue Moon, the third Full Moon out of 4 when there are 4 Full Moons throughout a single astronomical season.
That’s a bit extra to unpack than merely “second Full Moon in a single calendar month,” so let’s begin with astronomical seasons, that are the time between a solstice and the next equinox, or an equinox and the next solstice. So, for instance, astronomical summer season falls between the summer season solstice and the autumnal equinox. Astronomical autumn then falls between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, and so forth.
Most astronomical seasons have three Full Moons, however sometimes there are 4. That’s the case for our present astronomical season, and in the present day’s Full Moon is the third of these 4 — thus, the seasonal Blue Moon. (We gained’t get a extra “conventional” month-to-month Blue Moon for nearly two years — the following one is Might 31, 2026.)
The Full Moon rises and units roughly reverse the Solar, so be sure to take a look at the Blue Sturgeon Moon because it slips above the jap horizon round sundown. Regardless of its title, the Moon gained’t look blue at any time tonight, nevertheless it would possibly look fairly massive and reddish or golden because it rises and units, because of the higher quantity of air its mild should journey via when it’s near the horizon. The upper it climbs, the smaller and brighter white it can look.
Dawn: 6:16 A.M.
Sundown: 7:50 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:11 P.M.
Moonset: 5:59 A.M.
Moon Section: Full
Tuesday, August 20
Asteroid 4 Vesta is in conjunction with the Solar at 5 A.M. EDT.
Let’s return to Saturn this night because the Moon passes 0.5° — half the Full Moon’s width — north of the ringed planet at 11 P.M. EDT. Try the pairing in Aquarius with binoculars or a low-powered telescope, because the planet’s mild could be largely washed out by the Moon when attempting to watch unaided. As a result of it’s so shut, the Moon seems to maneuver shortly via our sky — observe the pair over the course of some hours to observe our satellite draw back increasingly more from the planet.
When you’re ready, solid your gaze over to the western half of the sky, the place the Summer time Triangle is slowly sinking in a single day and into the early-morning hours. This huge asterism is bounded by the brilliant stars Altair, Vega, and Deneb. All are the alpha stars of their constellations.
Magnitude 1.3 Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus the Swan. On the different finish of the constellation’s define is Albireo, a Third-magnitude star that simply splits into two gorgeously coloured elements in a telescope. About 5° east-northeast of this star is NGC 6834, an Eighth-magnitude open cluster about 65 million years outdated. At low energy, it is best to see some two dozen members; extra will come out with increased magnification. If you happen to’ve bought a very massive scope — 12 inches or extra — then think about ready for a Moonless sky and return right here to look roughly 40′ east-southeast of the cluster for the planetary nebula NGC 6842 — however be warned, at magnitude 14 and 50″ throughout, it’s fairly faint and exhausting to pick. Pictures could be your finest guess.
Dawn: 6:17 A.M.
Sundown: 7:49 P.M.
Moonrise: 8:38 P.M.
Moonset: 7:08 A.M.
Moon Section: Waning gibbous (99%)
Wednesday, August 21
The Moon reaches perigee, the closest level to Earth in its orbit, at 1:02 A.M. EDT. At the moment, our satellite will likely be 223,815 miles (360,195 km) away.
Now in Pisces, the Moon passes 0.7° north of Neptune at 6 P.M. EDT, although neither is seen at the moment. You’ll have to attend till late this night to attempt to catch them, hanging under the Circlet of Pisces and rising round 9 P.M. native daylight time. Actually, you’ll need to wait even longer to present the area time to rise out of the turbulent air close to the horizon, so intention to watch round and even after native midnight. By then, the Moon is a few 4° to five° from Neptune, which is able to enhance your probabilities of recognizing the faint planet, although it’d nonetheless be a problem.
The farthest planet from the Solar, Neptune spans an obvious 2″ on the sky and shines at magnitude 7.7. A telescope is finest if you wish to attempt looking it down tonight, and a go-to scope is even higher. For many who need to star-hop, search for a parallelogram of 4 stars shining at 4th and fifth magnitude, centered about 8° under (southeast of) Lambda (λ) Piscium. The highest (northern) two stars have contrasting colours, with the easternmost star showing bluer, whereas the westernmost star might look extra yellow, significantly when seen collectively (they sit about 1° aside). Neptune, about 1.7° northwest of those stars, may additionally have a bluish hue. When you have hassle seeing the colours with the Moon so close by, merely mark the realm in your notes and return as soon as our satellite has waned.
Dawn: 6:18 A.M.
Sundown: 7:48 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:04 P.M.
Moonset: 8:26 A.M.
Moon Section: Waning gibbous (95%)
Thursday, August 22
Dwarf planet 1 Ceres spends all the month inside the physique of Sagittarius’ Teapot asterism within the south. Tonight, it’s getting near its stationary level (which it reaches on the twenty sixth), making ready to make a pointy hairpin flip because it adjustments course from retrograde, westerly movement to an easterly tack.
Glowing at Eighth magnitude, image-stabilized binoculars or a telescope will choose up the space rock, tonight some 2.8° east-southeast of Delta (δ) Sagittarii. The primary-belt world is simply 1.5° north and a bit of east of magnitude 7.6 M69, a small, faint globular cluster solely about 7′ throughout in an eyepiece. About 2.5° east of M69 is one other globular cluster, M70, one other faint (magnitude 7.9) globular of about the identical measurement.
Dawn: 6:19 A.M.
Sundown: 7:46 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:29 P.M.
Moonset: 9:43 A.M.
Moon Section: Waning gibbous (88%)
Friday, August 23
Early risers within the western half of the U.S. can catch a transit of Ganymede’s large shadow crossing the southern polar area of Jupiter this morning. You’ll discover the magnitude –2.2 planet between the horns of Taurus within the east within the hours earlier than dawn, now far to the higher proper of fainter magnitude 0.8 Mars following their shut conjunction final week. Each deceive the decrease left of the brilliant red giant star Aldebaran.
Ganymede’s shadow transit begins round 4:46 A.M. MDT — watch the southeastern limb of the planet intently, as it can take a number of minutes for the shadow to completely seem. Ganymede itself is kind of removed from Jupiter to the east right now — in the meantime, Io is sort of the identical distance from the planet’s western limb. Callisto lies even farther east, whereas Europa is hidden behind the planet’s massive disk.
Ganymede’s shadow takes nearly two hours to cross the southern pole; an hour into the transit, Europa has appeared simply off Jupiter’s northeastern limb. Ganymede is slowly closing in on the planet, following its shadow in from the east, whereas Io is pulling farther away to the west.
Dawn: 6:20 A.M.
Sundown: 7:45 P.M.
Moonrise: 9:56 P.M.
Moonset: 10:59 A.M.
Moon Section: Waning gibbous (79%)
Sky This Week is delivered to you partly by Celestron.
