Best Moon of the month, Venus Buzzes the Beehive, and Saturn Treads Water while Jupiter sinks Lower!

Star Walk
Star Walk
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read

Sun, Moon, and Planets

This is the best week of the month to observe the Moon. It’s conveniently positioned in the evening sky, and you can even begin to look at it in late afternoon. Over the course of the week, the Moon will wax fuller, passing its First Quarter Phase (when half lit and half dark) before dawn on Tuesday. As more of the Moon fills with light each night, the sun illuminates new regions — casting stark black shadows between the mountains and crater rims. On Tuesday and Wednesday night, the gibbous Moon will hop over yellowish Saturn — sitting 7° (a palm’s width) to the planet’s upper right on Tuesday and 5° to the upper left the following evening.

First Quarter Moon in Solar Walk 2 app

Jupiter is the very bright white object low in the southwestern evening sky for two hours after sunset. It sets about 9:45 pm local time. A small telescope will show the planet’s brown belts and four Galilean moons, but they’ll be blurred due to all the extra air you’re looking through. An object that is positioned directly overhead (at the Zenith) is shining through the least amount of Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers call this one Air Mass. Light from objects that are lower in the sky must traverse a thicker region of air — twice as much (or two air masses) when 30° above the horizon, and five times as much (or five air masses) for objects only 12° above the horizon. It’s why astronomers always try to observe objects when they are high in the sky.

Jupiter in Solar Walk 2 app

Looking south, Saturn is the medium-bright, yellowish object partway up the sky after the evening sky darkens. It sets in the west about 12:30 am local time. Saturn’s moons can also be seen in a small telescope. They can sit above, below, or to either side of the planet and venture up to many ring diameters from it. This summer, look for the easy to recognize asterism called the Teapot sitting about two fist diameters to the lower left of Saturn. The stars of Scorpius (the Scorpion) flank Saturn on the lower right. The scorpion’s brightest star, reddish Antares is a generous fist width to Saturn’s lower right (west).

Saturn and Antares in Star Walk 2 app

Blue-green Uranus, in Pisces (the Fishes) rises shortly before 10 pm local time and is visible for the rest of the night in binoculars under a dark sky. Tiny blue Neptune, which is observable all night, is in the southeastern sky about two finger widths to the lower left of the medium-bright star Hydor in Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). Next week, Neptune reaches peak visibility for the year.

Extremely bright Venus rises in the eastern sky just before 4 am local time. This week, the planet continues to descend slowly sunwards, passing only a finger width to the right of the Beehive Cluster in Cancer (the Crab) on Friday, September 1.

Venus and the Beehive Cluster in Cancer in Star Walk 2 app

Stargazing News for this week (from August 27th) by Chris Vaughan.

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