Be sure and mark you calendars for the early morning hours of August 4 when the moon will be only a short distance above the naked eye star cluster PLEIADES. A week later, August 11, look for the very thin waning crescent moon emerging very low on the western horizon only a half hour after sunset; the next night the moon will be a bit higher and much easier to see, somewhat to the south (left) of the previous night's location. On August 17, look for the quarter moon to be only one degree above the bright red star ANTARES, in the constellation of Scorpius.
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The ASO August Stars of the Month: ALTAIR and the Summer Triangle
In addition to Aquila in this part of the sky, we find more southerly SCUTUM (the "shield"), a small but remarkably rich constellation often overlooked or mistakenly thought to be part of larger Aquila. The stray shield is that beaconing the warrior Hercules, who has lost his protective barrier in the many challenges he faced throughout Earth and sky.
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It is through Cygnus and down into Aquila that the brilliant Sagittarius arm of our Milky Way galaxy is seen; when we gaze at this wonder, we are looking across a vast emptiness of space toward a star-and-nebula rich spiral arm of the galaxy, and the deeper we go toward the rich star clouds of Sagittarius, the closer we peer at the very hub of the incredible Milky Way and its 200 billion so-odd stars. Image that the earth is a planet on but one isolated star in an OUTER ARM of the galaxy.....as we gaze toward Aquila and Sagittarius, we are looking INWARD toward the nuclear hub of the galaxy of which WE are part. Looking the opposite way -toward Orion and Auriga in winter skies, we look in yet another direction and at yet another, less star-dense galactic arm leading OUT OF the spiral system of stars.
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The next closest galaxy that "resembles" our own Milky Way galaxy is nearly 2.5 billion light years distant. Every star, planet, cluster, comet, asteroid, meteor, globular...that you see is in OUR galaxy; once beyond all that "stuff" there is NOTHING....barely a molecule, until you reach the confines of the Andromeda Galaxy. Imagine yet further that - as you enter that galaxy some 2.5 billion years from now as you travel at "warp one" (the speed of light) - you begin to see new stars, nebulae and all those things similar to that same stuff from our galaxy that you left behind. Yes, indeed, the "stuff" of which we are made of is all the same.....universally everywhere.
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Although bordering the star-rich Milky Way and containing many wonderful star fields for low power and slow scanning on a dark night, Aquila is curiously void of spectacular deep sky objects and remarkable multiple stars that are noted in such great numbers nearby. Even the most famous object nearby is often mistakenly placed within the confines of the large eagle's outstretched wings and talons, but indeed the "Great Scutum Star Cloud' with its fantastically rich star cluster Messier 11 is nonetheless still in "Scutum" to Aquila's south.
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Note that the CELESTIAL EQUATOR passes through the middle sections of Aquila and just north of tiny Scutum. This is the reading "0" degrees on your properly adjusted declination setting circle. All angles NORTH of this equatorial line are positive ("+") and all angular measures (declinations) south of the celestial equator are negative ("-"); hence you will see references to both "+" and "-" declinations for celestial objects.
Take your summer journey into the Eagle's lair and into the great lost shield of the sky warriors via the bright star "ALTAIR", a nice bright yellow star that is commonly referred to in the "asterism" known as the SUMMER TRIANGLE, a nice wide shape bounded by the bright summer stars Deneb (Cygnus), Vega (Lyra) and Altair (Aquila). See our constellation "GO TO" TOUR for Cygnus at: http://www.weasner.com/etx/ref_guides/cygnus.html for a sky chart showing this spectacular summer marker!
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METEOR SHOWERS: Observe when the moon does not interfere and attempt to observe AFTER midnight for most meteors to be seen! August offers some of the best observing conditions for meteors....the skies are typically quite clear, the cooling night air suggests that fall nights await and fill you with observing inspiration, and August holds five wonderful showers, one of which is the "granddaddy" of all predictable and dependable meteor observing outings.
