Everyone dreams of seeing a real starfall. The bright flashing streaks in the night sky, when stars seem to fall from the sky, create an amazing celestial landscape that attracts numerous gazes upward around the world. And now comes the period of the Earth’s next passage through a cloud of meteor particles thrown out by a once passing comet, you peer into the sky, but instead of hundreds of “falling stars” you hardly notice a dozen per night.
Most star showers are formed when the Earth passes through a trail of these dust particles, and we see a wonderful sight when a bright trail suddenly flashes across the starry sky and traces the sky. The impression is as if a star has fallen. But it is not stars that fall at all, but small particles of matter with a diameter of about 1 mm or more, which burst into the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. They flare up from friction and completely burn up in the atmosphere, flaring up like stars. This phenomenon can be observed from anywhere on the planet.
It is also one of the big three largest star falls. It can be called one of the most beautiful meteor showers. It usually begins around July 17, and reaches its peak on August 9-13. In 2017, the Perseids reached their apogee on the night of August 12-13. The maximum number of combustible particles can reach more than 200 per hour. To see it you need to look towards the constellation Perseus. It can only be observed in the northern hemisphere.
The Perseid meteor shower is one of the oldest meteor showers. Mentions of it can be found as early as 36 AD. Around the eighth century, the Perseid received the name “tears of St. Lawrence.” And all because in Europe the St. Lawrence Festival occurs during the most active period of this meteor shower.
In order to see the Perseid starfall, it is enough to find a place where there is a good view of the sky and it is advisable to be away from all light sources at this time. And don’t forget to make a wish, because according to legend, it is during this period that everything you think comes true. However, you need to remember one important detail - you need to be alone at this time. To achieve greater success, you need to count as many shooting stars as the sum of your birth date. Only after this make a wish and remember - no negative thoughts.
The Perseids starfall produces over 200 meteors per hour. The period of its activity will be from July 17 to August 24, and reaches its peak around August 12. Its intensity is constantly changing, sometimes growing, sometimes decreasing again. This is one of the oldest meteor showers, and references to it can be found in 36 AD.
Unfortunately, only residents of the northern hemisphere will see it and only if the weather permits. To do this, you need to get away from city light.
The energy of the Perseid meteor shower is extremely strong and requires careful handling. For example, astrologers recommend that during this period of time you carefully weigh your every word and even thought, since such a bright starfall can attract into your life absolutely everything that you say or think about while experiencing strong emotions. At this time, empathy will help more than ever: you will be able to better understand others and avoid many troubles.
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1.06.2017 20:31 | Alexander Kozlovsky
This week, on the night of August 7-8, there will be a partial lunar eclipse, which will be visible throughout almost the entire territory of Russia and the CIS (except for the easternmost and northernmost continental regions). The maximum phase of the eclipse will be 0.25 (the Moon will pass through the northern part of the earth's shadow), but it is noteworthy that before the beginning and after the end of the partial eclipse, the Moon will be completely in the earth's penumbra. The partial eclipse will begin at 20:22 Moscow time and end at 22:19, lasting more than two hours. However, the darkening of the lunar edge can be noticed earlier (penumbral phase). The start and end times of the eclipse are the same throughout the country (taking into account the difference in time zones). The next day after the eclipse, the Moon (F = 0.99-) will be in the descending node of the orbit, and on August 9 the Moon (F = 0.95-) will cover the planet Neptune with visibility in Antarctica and Australia. On August 12, Mercury will reach a stationary position with a transition to retrograde motion, and the Perseid meteor shower will reach its maximum activity (hourly number of meteors - 120). At the end of the week, the Moon will pass near Uranus at a phase of about 0.7-. In addition, it is possible to observe noctilucent clouds that appear against the background of the morning and evening twilight segment. A new star (about 10 stars) has appeared in the Scutum constellation. A new comet C/2017 O1 (ASASSN1) has also been discovered, which is moving along the constellation Eridanus in the direction of the Hyades star cluster with a magnitude of about 10m.
