Sky & Telescope - August 2024 - 47

+30°
+40°
0°
+10°
+20°
-10°
-20°
-30°
-40°
8h
6h
Castor
Pollux
GEMINI
Aug
29
Mars
Jupiter
Procyon
Betelgeuse
ORION
Sirius
CANIS
MAJOR
10 am
8 am
6 am
26
Pleiades ARIES
PEGASUS
Uranus
TAURUS
EQUATOR
Rigel
CETUS
ERIDANUS
Fomalhaut
LOCAL TIME OF TRANSIT
4 am
2 am
Midnight
SAGITTARIUS
10 pm
23
PISCES
AQUARIUS
Neptune
LIBRA
Saturn
Spica
Aug
19 -20
CAPRICORNUS
12
15
8 pm
Antares
SCORPIUS
6 pm
HYDRA
4 pm
2 pm
Aug
9
CORVUS
-10°
-20°
-30°
-40°
The Sun and planets are positioned for mid-August; the colored arrows show the motion of each during the month. The Moon is plotted for evening
dates in the Americas when it's waxing (right side illuminated) or full, and for morning dates when it's waning (left side illuminated). " Local time of transit "
tells when (in Local Mean Time) objects cross the meridian - that is, when they appear due south and at their highest - at mid-month. Transits
occur an hour later on the 1st and an hour earlier at month's end.
West Coast, but even from the opposite
coast the view is enjoyable. This is a
big year for Moon-Antares conjunctions,
and the Moon actually eclipses
the star several times in 2024. In fact,
if you watched today's event from the
South Pacific, you would see an occultation.
However, for us observers in
North America, May's occultation was
the final one for 2024. We'll have to
wait until 2028 to see the Moon cover
Antares once again.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14
This morning features what may well
be July's most exciting event: a close
conjunction between Mars and Jupiter.
How close is close? When the gap
between the two worlds is at its smallest
at 10:54 a.m. EDT (well after sunrise),
just 18′ separates them. However, they'll
only be slightly farther apart during
morning twilight. You'll still be able
to easily see them as two distinct dots
Capella
with your eyes alone, but the separation
is narrow enough that both planets
will fit into the eyepiece of a telescope
used at moderate magnifications. That
said, the naked-eye view is arguably the
most arresting as the planetary pair are
nestled between the horns of Taurus,
the Bull, and not far from the Hyades
and Pleiades clusters. Jupiter gleams at
magnitude -2.2, while orangey Mars
glows more modestly at +0.8 - a 16×
brightness difference.
If you continue to watch the two
planets over the coming days, you'll
see them gradually drift apart as Mars
motors eastward. On the following
morning (the 15th), the gap between
them is 30′, which is still enjoyably
close. They'll remain within 2° of each
other up to and including the 18th.
Dawn, Aug 26 - 28
1 hour before sunrise
AURIGA
Moon
Aug 27
Jupiter
Moon
Aug 28
Mars
Looking Southeast,
high in the sky
TUESDAY, AUGUST 20
As the sky darkens this evening, cast
your gaze to the east-southeast to
watch the waning
gibbous Moon
and Saturn rise
together. In a
month of close
encounters, this
one is closest of
all. The Ringed
Planet is just a
bit more than 15′
from the lunar
limb at 10:07
p.m. EDT. That's
only half a Moon
diameter away!
Pleiades
Moon
Aug 26
TAURUS
Aldebaran
The Moon is just 30 hours past full and
97% illuminated, so " nearly full " would
be an apt description. Fortunately, at
magnitude +0.7, Saturn is more than
capable of withstanding a strong blast
of moonlight and should be readily visible
even without the aid of a telescope
or binoculars.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 27
An eventful month winds down with
another lovely dawn scene that includes
the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter arranged
in a satisfyingly symmetrical righttriangle
in northern Taurus. Mars is
about 6½° lower left of Jupiter, while
the Moon is roughly 5½° upper left
of Jove, depending on when you look.
(Notice how far Mars has drifted from
Jupiter since the 14th!) The solar system
trio are framed beautifully by the bright
stars of Taurus, Orion, Gemini, and
Auriga - a lot of luminosity in a fairly
confined bit of sky.
On the following morning (the 28th),
the Moon has shifted eastward, and the
Moon-Mars-Jupiter configuration has
morphed into a curved line, with Mars
in the middle. And if you have especially
transparent conditions, see if you can
fish Mercury out of the twilight, low in
the east-northeast. The fast-moving little
planet rises roughly one hour before the
Sun but will be an easier catch on the
mornings that follow.
¢ Consulting Editor GARY SERONIK
always enjoys a bit of winter on mild
August mornings.
sk yand tele scope .o r g * AUGUST 2024
47
AQUILA
OPHIUCHUS
Mercury
0°
4h
2h
0h
22h
RIGHT ASCENSION
CYGNUS
HERCULES
Arcturus
VIRGO
Venus
20h
18h
Vega
16h
14h
BOÖTES
12h
+30°
+40°
LEO +20°
DECLINATION
E
C
L
I P T I C

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Sky & Telescope - August 2024

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