What’s Up August 2024

A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth

Compiled by Steve Sawyer

Summer appears to be here at the moment so enjoy it whilst it lasts. hopefully we’ll have some warm clear evenings to enjoy the annual Perseid meteor shower, there’s also a lunar occultation of Saturn to enjoy. Another sight to look for at this time of year is the Milky Way as it stretches across the southern sky. So if you have a dark sky location have a look.

So what’s on this month?

Ursa Major is now upright in the northwest, though its fainter southern stars are hard to see. Boötes stands almost vertically in the west with Arcturus sinking toward the horizon. Higher up, Corona Borealis and Hercules are clearly visible.

In the northeast, Capella is visible, but most of Auriga remains below the horizon. Higher in the sky, Perseus is coming into view, and later in the night and month, the Pleiades cluster will rise above the northeastern horizon. Between Perseus and Polaris is the faint constellation Camelopardalis.

Cassiopeia and Cepheus are well positioned for observation, despite being immersed in the Milky Way. Pegasus and Andromeda are above the eastern horizon, with Pisces climbing into view below them. Deneb and Vega from the Summer Triangle are near the zenith overhead.

The summer Milky Way stretches across the southern sky from Cygnus near the zenith, past Aquila with bright Altair, to Sagittarius near the horizon, where the Teapot pattern may be visible. This region contains many nebulae and clusters. Between Albireo (β Cygni) and Altair are the small constellations Vulpecula and Sagitta, with Sagitta easier to distinguish. East of Sagitta and Pegasus is the tiny constellation Delphinus. Below Aquila, in the Milky Way’s star clouds, lies Scutum, known for the bright open cluster M11, the ‘Wild Duck Cluster’.

Sky Diary

DateTimeEvent
0223:35Pollux 1.8ºN of the Moon
0411:13New Moon
0519:34Regulus 2.9ºS of the Moon
0522:03Venus (mag. -3.8) 1.7ºS of the Moon
0600:02Mercury (mag. 1.6) 7.5ºS of the Moon
0615:00 *Venus (mag. -3.8) 5.9ºN of Mercury (mag. 1.6)
0619:40Minor planet (7) Iris at opposition (mag. 8.1)
0901:31Moon at apogee = 405,297 km
1010:17Spica 0.7ºS of the Moon
12-13Perseid meteor shower maximum
1215:19First Quarter
1405:17Antares 0.0ºN of the Moon
1918:26Full Moon
2103:02Saturn (mag. 0.7) 0.5ºN of the Moon
2105:02Moon at perigee = 360,196 km
2122:21Neptune (mag. 7.8) 0.7ºS of the Moon
2600:01Uranus (mag. 5.7) 4.4ºS of the Moon
2609:26Last Quarter
2623:29Aldebaran 10.3ºS of the Moon
2712:43Jupiter (mag. -2.3) 5.7ºS of the Moon
28-Sep.05α-Aurigid meteor shower
2800:22Mars (mag. 0.8) 5.3ºS of the Moon
3005:25Pollux 1.7ºN of the Moon

This table organizes the celestial events by date and time, listing each event’s details for easy reference.

Sky Maps

Looking South on the 15th at 22:00

Looking North on the 15th at 22:00

he two charts above show all DSOs of magnitude 6.0 or brighter. They are both taken from
SkyViewCafe.com and correct for the 15th of the month. For a clickable list of Messier objects with images, use the Wikipedia link.

Augusts Objects

The Sun

The sun has been pretty active this past month and several CME’s are currently heading towards Earth so keep an eye out for Aurora alerts.
The sunspot count is now 261 with new sunspot AR3772 having an unstable magnetic field that poses a threat for X-class solar flares.

Resources

For more info on the sun and solar weather look here : –

Space Weather Enthusiasts Dashboard | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

Auroa Forecasts

A bit US centred but still useful

Aurora Dashboard (Experimental) | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

And our own Met-office have an excellent space weather forecast page here Space Weather – Met Office

The Moon

Augusts full moon is the Grain moon (Anglo Saxon), other names are :-

  • Barley Moon – referring to the harvesting of barley.
  • Fruit Moon – indicating the time when many fruits were ripe for picking.
  • Wort Moon – from Old English, referring to the time when herbs (worts) were gathered and prepared for winter.

Augusts moon calendar from Sky View Café (skyviewcafe.com)
A full yearly lunar calendar can be found here :-

https://www.mooninfo.org/moon-phases/2024.html

The Moon’s Positions in August

DateEvent
August 2The Moon is 1.8ºS of Pollux.
August 5The Moon is 2.9ºN of Regulus in Leo. Later, it is 1.7ºN of Venus (mag. -3.8).
August 6The Moon is 7.5ºN of Mercury and close to Venus.
August 10The waxing crescent Moon is 0.7ºN of Spica.
August 21The Moon is 0.5ºN of Saturn (mag. 0.7). Later, it is 0.7ºN of Neptune (mag. 7.8).
August 26The Moon is 4.4ºN of Uranus (mag. 5.7) and later, 10.3ºN of Aldebaran.
August 28The Moon passes 5.3ºN of Mars.
August 30The Moon is 1.7ºS of Pollux.

Moon Feature

The Lunar Straight Wall (Rupes Recta)

Rupes Recta, also known as the Lunar Straight Wall, is an excellent feature to observe in August.