Of the solar system planets: Mercury is visible in the evening sky in the southern latitudes of the country, Venus is visible in the morning and afternoon, Mars is not visible, Jupiter has evening visibility, Saturn is visible all night, and Uranus and Neptune can be found in the night and morning skies. Detailed planetary ephemeris and motion maps are given in the printed version.
Some close pairs of luminaries: Moon - Neptune, Moon - Uranus, Mercury - Regulus, Venus - Pollux, Jupiter - Spica, Saturn - Antares, Uranus - omicron Pisces, Neptune - lambda Aquarius, Ceres - Venus, Vesta - Regulus, C/2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) - Pleiades, P/Clark (71P) - Antares.
Review of foggy celestial objects of the month - Video calendar for the month http://www.youtube.com/user/AstroSmit And http://www.youtube.com/c/AstroMich.
Information about the phenomena of the past and future - in.
Review articles about planets and small bodies of the Solar System -.
Date a(2000.0) d(2000.0) r delta m elon. V PA con. Ceres (1) 6 Aug 2017 6h47m10.25s +24.22498 deg 2.664 3.460 8.9 32.8 61.70 89.7 Gem 11 Aug 2017 6h56m07.14s +24.21928 deg 2.661 3.420 8.9 35. 5 61.25 90.4 Gem Pallas (2) 6 Aug 2017 2h52m14.26s - 2.01971 deg 2.748 2.495 9.4 93.4 42.99 121.0 Eri 11 Aug 2017 2h57m00.66s - 2.80169 deg 2.736 2.421 9.3 97.0 42.46 125.8 Eri Vesta (4) 6 Aug 2017 10h48m07.85s + 12.71824 deg 2.326 3.200 8.1 25.5 71.07 111.9 Leo 11 Aug 2017 10h57m06.34s +11.82625 deg 2.321 3.218 8.1 23.1 71.68 112.2 Leo Hebe (6) 6 Aug 2017 17h10m49.18s - 9.15632 deg 2.422 1.716 9.7 122.9 22.11 186.7 Oph 11 Aug 2017 17h 10m53.09s - 9.89662 deg 2.410 1.757 9.8 118.5 22.39 172.4 Oph Iris (7) 6 Aug 2017 1h47m21.92s +18.79753 deg 1.937 1.456 9.1 101.8 51.72 62.1 Ari 11 Aug 2017 1h53m40.17s +19.57392 deg 1.928 1.401 9.0 104.8 48.44 61.8 Ari Julia (89) 6 Aug 2017 23h13m11.35s + 7.02201 deg 2.103 1.222 9.6 140.1 34.15 321.0 Psc 11 Aug 2017 23h10m02.73s + 7.86982 deg 2.100 1.189 9.5 144.7 36.52 311.9 Psc a right ascension for epoch 2000.0, d - declination for epoch 2000.0, r - distance from the Sun (au), delta - distance from the Earth (a.u.) e.), m - magnitude, elon. - elongation, V - angular velocity (seconds per hour), RA - position angle of the direction of movement of the celestial body, сon. - constellation con. Ceres (1) 6 Aug 2017 6h47m10.25s +24.22498 deg 2.664 3.460 8.9 32.8 61.70 89.7 Gem 11 Aug 2017 6h56m07.14s +24.21928 deg 2.661 3.420 8.9 35. 5 61.25 90.4 Gem Pallas (2) 6 Aug 2017 2h52m14.26s - 2.01971 deg 2.748 2.495 9.4 93.4 42.99 121.0 Eri 11 Aug 2017 2h57m00.66s - 2.80169 deg 2.736 2.421 9.3 97.0 42.46 125.8 Eri Vesta (4) 6 Aug 2017 10h48m07.85s + 12.71824 deg 2.326 3.200 http://astrogalaxy.ru/055.html 8.1 25.5 71.07 111.9 Leo 11 Aug 2017 10h57m06.34s +11.82625 deg 2.321 3.218 8.1 23.1 71.68 112.2 Leo Hebe (6) 6 Aug 2017 17h10m49.18s - 9.15632 deg 2.4 22 1.716 9.7 122.9 22.11 186.7 Oph 11 Aug 2017 17h10m53.09s - 9.89662 deg 2.410 1.757 9.8 118.5 22.39 172.4 Oph Iris (7) 6 Aug 2017 1h47m21.92s +18.79753 deg 1.937 1.456 9.1 101.8 51.72 62.1 Ari 11 Aug 2017 1h53m40.17s +19.573 92 deg 1.928 1.401 9.0 104.8 48.44 61.8 Ari Julia (89) 6 Aug 2017 23h13m11. 35s + 7.02201 deg 2.103 1.222 9.6 140.1 34.15 321.0 Psc 11 Aug 2017 23h10m02.73s + 7.86982 deg 2.100 1.189 9.5 144.7 36.52 311.9 Psc a direct ascension for epoch 2000.0, d - declination for epoch 2000.0, r - distance from the Sun (au .), delta - distance from the Earth (AU), m - magnitude, elon. - elongation, V - angular velocity (seconds per hour), RA - position angle of the direction of movement of the celestial body, сon. - constellation
Selected astronomical phenomena of the week.
