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» Current Astronomical Info
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August 2005
The Planets
Jupiter and Venus can be seen in the evening sky. Both are quite bright, but both are low in the western sky and set early in the evening. Venus is lowest, visible just above the horizon after sunset. Above and to the left is Jupiter. Through August, Jupiter descends lower to meet up with Venus, and on September 1 the two planets will appear very close to each other low in the evening twilight in what is called a planetary conjunction. Before that, the waxing crescent Moon appears close to Venus on the evening of August 7, between Venus and Jupiter on August 8, and higher up near Jupiter on the evening of August 9.
In mid-to late August, Mercury can be seen low in the eastern dawn sky, appearing as a moderately bright star in the morning twilight. Saturn can also be seen in the morning sky, shining just above Mercury in late August, and appearing similar in brightness. The waning crescent Moon appears close to Saturn on the morning of August 31 and between Saturn and Mercury on the morning of September 1.
The main planet visible this month is Mars. It rises in the east about midnight to 11 p.m. where it can be seen as a bright reddish star. Mars and Earth are getting closer to each other, and closest approach, when Mars will appear brightest in the sky, comes in late October and early November, NOT August 27 as suggested in some hoax e-mails. That bogus August date comes from the last close approach of Mars in 2003, which was in August, but that was 2 years ago.
Moon Phases
As for Moon phases New Moon is August 4, First Quarter Moon is August 12, the Moon is Full on August 19, and Last Quarter Moon is August 25.
Perseid Meteor Shower
This year the annual Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of Friday, August 12 into the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, August 13. The Moon sets early so the sky will be dark for most of the night, allowing a good view of this annual shower. However, for the best view, head away from the city to a rural site free of light pollution and streetlights. No need to take telescopes – just lie back in a lawn chair and look up. All the meteors will appear to be shooting out of the northeastern sky, from a point in the constellation of Perseus. There is no best time or direction to look – just lie back and look up all night long! Expect to see about 50 to 60 meteors an hour. Some Perseids will be visible the night before and the night after as well.
Friday Night Stargazing
Our free Friday Night Stargazing resumes in September. In the meantime, there are opportunities for viewing through telescopes this summer courtesy of the University of Calgary at their open houses at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory on Saturday, Aug 13 and Saturday, Sept 10. The Open Houses begin at 8:30pm each evening and feature talks first while the sky is still bright in the early evening. The Observatory is located on Hwy 22 about 2 kms south of the intersection of Hwy 22 and 22x near Priddis southwest of Calgary.
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