The sky this month: what's up and what to expect (August 04)
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2004 3:32 pm
The Northern Hemisphere
The August Sky in the Northern Hemisphere provides a few interesting sights this month, but most of them will require a telescope to view properly.
As on the image, Uranus will be visible in the Southern sky this month, and can be seen as a bright spot with a hobby-telescope, or in more detail with a larger telescope. Neptune will be visible as well to larger telescopes.
The two comets, LINEAR C2003 K4, and NEAT C2001 Q4, will be visible on some nights in the Northern sky, but are beginning to get far enough away from the Earth that a telescope is needed to see them.
The Southern Hemisphere
Neptune and Uranus are much higher in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere, in certain areas peaking near the zenith shortly after midnight.
August should be a spectacular month for telescope owners in the Southern Hemisphere, with the large number of nebulae and clusters in Sagittarius and Scorpious high in the Western sky.
Everywhere
On the 12th of August, the Perseid Meteor Shower will reach its peak. Best viewing time is predicted to be early morning (pre-dawn) on the 12th, but meteors should be visible for another day before and after as well.
Later this month, Venus will start to become visible in the early morning. As can be seen from the above picture, it's just starting to peek above the horizon in the early morning. You should have no problem seeing it even through dawn.
Useful Links:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sky_calendar.html
http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/SkyWatcher ... Diary.html
http://www.earthsky.com/skywatching/
http://nightskymag.com/Whatsup.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/mysp ... ndex.shtml
The August Sky in the Northern Hemisphere provides a few interesting sights this month, but most of them will require a telescope to view properly.
As on the image, Uranus will be visible in the Southern sky this month, and can be seen as a bright spot with a hobby-telescope, or in more detail with a larger telescope. Neptune will be visible as well to larger telescopes.
The two comets, LINEAR C2003 K4, and NEAT C2001 Q4, will be visible on some nights in the Northern sky, but are beginning to get far enough away from the Earth that a telescope is needed to see them.
The Southern Hemisphere
Neptune and Uranus are much higher in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere, in certain areas peaking near the zenith shortly after midnight.
August should be a spectacular month for telescope owners in the Southern Hemisphere, with the large number of nebulae and clusters in Sagittarius and Scorpious high in the Western sky.
Everywhere
On the 12th of August, the Perseid Meteor Shower will reach its peak. Best viewing time is predicted to be early morning (pre-dawn) on the 12th, but meteors should be visible for another day before and after as well.
Later this month, Venus will start to become visible in the early morning. As can be seen from the above picture, it's just starting to peek above the horizon in the early morning. You should have no problem seeing it even through dawn.
Useful Links:
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sky_calendar.html
http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/SkyWatcher ... Diary.html
http://www.earthsky.com/skywatching/
http://nightskymag.com/Whatsup.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/mysp ... ndex.shtml