There is nothing left until the new year 2017, which means that everyone who is not indifferent to the starry sky and who has a thirst for knowledge will be interested in getting acquainted with calendar of astronomical events the coming year.
This article will be useful not only to avid lovers of astronomy, but also to those who also want to join the practical observation and study of future events on a cosmic scale. Also, 2017 is rich in round dates, related to people and events related to domestic astronautics.
We placed special emphasis on such a phenomenon as full moon. Since ancient times, people have associated various magical rituals with the full Moon; Many cultures gave the full moon (or periods associated with it) separate names.
For example, in this article our readers will be able to find out what the full moon was called in one of the indigenous Indian tribes of North America. This is all the more interesting because this tradition was adopted by some European settlers.
Astronomy lovers eager to watch the brilliance of asteroids roaming the outer space of our solar system in 2017 will not be able to do so naked eye.
Read also:
Despite the fact that the brilliance of many objects will reach 9m(particularly asteroids Hebe, Irene, Metis and Eunomia), this not enough for such an observation. The so-called apparent magnitude (that is, the measure of illumination created by a celestial body) Ceres, the smallest dwarf planet in our solar system, will be at the end of 2017 the value 7.4m.
The brightness of comets can also be observed using home telescopes. We are talking primarily about comets C/2015 V2 (Johnson), circumsolar non-periodic comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS), small comet Honda-Mrkosa-Paidushakova, a short-period comet Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresaka and the comet with the shortest orbital period (3.3 years) 2P/Encke. However, if you are lucky with the weather, the brilliance of Comet Encke can be observed against the background of the February night sky naked eye.
Of great interest from the point of view of observation in 2017 is Venus: due to the fact that it will be much north of our star, the planet can be observed twice: evening and morning.
In 2017 (especially during the first months), observers have a wonderful opportunity to see Jupiter(including some features on the planet itself, especially the dark equatorial stripes). The giant's visibility will decrease October 26, at the moment of Jupiter’s conjunction with the Sun, but after just a few days in the clear morning sky this object can again be observed.
Mercury will be good to view throughout the year, except for the period from February 7 to March 7 when the planet enters into conjunction with the Sun. And here Mars for an earthly observer, due to the proximity of the planet to the Sun in 2017, will not be the best object to observe. The Red Planet will enter into conjunction with our star July 27, 2017.
In the coming 2017 it will be possible to record 4 eclipses:
- 11 February will happen penumbral lunar eclipse, when the Moon passes the so-called Earth's penumbral region (the area in which the Earth cannot completely obscure the Moon from the Sun). It is very difficult to record this phenomenon from the surface of the Earth without appropriate instruments, since the human eye can hardly detect a slight darkening of the Moon;
- February 26 It will be marked annular solar eclipse, when the Moon, passing across the disk of our luminary, is not able to cover it completely due to the fact that for the observer the diameter of the Moon turns out to be less than the diameter of the Sun;
- August 7 The Moon will partially be in the cone of the Earth's shadow region, which means it will be possible to talk about partial lunar eclipse. Observers from Earth will be able to see only that region of our planet’s satellite that will be in the penumbra at that moment;
- August 21 Residents of some localities in several US states will be lucky enough to observe total solar eclipse. For most of our country, this eclipse will go unnoticed. However, only residents of the Chukotka Peninsula and the extreme northeast of the country will be able to record private phases.
