Current Night Sky: August 2018

There is a partial solar eclipse on August 11, but it is visible only in the Arctic, northeastern Asia, and northern Europe.

The Moon & Planets: 
Perseid meteors

The Perseid meteors originate in debris streams left by previous passages of the comet Swift-Tuttle; every year at this time, Earth plows through these debris streams, and the component particles – most of them no larger than a grain of sand – burn up as they encounter Earth's atmosphere. This will be a favorable year to view the Perseids, as the Moon will have set and its light will not obscure the fainter meteors. The shower is at its best between midnight and dawn; under dark sky conditions, you may see more than 100 meteors per hour. The shower peaks on the night of August 12/13, but you should see smaller numbers of meteors for several days before and after that date. (Please note: despite what is depicted in the image above, it is unlikely that you will see more than one meteor at a time!) (Courtesy: Sky & Telescope).

On the 16th, Venus is at "greatest elongation." Being an inner planet, it always hugs the Sun; quite often, it is simply lost in the solar glare, while at other times, its orbit carries it some distance away from the Sun. In practice, this limits its visibility to the evening sky after sunset, or the morning sky before sunrise. It is best seen when it is at its greatest angular distance from the Sun: hence the term "greatest elongation" (August 16, 2018; 1:30 pm EDT).

Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars form a beautiful arc in the southwest

On mid-August evenings, a string of planets – Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars – forms a beautiful arc in the southwest. From the 14th through the 23rd, the Moon moves past each of them in turn as it slides to the east. In the background are some of the constellations of summer. Under dark rural skies, the Milky Way may be visible. Its densest part is in Sagittarius; there lies the center of our sprawling galaxy (August 16, 2018; 8:45 pm EDT).

Evening Planets (after sunset): 
  • Venus, W
  • Jupiter, SW
  • Saturn, S
  • Mars, SE
  • Neptune, E
Morning Planets (before sunrise): 
  • Neptune, SW
  • Uranus, S
  • Mercury, E
Comets: 

There are no comets brighter than magnitude 8 visible this month.

Meteors: 

The Perseid meteors peak on the night of August 12-13. The Moon will have set well before the meteors will be visible, so this should be an excellent year for the Perseids. Under favorable conditions, observers may see over 100 per hour.

Phases of the Moon: 
Last Quarter Moon August 4 2:18 pm EDT
New Moon August 11 5:58 am EDT
First Quarter Moon August 18 3:49 am EDT
Full Moon August 26 7:56 am EDT

Text, graphics, and animations by John Sheff. Graphics courtesy of Starry Night(©) Pro Plus 7 / Imaginova(©) Corp. Starry Night images are used with permission from Imaginova Corp. Starry Night is a registered trademark of Imaginova Corp. Star charts generated by Starry Night Pro Plus 7 © Imaginova Corp. All rights reserved. www.StarryNight.com