Lots of Cool Things Happening in Space in August

A lot is happening in the night sky this month. I’m talking planets, meteors, asteroids, supermoons, possibly aliens. Here are the celestial highlights for August 2022:

Early August: shooting star

August begins with a new moon, which darkens the sky and makes for perfect conditions for catching shooting stars. The annual appearance of the Pereids meteor peaks around the 11th, but that’s also the full moon, so you might have luck with both the non-peak Pereids meteor and the Southern Delta Aquariids meteor early in the month. Aquarius reaches its peak on August 1st. If you’re in the northern hemisphere, look south for shooting stars.

August 11: Supermoon and Saturn Conjunction

August 11th, the last supermoon annual rate increases. A supermoon is a phenomenon in which the moon is closest to the earth and appears slightly brighter and larger. The full moon in August will be accompanied not only by Super, but also by Saturn. Around midnight on the 11th, Saturn and the full moon will overlap and appear to be approaching each other. The moon’s brightness may affect it a bit, but you should be able to find Saturn without a telescope or binoculars.

August 12: Disappointing meteor shower

The annual summer appearance of the Perseid meteor shower is usually the highlight of the star calendar, and this year’s peak in August. 12. You can usually see a lot of shooting stars during Perseus, maybe 100 per hour, but this year the Moon is almost full, so it’s not that spectacular. Still, if you look in the northeastern part of the sky early in the night, you should still be able to see some meteors streaming across the sky when the Moon is below the sky.

August 14: Saturn at its brightest

Saturn is the sexiest planet in the solar system and is at opposition on the 14th. In other words, Saturn is the brightest in the night sky because it is directly opposite the Sun (from our point of view). With a telescope, you should be able to see Saturn’s rings and even one of its moons. Again, the nasty interference of the near-full moon light may make this sighting less dramatic.

August 15 Jupiter and Moon conjunct, Mercury at its peak

Mid-month, August. On the 15th, Jupiter will be in conjunction with m.Hey. Two objects appear close together in the sky. Early August. 15Mercury is on mets peak in the sky. Our planet’s next-door After the sun sets, our neighbor will be 9 degrees above the horizon.

August 18: Kappa Cygnus meteor shower

Every meteor shower is beautiful in its own way, including the last meteor shower of summer, the Kappa-Signid meteor shower. During peak hours on the 18th, you can only see about 3 per hour, so be patient. Look up over the northeastern horizon for the best chance of spotting shooting stars.

August 19: Moon and Mars converge

August 19Mars appears very close to mHey.the moon will be three quarters However, since it’s full, it still gives off a fair amount of reflected sunlight.

August 22: Asteroid 4 Vesta

It’s not just the planets and the moon that can be seen at night. morning in August. twenty two, you can see the asteroid with just binoculars. Asteroid 4 Vesta is brightly lit because it is opposite the Sun. To see exactly where this near-planet is in the night sky, MenTHeky’s cool tool for finding astronomical objects.