All astronomical events that are presented in this article are recorded according to Moscow time.
Astronomical calendar 2017
JANUARY
4 January – peak meteor shower activity Quadrantids, whose activity time falls on the period from December 28 to January 12. The number of observed meteors per hour will be 120. The radiant of the star shower is located in the constellation Bootes. As for Russia, this stellar stream will be able to be observed by residents of the Far East and eastern regions of our country.
January 10 – The Moon is at perigee: at 09:01 it will be at its closest distance from the Earth in January 2017 – 363242.3 km.
January 12 – 110 years since the birth of the founder of Russian practical cosmonautics, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.
January 12 – Full moon (peak at 14:34). The Full Wolf Moon, the hungry howl of numerous packs of wolves darting around American Indian villages, gives the January full moon its name.
January 18 – one of the largest asteroids in the main asteroid belt of our Solar System will noticeably increase in brightness – asteroid Vesta. The apparent magnitude will be 6.2m. However, this will not be enough to observe the object with the naked eye.
January 22 – Moon at apogee: at 03:12 the Moon will be at the point farthest from the Earth for January 2017 – 404911.4 km.
FEBRUARY
11 February – Full moon (peak at 03:33). On this day, at 03:43 Moscow time, there will be penumbral lunar eclipse. If the weather is appropriate, it will be possible to record it from almost the entire territory of our country, except for the Russian Far East. Heavy snowfall during this period led the American Indians to call the February full moon the Full Snow Moon. By the way, if snowfalls pass us by during this period, then the eclipse can be observed with the naked eye.
5
February 26 – New Moon (peak at 17:59). The annular solar eclipse, which will occur on this day at 17:58 Moscow time, will be visible to South Americans and residents of South and West Africa. Also, this eclipse will be able to be recorded by a few scientists and researchers who are carrying out their difficult mission in Antarctica. In Russia, observers will not be able to record this phenomenon.
6
The last start is planned for the end of February Soviet carrier "Soyuz-U"(to launch a cargo ship "Progress MS-05"). In the future, Roscosmos will abandon the use of these launch vehicles in favor of more modern ones with a greater carrying capacity.
MARCH
March, 6 – The world’s first female cosmonaut, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, turns 80.
March 12 – Full moon (peak at 17:53). Full Worm Moon (according to some American Indian tribes). It is during this period that earthworms appear in large numbers on the surface of the earth, which is caused by the liberation of snow from the earth as a result of warming.
Astronomical observations 2017
APRIL
11 April – Full moon (peak at 09:08). Full Pink Moon - this is what the American Indians called the April full moon. The basis for this was flowers called Phlox (from Greek - “flame”), which bloom in April in North America.
April 16-25 – Star shower of Lyrids. The meteor shower peaks on April 22. This phenomenon of starfall in the Lyra constellation will be most clearly visible from that part of our planet that is located north of the equator. Expected activity of the Lyrid star stream in 2017 – no more 16 meteors per hour. Interestingly, in 1982, the zenith hour number, which characterizes the number of Lyrid meteors observed with the naked eye, reached 90.
MAY
May 11 – Full moon (peak at 00:43). The Full Flower Moon, an intense period of spring flowering, may well have been the reason why the American Indians named the May full moon that way.
JUNE
the 9th of June – Full moon (peak at 16:10). Full Strawberry Moon - obviously, during this period, American Indian tribes collected strawberries (however, given the fact that ordinary garden strawberries were first bred in Europe by the middle of the 18th century, we are most likely talking about some kind of strawberry - perhaps Virginia strawberries).
21st of June – Summer Solstice Day For residents of the planet's northern hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year. Time – 07:24.
