MOONLIT METEORS AND MERCURY MORNINGS
As we head into the peak of summer and vacation season, August is traditionally the most popular time of the year for stargazing. With skies are filled with bright planets, meteors and the ghostly glow of a myriad of stars of the Milky Way.
For skywatchers looking for an observing challenge, the elusive planet Mercury makes its best morning appearance of the entire year the first half of the month. The innermost planet of the solar system, Mercury never strays far from the sun, which makes it usually quite tricky to spot with the unaided eyes. On Aug. 9, it reaches its highest point in our low eastern dawn skies — about 30 minutes before sunrise.
Look for Mercury about 10 degrees above the eastern horizon — equal to the height of your fist held at arm’s length. To the naked eye it will appear as a distinct starlike object sandwiched between two stars — Castor and Pollux — above right of it, and Procyon to its lower right. Make sure to sweep the area with binoculars first to pinpoint Mercury’s exact location.
Later the same day, the waxing gibbous moon pays a visit to Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system. The two brightest objects in the entire night sky will dominate the overnight skies. To their lower right you’ll see another bright orange coloured star called Antares, nestled within the Scorpius constellation. In mythology, this 550-light-year distant star represented the heart of the ancient creepy crawly.
Two nights later on Aug. 11, just as darkness falls the full moon will look striking next to brilliant Saturn. While the gas giant shows off its rings only through a small telescope, to the naked eye its distinct golden hue is striking.
MOONLIT METEORS
With the full moon only a couple of days away, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on the early morning hours of Aug. 13, will be a challenge to observe. Your best bet in battling the bright lunar glare will be to turn your back to the moon so that your eyes stay adapted to the darkness. While the Perseids traditionally produce well over 60 meteors per hour, expectations this year are that only the brightest shooting stars will be visible. From suburbs and the countryside you should be able to see as many as dozen meteors per hour.
The Perseids get their name from the constellation Perseus — where the shooting stars seem to radiate from in the sky. The meteor shower originates from a cloud of particles in space that was shed by a comet that orbits the sun. Every year at the same time of year, Earth slams into this cloud of debris, creating a cosmic shower in the heavens above.
Despite the bright moon, it will still be worth looking for shooting stars since the Perseids are known to produce especially bright fireballs.
Forget binoculars and telescopes, as the best way to view the celestial fireworks show is to soak it in with just your naked eyes.