THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

When to use this chart

1 Aug at 24:00 AEST (14:00 UT) 15 Aug at 23:00 AEST (13:00 UT) 31 Aug at 22:00 AEST (12:00 UT) AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS

In August, watch the changing pattern of Jupiter’s satellites. It’s fascinating to watch the Galilean moons as they shuffle back and forth across the planet. They are particularly eye-catching when all four are on the same side, such as on the evenings of the 1st, 15th, 21st and 29th. A rarer event is on the 12th; between the start of a transit of Io at 00:30 and the reappearance of Ganymede from eclipse 87 minutes later, as only one moon (Europa) can be seen away from Jupiter’s disc.

The chart accurately matches the sky on the dates and times shown for Sydney, Australia. The sky is different at other times as the stars crossing it set four minutes earlier each night.

STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS

Look towards the hub of our Galaxy, around Sagittarius, Scorpius and Ophiuchus, and numerous dark nebulae are superimposed on the bright Milky Way. This prevents us from gazing into the centre, but there are a few clearings where the veil is lifted. One of these is Baade’s Window, a bright region northwest of the Teapot’s spout star Gamma Sagittarii; it’s about 1° across and centred on globular cluster NGC 6522. An eyepiece will reveal stars to within 2,000 lightyears of the Galaxy’s centre.