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August 2007
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This star chart will show you what is around the Moon at the time of totality. Neptune and Uranus are near by and would make for interesting targets while the Moon is dimmed.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

What to see

The entire 'winter' hexagon will rise just before dawn with Sirius just before and to the S of Venus just as the 'summer' triangle sets.

Red Mars pairs up with red Aldeberon in Taurus. Mars it brighter and to the NE of the red eye of the bull.

When the moon is eclipsed it will be directly between Neptune and Uranus

Next total eclipse for those in N.America will be Feb 21, 2008 for future date check the bottom of the NASA Eclipse Website!

Planets

  • Mercury- deep in the glow of sunset. Better viewing in September and October -0.9 mag (1st) to -1.4 mag (21st)
  • Venus- is emerging from the glow of the sun, just beginning its tour as the Morning Star for the next half-year. Look for it above the eastern horizon 60 to 40 minutes before sunrise. It's getting a little higher every day.
  • Mars- In Taurus and the red planet will be near the dimmer, giant red Aldeberon.
  • Jupiter- In Ophiucus north of the bright red Antares. -2.5 mag (1st) to -2.4 mag (21st)
  • Saturn- lost in the glare of the sun
  • Uranus-In Aquarius magnitude 5.7, is passing within 1/4° of the yellow-orange star Phi Aquarii, magnitude 4.2.
  • Neptune-Will camp out in Capricorn all year long 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.8 mag (21st)
  • 4 Vesta -Categorized as a minor planet (Vesta family Main Belt) not far from Jupiter this month and at a magnitude of 5.4 - 6.0 will be a good naked eye object for August.

Astronomical Highlights for 2007

Earth's major motions for 2007
Perihelion
Jan 3 20h(UT)
First Cross Quarter Day
Feb 2-6
Equinox
Mar 21 00:07(UT)
Second Cross Quarter Day
May 4-7
Solstice
June 21 18:06(UT)
Aphelion
July 4 00h (UT)
Third Cross Quarter Day
Aug 5-8
Equinox
Sept 23 19:51(UT)
Fourth Cross Quarter Day
Nov 5-8
Solstice
Dec 22 06:08(UT)

Planet Positions for 2007

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Sgr Aqr Psc Ari Tau Gem Leo Sex Cnc Leo Leo Vir
Mars Oph Sgr Cap Cap Aqr Psc Ari Tau Tau Gem Gem Gem
Jupiter Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph
Saturn Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo
Uranus Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu
Neptune Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap
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Direct download: AAGG_eclipse_special.mp3
Category: Eclipse -- posted at: 4:19 AM
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Download this month's sky map!

Kym Thalassoudis does a wonderful job creating accurate and easy to use star maps every month! Visit his site at www.skymaps.com for skymaps and links to other useful astronomical sites. Also a great portal for astronomical gifts!

Northern hemisphere sky map
Southern hemisphere sky map

Those in the Southern Hemisphere should also visit James Barclay's site for a great tour of the Southern Hemisphere August sky.

Another great site for Southern Hemisphere viewers is the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand's Southern Hemisphere Calendar can be found at the RASNZ site
Ian Musgrave has a very handy Southern Hemisphere site called Southern Sky Watch.

Download "What's up 2007: 365 days of Skywatching" by Tammy Plotner, published by Universe Today (Faser Cain) it is a fantastic and it is free!

Planets for August 2007

  • Mercury- In Gemini at the beginning of the month is visible for the first few mornings of the month in bright twilight. At month's end Mercury will be visible in the West in the evening twilight. At months end Mercury is in Virgo look forward to better viewing in September and October -0.9 mag (1st) to -1.4 mag (21st)
  • Venus- In Sextans the brilliant Venus has been slowly sinking towards the Sun and lower in the evening sky. Look for Venus in the early twilight at the very beginning of the month and look for her razor thin crescent. Venus then disappears, and for Northern viewers, and is not visible again until the end of the month in the constellation Cancer. -4.3 mag (1st) to - 4.3 mag (21st)
  • Mars- In Taurus and glides by the Hyades on the 19th. By midmonth Mars rises between 11 and 2 depending upon your latitude. Towards the end of the month the red planet will be near the dimmer, giant red Aldeberon. 0.7 mag (1st) to 0.6 mag (21st)
  • Jupiter- In Ophiuchus becomes stationary and returns to proper motion on the 7th. At sunset Jupiter is near the meridian moving eastward each night. -2.4 mag (1st) to -2.2 mag (21st)
  • Saturn- In Leo th mid-southern latitudes can still eek out Saturn, telescopically, in the Sun's glare 0.6 mag (1st) to 0.6 mag (21st)
  • Uranus-In Aquarius 5.8 mag (1st) to 5.8 mag (21st)
  • Neptune-Will camp out in Capricorn all year long 7.9 mag (1st) to 7.8 mag (21st)
  • 4 Vesta -Categorized as a minor planet (Vesta family Main Belt) is catching up with Jupiter and starts the month a degree from the double star Beta Scorpius and at a magnitude of 6.7 and is still a good binocular object for August. At the end of the month Jupiter and Vesta will be less than the width of the moon apart. Vesta is the second most massive object in the asteroid belt with a mean diameter of 540 km and was named after the Roman goddess of home and hearth.