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The 2010 Perseids: EXCELLENT YEAR 2010!! The famous PERSEID Meteor Storm will pass across the Earth's orbit once again this year in early August, and this year is particularly favorable for even the faintest meteors to be seen. Some increased activity should be expected this year and there is only a very thin crescent moon that will be setting within an hour after the end of dusk. The sighting of fainter members of this shower which should begin to streak across out skies about 10 p.m. August 12-14; as with most meteor showers, the later you stay up (...yawn...), the more meteors you likely will see, particularly this year. Begin watching the evening of August 11, and continue until the early morning hours of August 14 for your reward. I recommend observing WEST of overhead around midnight, although meteors will be seen from this famous shower throughout the evening and morning this year because of the absence of any moonlight once the thin waxing crescent moon sets very early each evening.
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However, do not wait for August 12-13....this is a long duration shower and meteors will be easily seen during the first week of the month when skies are not hampered by the moon , particularly after moonset late in the night or early morning hours. NOTE however, that meteor scientists are predicting just after dark on the evening of AUGUST 13 as the peak for the Perseids in 2010!!
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In 1992 Comet Swift-Tuttle, the parent object that spawns the Perseid meteoroid cloud, shed a great amount of dust in its wake and now sets the stage for intense activity as the earth passes through that debris; this will be the second year that the Earth has passed directly through this possible debris cloud.
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Note that Comet Swift-Tuttle's (P/1862) one-revolution trail from 1862 will pass inside the Earth’s orbit this year. At the time of Perseids (the annual meteor shower associated with this comet (evening hours, local time, of August 12). If there were a closer approach of this comet to the earth, a spectacular meteor storm would be expected...but with these conditions and no prior such close approaches to compare to, it is uncertain what kind of a shower this will give for 2010, just as it was for 2009 when the predictions were higher than actually were meteors seen. Because of similar conditions, but with the earth passing directly through the major debris pocket of the comet, perhaps the best meteor shower of history will occur with the Perseids in 2028.
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This is a long duration shower, with many (as many as two dozen per hour) being seen from August 9 through the 20th; during the PEAK, expect to see at least 60 or more (perhaps double that number!) around 2 a.m., streaming from the constellation of Perseus, high in the northeastern sky. Best views are afforded by positioning your feet to the EAST and facing directly overhead. SEE COMPLETE PERSEID ARTICLE (including wonderful historical references) in the Archives of ASO!
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AND YES....there ARE other meteor showers in August!
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August 1 (and July 31....) - Capricornid Meteors. The moon will be third quarter year on the date of this meteor shower, so you should plan to observe these meteors prior to its rising about midnight. Wait until after twilight ends (about 1.5 hours after sunset) in the early evening to begin serious skywatching. Remains of comet Honda-Mrkos-Padusakova, about 35 meteors per hour - MANY which are bright fireballs! - can be expected in the morning hours; nearly due south of overhead about midnight.
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August 6 - Southern Aquarid Meteors - look on the meridian, southern skies about 11 p.m. local time for only a few meteors, perhaps 7-8 per hour. This is a curious shower, comprised of two peaks: this one, and another on about August 21-23. Note that meteors from this (these?) showers are not seen yearly and observations are badly needed to fill in the missing gaps about our knowledge of them. Some years no meteors are seen, but since the late 1800's when this double shower was noted and later confirmed, there have been distinct radiants (the "northern" and "southern") seen throughout many years. Observations of this shower are badly needed and this might be a wonderful year in terms of absence of moonlight, with only a very thin waning crescent moon rising just before dawn!
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August 20 - Kappa Cygnid Meteors - This is an unfavorable year for these meteors to be seen to their fullest. The moon, at a very strong gibbous, nearly full phase, will be in the sky throughout the night, and will interfere with sightings of all but the brightest of these meteors. Typically many of these meteors are seen along with Perseid meteors, leaving very fine trains of smoke in their wakes! The Cygnid (and the Andromedids, below) will be nearly overhead by 2 a.m.
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August 31 - Andromedid Meteors - there will be a nearly last quarter moon during the peak of this shower, so chances of seeing a good display are only fair since the moonlight will be in the sky during the times when most meteor activity gets underway, somewhat after midnight. In 1885, 13,000 Andromedids were seen per hour, all fragments of a now-disentigrated BIELA's Comet. Very unpredictable, this meteor shower needs observations during such excellent times as unexpectedly occured in 2005. The shower radiant will be nearly directly overhead for mid-northern latitudes about midnight.
