Saturday: Antares is a half a fist to the lower left of the moon. They are one and a half fists held upright and at arm’s length above the south-southwestern horizon at 10:00 p.m.
Sunday: Jupiter is about a half a fist above the eastern
horizon at 11:00 p.m.
Monday: The Gemini Twins are rising right before the Sun. At
5:00 a.m., Pollux is one and a half fists above the east-northeastern horizon.
Slightly dimmer Castor is a half a fist above it. Pollux is the brightest star,
as observed from Earth, known to have a planet orbiting it. The planet,
creatively called Pollux b, has about twice the mass of Jupiter. Very bright
Venus is right below the Gemini Twins, a half a fist above the horizon.
Tuesday: At 5:00 a.m., Mars is nearly five fists above the
southeastern horizon. Uranus is about a half a fist to the upper right of Mars.
With your binoculars, move Mars to the lower left portion. Uranus will be in
the upper right portion. You won’t be able to see it without binoculars/
Wednesday: You’ve seen all of the top 100 lists: top 100
ways to chew gum, top 100 Eritrean restaurants in Washington, etc. Now get
excited for tomorrow night’s full Moon by reading about and finding some of the
lunar 100. Go to http://goo.gl/ldGvH6. This
list describes 100 interesting landmarks on the Moon that are visible from
Earth. They are listed from easiest to see, starting with the entire moon
itself at number 1, to most difficult (Mare Marginis swirls, anyone?). Stay up
all night to binge watch the moon or just make a few observations a month. It’s
your decision. It’s our moon. Start your viewing tonight at 10:00 p.m. when the
Moon is a half a fist above due southwest. I suggest starting with Mare
Crisium, the circular, dark, basaltic plain in the upper right-hand portion of
the moon. Items such as Crisium were named "Mare" by early
astronomers who mistook them for seas, instead of the hardened lava beds that
they really are.
Thursday: Saturn is a half a fist above the nearly full
moon, low in the southeastern sky at 10:00 p.m.
The Perseid meteor shower peaks over the next two late
nights/early mornings. The Full Moon will obscure the dimmer meteors. In case
you decide to stay in bed this week, the shower is active until about September
1 so you may still enjoy an increased number of meteors later. The meteors
appear to come from a point just below the W of the constellation Cassiopeia.
This point is about three fists above the northeast horizon at 11:00 p.m. By
dawn, this point is nearly straight overhead. 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.
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 due south 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.
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