Key Dates for August 2007

Days and Times in UT (help with time)
Observations are for 8pm for the mid-southern latitudes and for 10pm for the mid-northern latitudes.

Great site for sunrise and sunset times and a downloadable toolbar application by Steve Edwards

Occultation information can be found at the IOTA website! Astronomical Highlights
 August 

4 - Moon at perigee (closest to Earth 368,891 km)
5 - Last Quarter 21:20 UT
5-8 - Cross Quarter Days
7 - Waning crescent Moon near Mars

- Jupiter stationary resumes its direct/eastward motion
12 - New Moon 23:03 UT
13 - Peak of the Perseid meteor shower 5h UT**

- Peak of the Delta Aquarids

- Neptune at opposition
15 - Mercury at superior conjunction - moving into the evening sky
17 - Look for Spica and Arcturus above the crescent moon
18 - Venus at inferior conjunction - moving into to morning sky
19 - Moon at apogee (furthest from Earth 404,618 km) and roughly between Spica and the Jupiter/Antares pair
20 - First Quarter Moon 23:54 UT
21 - Jupiter 5 deg from Antares, possible occultation check the IOTA website for data for your area.
22 - Antares 0.7 deg N of Moon
24 - Mars 5 deg N of Aldebaran
28 - Full Moon, Total lunar eclipse
31 - Moon at perigee (closest to Earth 364,171 km)

- At dawn look for the reappearance of Venus low and in the East. Don't confuse the "morning star" with Sirius in the SE

Monthly Messier*

This is the month that we begin to sneak into the summer Milky Way and the heart of our galaxy as we find 12 more object. Some are visible to the naked eye, all are possible in binoculars. There are six globular clusters, four open clusters, and two diffuse nebula. Many of these objects also appear to be in pairs, either in visual appearance or location.

M10, M12 This pair of globular clusters in the middle of Ophiuchus are easily swept up in binoculars looking like small blue snow balls. Through an 8" telescope M12 is well resolved while M10 is slightly more fuzzy looking. Both become very bright towards the center.
M107 A small, fairly faint globular cluster in Ophiuchus. It is a tough binocular object, appearing as a very small faint patch of light possibly requiring averted vision. In a telescope, M107 is a larger and brighter fuzzy patch of light than what can be seen in binoculars.
M9 Another small, relatively faint globular cluster in Ophiuchus. M9 is very similar to M107, only slightly brighter. Another tough, but possible binocular object.
M19, M62 Another pair of globular clusters in Ophiuchus separated by about four degrees. Fairly easy to find in binoculars, they are smaller than M10 and M12 thus not quite as obvious. These clusters are not resolvable through small scopes, and appear as round fuzzy patches brightening towards the center. M19 is slightly brighter than M62.
M6, M7 This is a pair of large, bright open clusters in Scorpius visible to the naked eye. Binoculars provide the best view of these clusters. Both are completely resolvable in 10x50 binoculars and can be fit into the same field of view. M7 is the larger and brighter of the pair.
M8 This is a bright emission nebula in Sagittarius, easily visible to the naked eye. The common name of M8 is the Lagoon nebula. In binoculars M8 is an oval cloud of light larger than the full moon with several bright stars embedded within it. A telescope makes this nebula larger and brighter but does not really improve the view.
M20 Another diffuse nebula in Sagittarius only 1.4 degrees northwest of M8 and is called the Trifid nebula. This is easily seen in binoculars looking like a cloud of smoke around some bright stars. A view through a telescope appears much the same, although try to pick out the three dust lanes that gives M20 its name. This is a somewhat difficult object to see right away, at first glance it looks like the optics are in need of cleaning and are causing the light from the bright stars to "smear".
M21 This is a small, but bright open cluster in Sagittarius right next to M20. Binoculars show a very small bright patch partially resolvable. Small telescopes easily resolve all of the clusters members. M8, M20, and M21 are all within the same binocular field and lie in a very rich region of the Milky Way. This view is one of the finest to be found.
M23 The last object of the month is a large open cluster in Sagittarius. through binoculars M23 is a large, hazy patch of light almost the size of the full moon. A telescope at low powers easily resolves this cluster among a rich background of other stars.

