The Night Sky in August

Abstract

THE moon is full on August lld at 6h and new on August 25d at llh. No star brighter than magnitude 5·3 is occulted this month. Lunar conjunctions with the planets occur as follows: August 12d 7h with Jupiter; August 16d 5h with Saturn; August 28d 23h with Venus. (In New Zealand and other parts of the southern hemisphere the planet is actually occulted by the moon.) Venus, the disk of which is slightly gibbous, is an evening star increasing slowly in brightness to its maximum (mag. – 4·3) in mid-October. On August 31, the planet is near the first magnitude star, Spica. Jupiter, visible throughout the night, is in opposition on August 21, when its distance from the earth is rather less than 373 million miles. Saturn, the ring system of which is fairly well open, rises about 21h in mid-August. The distant planet, Uranus, now in Aries, is occulted by the moon on August 18; the occultation, however, is not visible from the British Isles, but is possible to observers in Canada. On August 15, a Lyrae is on the southern meridian at 21h 0·5m. This star, together with a Cygni and a Aquilae, make a conspicuous triangle, with the Milky Way for a background. Between β and γ Lyrse, the Ring Nebula may be located with slight optical aid. The variable star Algol in Perseus is coming into convenient position for observation. Its variability may be observed about two hours before and after the following epochs: August 18d 2h; 20d 23h; 23d 20h. The Perseid meteors characterized by their yellowish colour, rapid flight and trains in their wake, reach a maximum about August 10. The above times are given in U.T.; add lh to convert to Summer Time.