The Ellensburg, WA sky for the week of August 8, 2020

 

Saturday:  The Moon and Mars are a half a fist held upright and at arm’s length above due east at 11:30 p.m. By 5:30 a.m. tomorrow, they are nearly five fists above due south. If the Moon looks smaller than usual to you, you are judging correctly. The Moon is at apogee tomorrow morning, meaning it is at its farthest point from the Earth this orbital period.

Sunday: “The sky is black (or light polluted), the stars are white (or red or orange or yellow or blue), the whole world gazes upon the sight (except where there are too many city lights or people are lazy.” Wow. It is difficult to write a flowing set of lyrics when there are so many parenthetical thoughts. Most people think of the sky’s blackness as a lack of stars. But dark patches in the Milky Way are actually massive clouds of dust that are blocking the stars behind them. Two of the most prominent are dark nebulae B142 and B143 in the constellation Aquila the eagle. These are easy to find and enjoy with binoculars. First find the bright white star Altair, five fists held upright and at arm’s length above the southeastern horizon at 10 p.m. Then move your binoculars up a little bit to the next bright star Tarazed, about one fifth as bright. B142 and B143 are to the upper right of Tarazed. They make an “E” shape in the sky; fitting because it was American astronomer E. E. Barnard who first proposed that these were dust clouds and not simply big spaces between the stars. For more information about dark nebulae, including many more to look at with binoculars, go to https://goo.gl/9tiqdh. 

Monday: Very bright Jupiter is two fists above the south-southeast horizon at 10:00 p.m. Bright Saturn is less than a fist to the left of Jupiter.

Tuesday: The Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight. But the Moon will be out during the late night and early morning. Luckily, the shower is active until about August 24 so it would be okay to wait until next week when the Moon is close to new. The meteors appear to come from a point just below the W of the constellation Cassiopeia. This point is about two and a half fists above the northeast horizon at 11 p.m. By dawn, this point is about seven fists above the northeast horizon. For tips about optimizing your viewing this year, go to https://earthsky.org/?p=165416  As your Mother might say, dress warm and sit in a comfortable chair for maximum enjoyment. These meteors are sand to pea-sized bits of rock that fell off of Comet Swift-Tuttle. They are traveling about 40 miles per second as they collide with the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere.

Wednesday: Spica is one fist above the west-southwestern horizon at 9:00 p.m. Over the next month, it will move closer to the Sun and get lost in its glare.

Thursday: This morning, Venus is as far away from the Sun in the sky as it will get this orbital cycle, known as the planet’s greatest western elongation. Today is one of the best mornings of the year to observe Venus because it is far from the Sun just before sunrise. Venus is three fists above due east at 5:30 a.m. Over the next few months, Venus will move toward the Sun in the sky and get closer to the horizon. By next May, it will be visible in the evening sky. By Saturday morning, it will be visible about a half a fist to the lower right of the waning crescent Moon at 5:00 a.m.

Friday: If you want to show your loved ones a celestial sign that they should hang up their clothes, show them Brocchi's Cluster, commonly known as the Coat Hanger cluster because of its resemblance to an upside down coat hanger. The cluster is six fists above the southern horizon at 11:00 p.m., midway between Altair and Vega, the two brightest stars in the Summer Triangle. You'll need binoculars to make out the shape. First find Altair five fists above the southern horizon. Slowly move your binoculars up toward Vega. You will run into the coat hanger along the way. And while you are at it, put away your shoes.

The positional information in this column about stars and planets is typically accurate for the entire week. For up to date information about the night sky, go to https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm.