At its brightest, it is just visible to the naked eye as a magnitude 5.5 red star.
Classified as a Mira-type variable star, R Aquilae is an aging star in the red giant phase of its life. This morning, the Little Dipper sits upside-down with its cup or bowl to the left and its handle to the right, terminating in Polaris, the North Star.ĭuring August, the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) celebrates R Aquilae as its featured variable star of the month. However, that star pattern is in the north, forming the long, pulled-out tail of Ursa Minor the Little Bear. This young cluster of stars often appears as a small dipper to the naked eye, prompting some to wonder if it’s the famous Little Dipper asterism. As sunrise approaches, the worlds will continue to climb higher, eventually disappearing with the dawn.īoth planets are about 13° southwest of the Pleiades open cluster, cataloged as M45. Look for it to Mars’ upper left in the sky. Uranus, though, will require binoculars or a telescope, as its magnitude 5.8 disk is below the threshold of naked-eye visibility.
Mars is easy to find - the Red Planet is now magnitude 0.2 and will continue to brighten throughout the month, reaching magnitude –0.1 by the beginning of September. At that time, both are high in the eastern sky, sitting in the sparse southeastern region of Aries the Ram. Mars passes 1.4° south of Uranus at 5 A.M. While it’s high in the sky this evening, consider taking a tour, stopping by some or all of those that made it into Messier’s catalog: M9, M10, M12, M14, M19, M62, and M107. Astrophotographers will want to try capturing both in one shot to bring out more detail.īecause of its proximity to the plane of the Milky Way, Ophiuchus is home to several deep-sky objects, including globular clusters. They should create a stunning pair as they sit side by side the comet’s stubby tail may give it away, extending slightly from its northern flank, pointed away from the Sun. Tonight, the comet sits just 3° north of M107, an 8th-magnitude globular cluster discovered by Charles Messier’s associate Pierre Méchain in 1782.Ĭompare and contrast the comet’s coma - now roughly half a magnitude fainter than the cluster - to M107. local time, when it sits around 35° high in the southern sky.Ĭomet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) still rules the evening skies as it makes its way through Ophiuchus, headed into Scorpius next month. Saturn reaches its greatest altitude in the Northern Hemisphere around 2 A.M. The ringed planet is nearing opposition also in the second week of next month, and now is the best time to catch some great views. As a bonus, Saturn sits just 1.5° northwest of Deneb Algedi, offering a fine target for binoculars or small scopes. The Southern Delta Aquariids’ radiant is located in southwestern Aquarius, roughly two-thirds of the way along a line drawn from 3rd-magnitude Skat to Deneb Algedi in Capricornus (also 3rd magnitude).
Although that maximum falls around the time of the next Full Moon, you may catch some early Perseids mixed in with the Southern Delta Aquariids over the next few days. Plus, it’s worth noting that the Perseids, which peak in the second week of August, are already ramping up for their big show. Although this shower tends to produce faint meteors and its radiant doesn’t climb particularly high for Northern Hemisphere observers (those in the Southern Hemisphere get a better show), it’s still worth stepping outside if you’re up early to try your luck. The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks this morning under dark skies - perfect for catching some shooting stars before sunrise. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. *Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. In a few days’ time, the planet will have moved deeper into Leo, sitting just a few degrees from the constellation’s alpha star - we’ll return to check it out then. Mercury is sliding nearly parallel to the ground each night, thanks to the shallow angle between the ecliptic (the plane of our solar system) and the western horizon at this time of year. Both are near the western edge of Leo as the Lion makes his way toward the horizon, following the Sun. Through a telescope, its 5"-wide disk appears nearly 90 percent lit. Mercury, glowing at magnitude –0.8, sits just below and to the left of the Moon. About 15 minutes after sunset, look west to see if you can spot our satellite, now nearly 2 percent lit, about 8° above the horizon. Tonight, it hangs just 2.7° below the thin crescent Moon. Previously a morning star, Mercury has slipped into the evening sky. It will now turn around and start moving west, or retrograde, against the background stars. Jupiter, which has been moving east through Cetus the Whale, reaches its stationary point today at 8 A.M.