What’s Up in the Night Sky? August 2021

Fred Barrett | Aug 04, 2021

The longer summer nights in August give us more time for viewing the majesty of the Milky Way but August also has one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Perseid shower is the annual big one with its radiant centered near the top portion of the constellation Perseus. The shower peaks on the evening of August 12-13. The best time to view is about 2 am to dawn when Perseus is highest in the eastern sky. It’s also the best time to view the shower because the Earth has rotated to directly face the path of the debris particles cast off by the comet Swift-Tuttle as it orbits the Sun. The trail also has an unusual number of larger debris particles and this produces a more abundant number of fireballs – more than any other meteor shower! Most comets that generate the ring of debris around the Sun for meteor showers are pretty small with diameters of about 2 or 3 kilometers. Swift-Tuttle, on the other hand, is a giant at 26 kilometers in diameter and casts off many more particles of debris. It’s estimated to be 3 times larger than the giant asteroid that impacted the Earth 60 million years ago that ended the dinosaur’s rule on Earth, as well as obliterating a great deal of other life.

This year the Moon is a waxing crescent and will be gone by about 10:30 pm. When viewing for meteor trails, don’t look directly at the radiant. If you stare at the radiant, the streaks will be short because, in essence, you’re looking at them head on or directly at them. Look off to the sides about 20 to 30 degrees which is about 3 to 5 arm’s length fist widths away from the radiant. This shower lasts longer than others and runs from July 17 to August 24. There will be plenty to see well before the peak and it will carry on for a few weeks afterwards. Start looking a few days before the peak and especially a few days after. Make sure you’re comfy. Bring a chair, bug spray, a warm coat in case of a late night chill and snacks and drinks. This year’s shower at its peak should provide a rate of 110 meteors per hour.

And now the news you’ve all been waiting for. There were a good number of entries who got the answer correct for the contest. The answer is the Milky Way. To pick the winner, I wrote each entrant’s name on a slip of paper and tossed them all in the air. Face down slips got tossed again until only one remained. Our winner is Crystal Bruce. She is out Lanark Village way and is thrilled to win the book “The Elements”.

The next skill testing contest will be in September for the same prize – ‘The Elements’ by Theodore Gray. Be warned: September’s question will be trickier and more challenging. Fire up those brain cells and get ready!

Venus is very bright low in the western sky all this month after sunset. You can find Mars to the lower right of Venus.

Saturn rises in the southeast just after sunset and rises higher as the month progresses. Jupiter follows about an hour later in the east. Both are spectacular throughout the month.

There’s one more observing opportunity to take advantage of in the longer nights of August. While you’re out scanning the dark night for meteors, don’t forget to follow the awesome trail of the Milky Way through the Zenith of the sky. You won’t run out of things to see and find, especially with binoculars.

Highlights

August 2: The Moon is at apogee (most distant) – 402,062 Km.

August 8: New Moon.

August 9: The Moon is 4 degrees above Mars at 9 pm EDT.

August 11: The Moon is 4 degrees above Venus at 3 am EDT.

August 12: The Perseid meteor shower peaks.

August 15: First Quarter Moon

August 17: The Moon is at perigee (closest) – 366,980 Km.

August 18: Mercury passes a fraction of a degree south of Mars at midnight. Mercury and Mars almost touch just above the western horizon about a half hour after sunset.

August 20: The Moon passes 4 degrees south of Saturn at 6 pm EDT. Consider this a challenge since the Sun hasn’t set.

August 22: The Moon passes 4 degrees south of Jupiter at 1 am EDT. Full Moon is at 8:02 EDT. This Moon is called the Full Sturgeon Moon. Sturgeon was best caught at this time. Out west it is known as the Full Centawen Moon – Coho Salmon. I suggest we call it the Full Deer Fly Moon or the Full Caterpillar Moon.

August 29: The Moon is once again at apogee – 401,753 Km.

August 30: Last Quarter Moon.

Stay safe and keep looking up!

Useful books, star charts and related items for beginners and through to advanced amateurs can be ordered from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications. A subscription to our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine “SkyNews” can be arranged at the RASC website as well.

Let me know how your observing has gone this month, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies! Fred