| Aug.
1 |
New
Moon 3:13am PDT; 10:13 UT and a total
solar eclipse for northern Canada, the Arctic and Asia;
totality lasts about 2.5 minutes. Animation
Teltane
The
evening's youngest sliver of a Moon lies on the WNW horizon below
Venus. Moonset: 8:40pm |
| Aug.
2 |
The
Moon conjoins Venus
6:19am PDT; 13:19 UT.
The evening's slim Crescent
Moon lies to the left of Venus low on the WNW horizon 30 minutes
after sunset. The view disappears by 9:10pm. Binoculars are helpful.
Saturn lies above the Moon and Mars lies the
same distance above Saturn
to
the left (south).
8/2
8:30pm Sky Chart |
| Aug.
3 |
The
Moon conjoins Saturn
3:58am PDT; 10:58 UT.
Venus sets a little after 9:00pm on the WNW horizon.
The evening's slender Moon lies to the left of Saturn, below
Mars. Map Moonset:
about 9:30pm. Binoculars are helpful.
|
| Aug.
4 |
The
Moon conjoins Mars
2:13am PDT; 9:13 UT.
Low on the sunset horizon difficult to see Regulus lies to the left
of Venus, which sets a little after 9:00pm. Use binoculars to spot
the star.
The evening's waxing
Crescent Moon lies to the left (south) of
Mars. Binoculars are helpful in spotting
faint Mars. Moonset: Just before 10:00pm. |
| Aug.
5 |
Venus
lies east of difficult to see Regulus on its way toward Saturn.
Use binoculars for viewing Regulus and Saturn. Venus sets shortly
after 9:00pm. |
| Aug.
6 |
Spica
lies to the right of the Moon. |
| Aug.
7 |
The
almost Quarter Moon lies west of the two brightest stars of Libra.
Look for Milky Way sweeping from
Scorpius and Sagittarius in the south to Cassiopea in the north.
The Summer Triangle lies midway.
Map |
| Aug.
8 |
First
Quarter Moon 1:20pm PDT; 20:20 UT.
You might be able to spot Mercury 20 minutes after sunset, if you
have a flat northwestern horizon, clear skies and binoculars. Mercury's
just right (north) of dimmer Regulus, Venus lies above and Saturn
above Venus. The three planets are almost equidistant from each
other.
The Moon lies east of the two brightest stars of Libra.
|
| Aug.
9 |
The
waxing
Gibbous Moon lies
at the head of the Scorpion approaching Antares from the west.
Look for brilliant Jupiter to the east. |
| Aug.
10 |
The
Moon is at apogee (farthest from the Earth at 251,380 miles)
4:18pm PDT; 23:18 UT.
Venus and
Saturn close in on each other.
The
Moon passes Antares
to the east. Look for brilliant Jupiter to the east of the Moon. |
| Aug.
10-14 |
Jupiter
and the Gibbous Moon are a dazzling delight. See dates below for
more. |
| Aug.
11/12 |
The
Moon lies at the galactic center.
The
Perseid
Meteor Shower peaks. Begin looking northeast at 9:00pm,
best viewing at 2:00am. Map
The Moon conjoins Pluto
2:04am PDT; 09:04 UT. |
| Aug.
12 |
Venus
lies very near and below Saturn. Both disappear by 9:00pm.
The Moon approaches Jupiter from the west. 8/12
10:00pm Sky Chart |
| Aug.
13 |
The
Moon conjoins Jupiter
7:43am PDT; 14:43 UT.
Venus conjoins Saturn
10:03am PDT; 17:03 UT.
Venus
and Saturn are at their closest; Saturn lies to the right (north)
of Venus with
Mercury below and Mars above. Map Venus
and Saturn set shortly before 9:00pm.
The Moon and Jupiter
form a striking triangle with Altair. Watch this triangle expand
over the next few nights.
|
| Aug.
14-20 |
Use
binoculars to watch the changing relationship of Mercury, Saturn
and Venus low in the west just after sunset. |
| Aug.
15 |
Mercury conjoins Saturn
1:00pm PDT; 20:00 UT.
Just after sunset, use binoculars to view Mercury and Saturn
at their closest, low in the west. Both set around 8:50pm. |
| Aug.
16 |
The
Full Moon exactly conjoins Neptune and occults it for
observers in NE Africa,
E Europe, W and central Asia at 11:24am
PDT; 18:24 UT.
Full
Moon partial lunar eclipse 2:18pm PDT; 21:16 UT. The Moon
lies east of Neptune at the border of Capricornus and Aquarius.
Full
Moon Global Meditation .
Fomalhaut lies south of the evening Moon. Enif and Delphinus lie
to the north.
|
| Aug.
17 |
The
waning
Gibbous Moon approaches Uranus. |
| Aug.
18 |
The
Moon
conjoins Uranus
4:13pm PDT; 23:13 UT. |
| Aug.
20 |
Just
after sunset, use binoculars to view Mercury and Venus at their
closest, low in the west. Venus sets shortly after 9:00pm |
| Aug.
21 |
Mercury conjoins Venus
8:44am PDT; 15:44 UT. |
| Aug.
23 |
The
predawn Moon approaches the Pleiades from the west. Look east
midnight - dawn.
Look for the Quarter Moon in the day sky, overhead from sunrise
- 9:00am, in the northwest until moonset at 2:00pm.
Last
Quarter Moon 4:49pm PDT; 23:49 UT.
|
| Aug.
24 |
The
Quarter Moon lies northeast of Aldebaran.
The Pleiades can be seen to the west; the star
Elnath lies to the east. Look east
1:00am - dawn.
Look for the Quarter Moon in the day sky, overhead from sunrise
- 9:00am, in the northwest until moonset at 2:00pm. |
| Aug.
25 |
The waning
Crescent Moon lies below Elnath. Look
east 1:00am - dawn.
The
Moon is at perigee (closest to the Earth at 229,097 miles) 8:59pm
PDT; 03:59 UT 8/26. |
| Aug.
26 |
The
Crescent
Moon lies above Mebsuta, the knee of Castor. Look east 1:45am
- dawn. |
| Aug.
27 |
The
thinning Moon diagonally aligns with Pollux and Castor.
Look east 3:15am - dawn. |
| Aug.
28 |
A
sliver of a Moon lies at the heart of Cancer, the Beehive Cluster
(M44). Look east 4:15am - dawn. |
| Aug.
30 |
New
Moon 12:58pm PDT; 19:58 UT. |