Perseid meteor shower
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AUGUST 2005 SKYWATCH The sky stars of the month are the Perseid meteors. They should make a fine show on the night of August 11-12. After midnight there may be as many as one per minute. This is generally the best meteor show of the year, and it occurs on warm summer nights in the northern hemisphere. Our two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter, are both low in the southwestern sky in the evening, where both twilight and haze can obscure them. Check the sky one-half hour after sunset, and perhaps you can watch them throughout the month, as Venus climbs towards Jupiter. The bright star to their left is Spica, the Harvest Star. Jupiter sets earlier each night, and by the end of the month it disappears from view near the end of twilight. Moon looks low. It is. Its elevation has been getting lower, and next summer it hits the bottom of its 18.6-year cycle. In the southern hemisphere it conversely appears higher and higher. On August 19, Full Moon is very close to earth, and will appear 10% larger than usual. Mars rises earlier and earlier in the morning, and by the end of the month it is rising around midnight. It is still best before dawn, when it is high in the sky. Mars brightens rapidly during August as its distance from Earth decreases. The south polar cap of Mars is visible now to earthbound observers, with a telescope. Saturn and Mercury should be easy to spot low in the east-northeast before dawn, especially during the latter part of the month. The bright star to their right is Procyon. Saturn continues to rise earlier each morning. On August 31, a lovely old crescent moon sits next to Saturn. |