JULY
July 9 – Full moon (peak at 07:07). The Full Thunder Moon is a period of intense thunderstorms that gave rise to the American Indians calling the July full moon that name. Another popular name is due to the fact that this period is related to the intensive ossification of the antlers of North American deer (unossified bone tissue of future antlers) and, accordingly, to the maturation of males. That's what the Indians said - Full Moon of Males.
Astronomical objects 2017
AUGUST
August 7 – Full moon (peak at 21:11). The American Indians during this period enjoyed rich fishing due to the exodus of sturgeon from the Great Lakes. Hence the name of the August full moon - Full Sturgeon Moon. On this day, almost all residents of Russia, except for the Far Eastern region, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, will be able to observe partial lunar eclipse.
August 21 – New Moon (peak at 21:30). The day on which there will be a total solar eclipse. Partial phases of this phenomenon on the territory of Russia can only be recorded from some territories of Chukotka and Kamchatka. Notably, residents of the small town of Carbondale, Illinois will have a unique chance to witness the total eclipse event twice within a short period of time - August 21, 2017 and April 8, 2024. The longest duration of the total eclipse phase in the coming year will be 2 minutes 40 seconds for an earthly observer.
SEPTEMBER
6 September – Full moon (peak at 10:04). The Full Corn Moon is the period when the American Indians harvested not only corn, but also many other crops. Therefore, the September full moon was also often called the Full Harvest Moon.
September 17 – 160th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Russian theoretical cosmonautics, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky.
September 22nd – The day of the autumnal equinox, when the same length of day and night during this period marks the onset of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet and the end of winter in the Southern. Time – 21:02.
In August Mercury There will be an inferior conjunction with the Sun. Venus shines in the mornings above the eastern horizon in the constellation Gemini. Mars emerges into the morning sky and will become visible to observers at the end of the month. Jupiter ends its visibility in the evening sky. Saturn is located in the evening low above the southwestern horizon in the constellation Ophiuchus. Uranus And Neptune can be found at night in the constellations Pisces and Aquarius.
Moon will approach the indicated planets: August 3 in the evening with a waxing phase of 0.74 - with Saturn, August 10 in the morning with a waning phase of 0.96 - with Neptune, August 13 in the evening with a waning phase of 0.66 - with Uranus, August 19 in the morning with a waning phase 0.10 - with Venus, August 21 in the afternoon during the new moon - with Mars, August 22 in the afternoon after the new moon - with Mercury, August 28 in the evening with a waxing phase of 0.15 - with Jupiter, August 30 in the evening with a waxing phase of 0.61 - with Saturn . For observations, it is better to choose nights when the Moon does not pass near the observed planet near its full phases.
Visibility conditions are given for the middle latitudes of Russia (about 56° N). For cities to the north and south, the celestial bodies will be located at the indicated time, respectively, slightly lower or higher (by the difference in latitude) relative to their places in the Bratsk sky. To clarify the local visibility conditions of planets, use planetarium programs.
MERCURY moves in the same direction with the Sun through the constellations Leo and Sextant, changing its movement to the opposite on August 13. At the beginning of the month, the elongation of Mercury is 27 degrees east of the Sun, but Mercury can be observed against the background of the evening dawn only from the southern latitudes of Russia; it is not visible in the middle and northern latitudes. Mercury will then begin its approach to the Sun, passing through inferior conjunction with the Sun into the morning sky on August 27th. The apparent size of Mercury increases from 7 to 10 arcseconds with decreasing brightness from +0.4m to +6.5m (at conjunction) and to +3.9m at the end of the month. The phase of Mercury changes from 0.44 to 0.01 (at conjunction) and to 0.04 by the end of the month. To successfully observe Mercury during periods of visibility, you need binoculars, an open horizon and a clear twilight sky.
VENUS moves in the same direction as the Sun through the constellations Gemini and Cancer. The angular distance (elongation) from the Sun decreases per month from 38 to 32 degrees. The planet is visible for about 2 hours in the morning above the eastern horizon. The angular dimensions of the planet's disk decrease from 14 to 12 arcseconds. The planet's phase increases from 0.74 to 0.83 with a decreasing brightness from -4.1m to -3.9m. Through a telescope, an oval is visible with a simultaneous decrease in the size of the planet, because the distance between Venus and Earth increases.