*Monthly Messier information gleaned from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Moncton Centre Quebec and from the Astronomy Connection website.

Table Mountain Star Party Observing List and those who completed the list

Astronomical Highlights for 2007

Earth's major motions for 2007
Perihelion
Jan 3 20h(UT)
First Cross Quarter Day
Feb 2-6
Equinox
Mar 21 00:07(UT)
Second Cross Quarter Day
May 4-7
Solstice
June 21 18:06(UT)
Aphelion
July 4 00h (UT)
Third Cross Quarter Day
Aug 5-8
Equinox
Sept 23 19:51(UT)
Fourth Cross Quarter Day
Nov 5-8
Solstice
Dec 22 06:08(UT)

Planet Positions for 2007

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Venus Sgr Aqr Psc Ari Tau Gem Leo Sex Cnc Leo Leo Vir
Mars Oph Sgr Cap Cap Aqr Psc Ari Tau Tau Gem Gem Gem
Jupiter Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph Oph
Saturn Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo
Uranus Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu Aqu
Neptune Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap Cap

Eclipses for 2007

March 19 - partial solar eclipse (see map, times, and animation!): The first solar eclipse of 2007 occurs at the Moon's ascending node in Pisces and is visible from eastern Asia and parts of northern Alaska

September 11 - partial solar eclipse (see map, times, and animation): The last eclipse of 2007 is a partial solar eclipse at the Moon's descending node in southern Leo. Its visibility is confined to parts of South America, Antarctica and the South Atlantic

March 3-4 - total lunar eclipse (see map): The beginning of the umbral phase visible in the Arctic region, Africa, Europe, Asia except for extreme eastern region, most of Indonesia, western Australia, Queen Maud Land of Antarctica, extreme eastern South America, Greenland, the Indian Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean; the end visible in Africa, Europe, western Asia, Queen Maud Land of Antarctica and Antarctic Peninsula, South America, eastern North America, Greenland, the Arctic region, the Atlantic Ocean, the western Indian Ocean, and the extreme eastern South Pacific Ocean.

August 28 - total lunar eclipse (see map): The beginning of the umbral phase visible in North America, South America except extreme east, Antarctica except for Enderby Land, New Zealand, eastern Australia, extreme northeastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean, and the western Atlantic Ocean; the end visible in New Zealand, Australia, most of Antarctica except Queen Maud Land, Indonesia, eastern Asia, western North America, the Pacific Ocean, and the southeastern Indian Ocean.

Eclipse information from: NASA Eclipse Homepage, Eclipses Online (HM Nautical Almanac Office, UK in coordination with the U.S. Naval Observatory)

Meteor Showers for 2007

As luck would have it, all the major meteor showers reach their peaks in 2007 with the Moon out of the sky. Any of these showers can produce dozens of shooting stars each dark hour leading up to dawn.

Mark your calendar to look for...
  • Perseids on August 13th
  • Orionids on October 21st
  • Leonids on November 18th
  • Geminids on the night of December 13-14 (Meteor enthusiasts are keenly awaiting the Geminids in 2007 because their progenitor, the defunct comet Phaethon, precedes them in a flyby of Earth on December 10th.)

Historical and Current Events

Click here to view the entire list

Culled from Wikipedia and others, by Mark Tillotson (Thank you Mark!)

Comets for August

Gary Kronk's comet and meteor pages
Skyhound Comet pages

Help us out by leaving a donation in the ol' PayPal hat or write us a favorable review in iTunes of Podcast Pickle or iPodder!

Music Scottish Guitar Quartet -"Romance within you"
Courtney Jones - "Ride"
Big George Jackson Blues Band/Roscoe Chenier - "Netherlands Blues"

Direct download: AAGG_sky_tour_Aug_07.mp3
Category: Sky Tours -- posted at: 10:12 AM
Comments[1]