  • Description: Rupes Recta is a linear fault or escarpment on the Moon’s surface, located in the southeastern part of Mare Nubium. It appears as a straight, dark line when the Sun is low on the lunar horizon, casting long shadows.
  • Dimensions: It stretches approximately 110 kilometers (68 miles) in length and rises about 240-300 meters (787-984 feet) above the surrounding terrain.
  • Best Time to View: The best time to observe Rupes Recta is during the first quarter or the last quarter of the lunar phase when the Sun’s angle creates the most dramatic shadows, highlighting the feature’s straight, cliff-like appearance.
  • There’s a very nice article here with further information A guide to the Moon’s Rupes Recta – BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Planets

Mercury

Better towards the end of the month, rising over an hour befioe sunrise

Venus

An evening object, but not well placed for viewing

Mars

Still pretty faint this month and rising from midnight to the early morning hours

Jupiter

A morning planet only visible for a few hours before sunrise

Saturn

Now climbing higher in the sky and is the best planet to view this month.

Uranus

Another morning planet, best towards the end of the month

Neptune

Neptune can be found in Pisces and reaches peak altitude mid August

Meteor Showers

Perseids Meteor Shower

  • Active Period: July 17 – August 24
  • Peak: August 12-13 (However, early meteors can be seen in late July)
  • Radiant: Near the constellation Perseus
  • Meteor Rate: Up to 100 meteors per hour at peak
  • Characteristics: The Perseids are one of the most popular and well-known meteor showers, producing a large number of bright meteors. Observing conditions improve as the month progresses towards the peak.

Comets

Augusts comets. Go here for detailed locations and finder charts Visual Comets in the Future (Northern Hemisphere) (aerith.net)

Comets Visible in August

Comet NameMagnitudeDeclination
13P/Olbers720
C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz)122
C/2022 E2 (ATLAS)1233
C/2023 V4 (Camarasa-Duszanowicz)1232
C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS)1365
154P/Brewington1232
C/2023 C2 (ATLAS)122
C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS)1338
C/2021 S3 (PanSTARRS)1367

Deep Sky (DSO’s)

This month we’ll have a look at some of the objects within the constellation Andromeda

Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31)

The Andromeda Galaxy (NGC 224), located 2.5 million light years away, is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. Known as the Great Andromeda Nebula before its true nature was understood, it is the farthest object visible to the naked eye with an apparent magnitude of 3.4.

Containing about a trillion stars, Andromeda significantly outnumbers the Milky Way’s 200-400 billion stars. Through a small telescope, only its bright central region is visible, but a larger telescope reveals its full width, about six times that of the full Moon.

Andromeda’s Cluster – Mayall II

Mayall II (NGC 224-G1) is a globular cluster orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy, about 130,000 light years from its core. With an apparent magnitude of 13.7, it is the brightest globular cluster in the Local Group.

Twice as massive as Omega Centauri in the Milky Way, Mayall II is thought to contain an intermediate-mass black hole. Some astronomers believe it might be the remnant core of a dwarf galaxy consumed by M31. Discovered by Nicholas Mayall and O.J. Eggen in 1953, it is named after Mayall.

Messier 32 (Le Gentil, NGC 221)

Messier 32, a dwarf elliptical galaxy about 2.65 million light years away, was discovered by French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749 and is sometimes referred to by his last name. It is a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy and the first elliptical galaxy ever discovered.

Located 22 arcminutes south of Andromeda’s center, M32 appears spread over Andromeda’s spiral arms and is thought to be closer to us. It is small but bright, visible with a small telescope. M32 lacks globular clusters and is believed to have lost its outer stars and clusters in a collision with Andromeda.

M32 is about 6,500 light years in diameter and contains mainly old stars, with no current star formation. It houses a supermassive black hole estimated to be between 1.5 and 5 million solar masses. Along with Messier 110, M32 is the closest bright elliptical galaxy to our solar system.

Messier 110 (NGC 205)

Messier 110 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy, often classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. It contains eight globular clusters in its halo and shows signs of recent star formation, which is unusual for its type. There is no evidence of a supermassive black hole at its center.

First observed and described by Charles Messier in 1773, M110 was not included in his original list. It was independently discovered by Caroline Herschel a decade later, with her brother William Herschel documenting it in 1785. The galaxy received its Messier catalogue number in 1967, thanks to Kenneth Glyn Jones.

Messier 110 is approximately 2.9 million light years away.

NGC 752

NGC 752 (Caldwell 28) is an open cluster with an apparent magnitude of 5.7, located 1,300 light years from Earth. Discovered by Caroline Herschel in 1783, it may have been observed earlier by Giovanni Batista Hodierna before 1654. William Herschel catalogued it in 1786.

This bright, large cluster is easily seen through binoculars and, under good conditions, with the naked eye. The brightest stars in NGC 752 are no brighter than the 9th magnitude.

NGC 891

NGC 891 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located four degrees east of Almach (Gamma Andromedae). It is visible in 4.5-inch telescopes with an apparent magnitude of 10.8 and is about 27.3 million light years away. The galaxy spans 13.5 by 2.5 arcminutes and resembles how the Milky Way would appear edge-on.

Discovered by William Herschel on October 6, 1784, NGC 891 is part of the NGC 1023 Group. A supernova, designated SN 1986J, was observed in the galaxy on August 21, 1986, peaking at magnitude 14.

ISS and other orbiting bits

No sightings at the beginning of the month

Use the this NASA website for exact timings for York overpasses. York, England, United Kingdom | Sighting Opportunity | Spot The Station | NASA

Useful Resources

StarLust – A Website for People with a Passion for Astronomy, Stargazing, and Space Exploration.

https://www.spacedaily.com/

http://www.n3kl.org/sun/noaa.html

http://skymaps.com/downloads.html

Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events 2024 – Sea and Sky (seasky.org)

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-are-names-full-moons-throughout-yearhttp://www.deepskywatch.com/deepsky-guide.html

https://www.constellation-guide.com/

and of course the sky at night magazine!

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