Venus in the morning sky August 2017
MARS moves in the same direction as the Sun through the constellations Cancer and Leo. The planet's brightness is +1.7m, and its angular size is about 3". Mars becomes accessible for observation in mid-latitudes only towards the end of the month, when it can be observed for about half an hour in the morning sky.
For observations, a telescope with a lens diameter of 60-90 mm is required. The best time to observe details on the disk of Mars is the moment of opposition, which occurs every two years. At other times, Mars appears through a telescope as a tiny reddish disk with no details. The closest opposition of Mars will occur on July 27, 2018 (Great Opposition!).
Mars and Venus in the morning sky at the end of August 2017
JUPITER moves in the same direction as the Sun in the constellation Virgo. The gas giant is visible for less than an hour at the beginning of the month, reducing visibility in the evening sky to 20 minutes towards the end of the period. The angular diameter of the giant planet in the sky decreases from 34 to 32 arcseconds, and its brightness from -1.7m to -1.6m.
Through binoculars, four bright satellites of the giant are visible - due to the rapid orbital motion, they noticeably change their position relative to each other and Jupiter during one night (the configurations of Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto can be found in astronomical calendars or in planetarium programs).
The telescope distinguishes stripes (northern and southern equatorial stripes), shadows from satellites periodically pass across the disk of the planet, as well as the famous huge oval cyclone GRS (Great Red Spot), making a full revolution along with the planet’s atmosphere in 9.5 hours. The current longitude of the BKP can be found on the website http://jupos.privat.t-online.de/rGrs.htm. The BCP appears approximately 2 hours before passing through the meridian and disappears 2 hours later (goes beyond the disk).
Moments of the passage of the BKP through the central meridian of Jupiter in AUGUST 2017 (universal time UT)
To get the time for Bratsk, you need to add 8 hours to universal time
Current longitude of BKP 270°
| 1 07:43 17:39 2 03:36 13:32 23:28 3 09:21 19:17 4 05:15 15:10 5 01:08 11:04 20:59 6 06:53 16:49 |
7 02:47 12:42 22:38 8 08:32 18:27 9 04:25 14:21 10 00:18 10:14 20:10 11 06:03 15:59 12 01:57 11:53 21:48 13 07:42 17:38 |
14 03:35 13:31 23:27 15 09:20 19:16 16 05:14 15:09 17 01:07 11:03 20:59 18 06:52 16:48 19 02:46 12:41 22:37 20 08:31 18:26 |
21 04:24 14:20 22 00:18 10:13 20:09 23 06:03 15:58 24 01:56 11:52 21:47 25 07:41 17:37 26 03:35 13:30 23:26 27 09:20 19:15 |
28 05:13 15:09 29 01:06 11:02 20:58 30 06:52 16:47 31 02:45 12:41 22:36 |
SATURN moves backward along the constellation Ophiuchus, changing its movement to direct on August 25. The planet is observed in the evenings low above the southwestern horizon. The angular diameter of Saturn decreases from 17 to 16 seconds of arc at a magnitude of +0.5m. August marks the end of the best period in 2017 for observations of the ringed planet.
In a small telescope, the ring around the planet and the satellite Titan (+8m) are clearly visible. The apparent dimensions of the planet's ring are about 40x18 arcseconds. Currently, the planet's rings are open to 26° and the northern pole of the gas giant is illuminated by the Sun.
The positions of Jupiter and Saturn in the evening twilight sky in August 2017
URANUS moves in the same direction with the Sun in the constellation Pisces near *omicron Pisces, changing its movement to a retrograde position on August 3. The duration of morning visibility by the end of the month reaches 8 hours. The planet's brightness is +5.7m with an angular diameter of 3".
During periods of opposition, Uranus can be observed with the naked eye in a clear, transparent sky, in the absence of illumination from the Moon (near the new moon) and away from city lights. In a 150-mm telescope with a magnification of 80x and higher, you can see the greenish disk (“pea”) of the planet. The satellites of Uranus have a brightness less than +13m.
