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Contact
615-355-4983
vghart2@cs.com
615-355-4983
vghart2@cs.com
August 2008
The long, warm nights of August provide some dazzling sights. The Milky Way arcs high overhead, adding a soft glow
to the dark sky -- but only if you are away from pesky city lights. The constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius are at
their best, anchoring the southern end of the Milky Way. Jupiter points the way to Sagittarius. Mars and Saturn drop
from sight in the glare of sunset, where Venus and Mercury already lurk. That leaves Jupiter as the only naked-eye
planet easily visible for most of the month.
1 A total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow path from Nunavut, Canada, across Greenland, and through
Russia and China. A partial eclipse will cover large portions of Europe and Asia. Northern New England will see a few
minutes of the partial eclipse just after sunrise.
3-4 Mars, Saturn, and the Moon congregate low in the west at sunset. On the 3rd, Saturn is to the upper right of the
Moon, with Mars closer to the upper left. On the 4th, Mars is to the right of the Moon.
6 Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, stands just to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall.
9-10 The Moon teams with Antares, the brightest star of Scorpius. Antares is to the upper left of the Moon on the
9th, and much closer to the Moon’s right on the 10th.
12 The Perseid meteor shower peaks around dawn on the morning of the 12th.
12-13 The planet Jupiter, which looks like a brilliant cream-colored star, stands to the left of the Moon on the 12th,
and closer to its upper right on the 13th.
16 There is a partial lunar eclipse today, with the best views from Africa, Europe, and Asia. New England and a thin
sliver of the central Atlantic coast will see the final moments of the eclipse, when the Moon is partially immersed in
the faint outer portion of Earth’s shadow.
Choose another month
The long, warm nights of August provide some dazzling sights. The Milky Way arcs high overhead, adding a soft glow
to the dark sky -- but only if you are away from pesky city lights. The constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius are at
their best, anchoring the southern end of the Milky Way. Jupiter points the way to Sagittarius. Mars and Saturn drop
from sight in the glare of sunset, where Venus and Mercury already lurk. That leaves Jupiter as the only naked-eye
planet easily visible for most of the month.
1 A total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow path from Nunavut, Canada, across Greenland, and through
Russia and China. A partial eclipse will cover large portions of Europe and Asia. Northern New England will see a few
minutes of the partial eclipse just after sunrise.
3-4 Mars, Saturn, and the Moon congregate low in the west at sunset. On the 3rd, Saturn is to the upper right of the
Moon, with Mars closer to the upper left. On the 4th, Mars is to the right of the Moon.
6 Spica, the brightest star of Virgo, stands just to the upper right of the Moon at nightfall.
9-10 The Moon teams with Antares, the brightest star of Scorpius. Antares is to the upper left of the Moon on the
9th, and much closer to the Moon’s right on the 10th.
12 The Perseid meteor shower peaks around dawn on the morning of the 12th.
12-13 The planet Jupiter, which looks like a brilliant cream-colored star, stands to the left of the Moon on the 12th,
and closer to its upper right on the 13th.
16 There is a partial lunar eclipse today, with the best views from Africa, Europe, and Asia. New England and a thin
sliver of the central Atlantic coast will see the final moments of the eclipse, when the Moon is partially immersed in
the faint outer portion of Earth’s shadow.
Choose another month
CURRENT MOON
"I know nothing with any certainty,
but the sight of the stars makes me
dream." - Vincent van Gogh
but the sight of the stars makes me
dream." - Vincent van Gogh
Starry, Starry, Night....
August 22 - 28, 2008
August 22, 2008
This is a good evening for counting stars. The glowing band of the Milky Way arcs high overhead, from W-shaped
Cassiopeia in the north, through the bright Summer Triangle overhead, to teapot-shaped Sagittarius in the south.
August 23, 2008
Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, covers a large patch of the southern sky on summer nights. One of its most
impressive stars is Zeta Ophiuchi. Although barely visible to the unaided eye, it is one of the hottest and brightest
stars in the galaxy.
August 24, 2008
Tonight’s sky features the large but hard-to-see constellation Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. It fills a big wedge of
the southwestern sky at nightfall. It’s tough to pick out, though, because none of its stars appears very bright to the
unaided eye.
August 25, 2008
The Milky Way arcs high overhead on August evenings. It is the combined light of millions of stars in the disk of
our home galaxy. From outside the glare of city lights, you’ll see its subtle glow, with dark “voids” running down its
middle.
August 26, 2008
Pegasus, the flying horse, soars high overhead this evening. It's in full view in the east and northeast by about 9 or
10 p.m. Look for the four stars that form the Great Square of Pegasus. As Pegasus rises, the square is tilted, so it
looks more like a diamond.
August 27, 2008
A giant stellar nursery known as M17 arcs across the south. It’s part of a system that has given birth to thousands
of stars. M17 is above the lid of the “teapot” formed by the brightest stars of Sagittarius, which is low in the south at
nightfall.
August 28, 2008
The remnants of an exploded star, known as the Crab Nebula, are visible through small telescopes near the tip of
one of the horns of Taurus, the bull. The Crab rises in the wee hours of the morning, well below the bull’s orange
“eye,” the star Aldebaran.
August 22, 2008
This is a good evening for counting stars. The glowing band of the Milky Way arcs high overhead, from W-shaped
Cassiopeia in the north, through the bright Summer Triangle overhead, to teapot-shaped Sagittarius in the south.
August 23, 2008
Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer, covers a large patch of the southern sky on summer nights. One of its most
impressive stars is Zeta Ophiuchi. Although barely visible to the unaided eye, it is one of the hottest and brightest
stars in the galaxy.
August 24, 2008
Tonight’s sky features the large but hard-to-see constellation Ophiuchus, the serpent bearer. It fills a big wedge of
the southwestern sky at nightfall. It’s tough to pick out, though, because none of its stars appears very bright to the
unaided eye.
August 25, 2008
The Milky Way arcs high overhead on August evenings. It is the combined light of millions of stars in the disk of
our home galaxy. From outside the glare of city lights, you’ll see its subtle glow, with dark “voids” running down its
middle.
August 26, 2008
Pegasus, the flying horse, soars high overhead this evening. It's in full view in the east and northeast by about 9 or
10 p.m. Look for the four stars that form the Great Square of Pegasus. As Pegasus rises, the square is tilted, so it
looks more like a diamond.
August 27, 2008
A giant stellar nursery known as M17 arcs across the south. It’s part of a system that has given birth to thousands
of stars. M17 is above the lid of the “teapot” formed by the brightest stars of Sagittarius, which is low in the south at
nightfall.
August 28, 2008
The remnants of an exploded star, known as the Crab Nebula, are visible through small telescopes near the tip of
one of the horns of Taurus, the bull. The Crab rises in the wee hours of the morning, well below the bull’s orange
“eye,” the star Aldebaran.