Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 50
AUGUST 2023 OBSERVING
Celestial Calendar
Action at Jupiter
Saturn at
Opposition
WHETHER IT'S YOUR first time or
200th, Saturn is an irresistible telescopic
sight. The planet brightens to
magnitude +0.4 as it inches westward
across central Aquarius. By opposition
on August 27th, its globe spans 19.0″
and the rings extend to 43.1″. The most
notable change compared to last year is
the narrowing tilt of those rings. Tipped
by just 9.0° at opposition, we view the
north face of the rings. We'll continue
to do so until March 2025, when they
will be presented edge-on. A 60-mm
(2.4-inch) telescope magnifying 40×
will show the rings easily.
Saturn's diminishing tilt means it's
difficult to observe the entire curve
of the dark Cassini Division, which
separates the A and B rings. However,
the gap should still be easy to make out
at the ansae of the rings in good seeing.
Also, be sure to look for the translucent
C ring (also known as the crepe ring). It
Minima of Algol
Aug.
2
5
8
10
13
16
19
22
25
28
31
pThe Hubble Space Telescope photographed
Saturn on March 12, 2011, with its ring plane
inclined 9.4° - nearly the same as at opposition
this month.
appears interior to the B ring on either
side of the planet.
Because Saturn's northern hemisphere
is still tipped in our direction, the
North Equatorial Belt, Equatorial Zone,
pale North Tropical Zone, and dusky
North Polar Region remain the easiest
atmospheric features to see. To pick out
these low-contrast belts and zones you'll
need a 4- to 6-inch instrument.
Of the planet's 83 known satellites,
Titan is the brightest and largest. At
magnitude 8.6 and one and a half times
the size of our own Moon, Titan is easily
visible in the smallest of telescopes.
Larger instruments will reveal several
additional moons: Rhea (magnitude
9.8), Tethys (10.4), Dione (10.5), Enceladus
(11.9), Mimas (13.0), and Hyperion
(14.5). To find the bright moons at
any time, use our interactive Saturn's
Moons app, found on the Tools page at
skyandtelescope.org.
MILD AUGUST NIGHTS offer a fine
opportunity to enjoy scoping the solar
system's most visually rewarding planet,
Jupiter. At mid-month it rises just a
little before midnight (local daylightsaving
time) and reaches the meridian
shortly after sunset. That means the
predawn hours are the best for enjoying
the wondrous details that the planet
has on offer. During August, Jupiter
brightens slightly from magnitude -2.4
to -2.6, while its disk grows perceptibly
from 39.8″ to 43.8″.
Any telescope reveals the four big
Galilean moons, and binoculars usually
show at least two or three. Use the
diagram on the facing page to identify
them by their relative positions on any
given date and time. All the observable
interactions between Jupiter and its satellites
and their shadows are tabulated
on the facing page.
Features on Jupiter appear closer to
the central meridian than to the limb
for 50 minutes before and after transiting.
Here are the times, in Universal
Time, when the Great Red Spot should
cross Jupiter's central meridian. The
dates, also in UT, are in bold. (Eastern
Daylight Time is UT minus 4 hours.)
July 1: 6:08, 16:04; 2: 2:00, 11:56,
UT
8:14
5:03
1:51
22:40
19:29
16:17
13:06
9:54
6:43
3:32
0:20
These geocentric predictions are from the recent
heliocentric elements Min. = JD 2457360.307 +
2.867351E, where E is any integer. They were
derived by Roger W. Sinnott from 15 photoelectric
series in the AAVSO database acquired during
2015-2020 by Wolfgang Vollmann, Gerard Samolyk,
and Ivan Sergey. For a comparison-star chart
and more info, see skyandtelescope.org/algol.
50 AUGUST 2023 * SKY & TELESCOPE
18
30
PERSEUS
38
Algol
21
29
TRIANGULUM
34
21:51; 3: 7:47, 17:43; 4: 3:39, 13:34,
23:30; 5: 9:26, 19:22; 6: 5:17, 15:13; 7:
1:09, 11:05, 21:00; 8: 6:56, 16:52; 9: 2:47,
12:43, 22:39; 10: 8:35, 18:30; 11: 4:26,
14:22; 12: 0:18, 10:13, 20:09; 13: 6:05,
16:01; 14: 1:56, 11:52, 21:48; 15: 7:43,
17:39; 16: 3:35, 13:31, 23:26; 17: 9:22,
19:18; 18: 5:14, 15:09; 19: 1:05, 11:01,
20:56; 20: 6:52, 16:48; 21: 2:44, 12:39,
22:35; 22: 8:31, 18:26; 23: 4:22, 14:18;
24: 0:14, 10:09, 20:05; 25: 6:01, 15:56;
26: 1:52, 11:48, 21:44; 27: 7:39, 17:35;
28: 3:31, 13:26, 23:22; 29: 9:18, 19:14;
30: 5:09, 15:05; 31: 1:01, 10:56, 20:52
August 1: 6:50, 16:45; 2: 2:41, 12:37,
pPerseus approaches the zenith during
pre-dawn hours in August. Every 2.7
days, Algol (Beta Persei) dips from its
usual magnitude 2.1 to 3.4 and back.
Use this chart to estimate its brightness
in respect to comparison stars of magnitude
2.1 (Gamma Andromedae) and 3.4
(Alpha Trianguli).
22:32; 3: 8:28, 18:24; 4: 4:20, 14:15;
5: 0:11, 10:07, 20:02; 6: 5:58, 15:54; 7:
1:49, 11:45, 21:41; 8: 7:36, 17:32; 9: 3:28,
13:23, 23:19; 10: 9:15, 19:11; 11: 5:06,
15:02; 12: 0:58, 10:53, 20:49; 13: 6:45,
16:40; 14: 2:36, 12:32, 22:27; 15: 8:23,
18:19; 16: 4:14, 14:10; 17: 0:06, 10:01,
NASA / STSCI / TED STRYK
http://www.skyandtelescope.org
http://www.skyandtelescope.org/algol
Sky & Telescope - August 2023
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Sky & Telescope - August 2023
Contents
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - Cover1
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - Cover2
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 1
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - Contents
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 3
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 4
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 5
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 6
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 7
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 8
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 9
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 10
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 11
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 12
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 13
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 14
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Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - 84
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - Cover3
Sky & Telescope - August 2023 - Cover4
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