NEPTUNE moves backward through the constellation Aquarius near *lamda (3.7m), moving towards the moment of its opposition on September 5. The planet can be found low above the horizon, where it is visible through optical instruments throughout the night. The planet's brightness is +7.8m magnitude and is almost no different from the surrounding stars.
Binoculars or a telescope using star charts and a clear, transparent and moonless sky will help you find Neptune during periods of visibility. To view the disk of the planet, you need a 200 mm telescope with a magnification of 100 times or higher (with a clear sky). Neptune's satellites have a brightness less than +13m.
Neptune's path among the stars in 2017 (search map)© Blog of Fedor Sharov
Nikolay Zheleznov, Marina Lukashova
Which planets of the solar system will you be able to see in August?
We said goodbye to the white nights until next year; now it’s time to uncover our binoculars and telescopes and begin full-fledged astronomical observations. Moreover, in August almost all the planets are ready to welcome us in the sky, although some will be visible very low above the horizon.
Illustration pixabay.com
August 9 Mercury is waiting for an inferior conjunction with the Sun, so we will see it in the morning sky only after a week. It will gradually rise higher and higher, and by the end of the month it will be visible for almost two hours until dawn. August, 26th at the full moon, its greatest western elongation will occur - not the most significant, but the visible orbit of Mercury will rise above the horizon by about 12 degrees.
We will have to meet with Venus in the evenings. August 17 it also expects the greatest elongation, only eastern. Unfortunately, it will not make life easier for observers: although the planet’s brightness will begin to increase, Venus will be located lower and lower above the horizon. August 14 next to Venus there will be a thin crescent of the waxing Moon.
As for Mars, on August 28 its station will occur - Mars will finish drawing a loop in the sky and will return to direct motion again. It will be found in Capricorn in the first half of the night, but low above the horizon. It helps that after the Great Confrontation it is still quite large and bright. Just keep in mind that August 23 The Moon can interfere with observations.
Jupiter in Libra and Saturn in Sagittarius will be visible low above the horizon in the first half of the night. The conditions, needless to say, are not the best. The moon will be nearby August 17 with Jupiter, and August 20 and 21- with Saturn.
A small digression. Jupiter is now the hero of information feeds. About a year ago, a group of astronomers from the United States, using the four-meter telescope. Victor Blanco, conducted a series of observations of the planet's environs at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The process of processing the information received took several months, and now scientists have announced the discovery. Thus, their total number has reached 79 - a new record among the planets of the solar system. And, most likely, this is not the limit.
The two new moons are part of a close inner group and orbit in the same direction as Jupiter. Nine are among the satellites of the outer group and move in the direction opposite to the planet's own rotation. The last one discovered is the most unusual.
Like the previous nine satellites, it is in the outer group, but differs from the others in that it moves in the opposite direction to them, that is, in the same direction as Jupiter’s rotation. This moon, named Valetudo, appears to be Jupiter's smallest moon, measuring less than one kilometer in size. Valetudo's orbit is unstable, and, by astronomical standards, his life time on it will be short: he will either fall onto the planet, or, conversely, he will be thrown to more distant boundaries. This satellite may be a fragment of a larger “parent” body, or perhaps a “captured” asteroid from the Centaur group...
It remains only to remember about those “closing” our solar system. Uranus August 7 will begin to draw a loop in the sky in a backward motion. Located in the constellation Aries, it will rise after sunset and will be visible almost all night high above the horizon - a good opportunity to test your visual acuity. On the night of August 4 and 30 There will be a bright Moon near Uranus.
For those with telescopes: Neptune in the constellation Aquarius is high above the horizon and visible to observers all night. August 27 next to it will be the dazzling disk of the Moon.
And one more notable event. 11th August There will be a partial eclipse of the sun. Its greatest phases can be observed in Yakutia and Chukotka (up to 0.7). St. Petersburg will “get” less than 0.1. In our city, the Moon will begin to creep onto the solar disk at 11.55 and leave it at 12.53. The greatest phase of the eclipse will occur at 12.24.
Good luck with your observations and good summer mood!
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