Welcome to the last full month of Summer! Wow, is it that time already? August is a great month to get out and look at the night sky. Saturn and Jupiter will be shining brightly in the southern sky and the great constellation of Pegasus and Andromeda are rising in the east with the ever spectacular galaxy Andromeda. Andromeda is the one object you can see with the naked eye that is not of our galaxy! Click on the link for Andromeda constellation to see where to look.

Of course, the great attraction in August will be the Perseid Meteor Showers and 2021 is an excellent year for viewing as the Moon will not be away. This shower actually is from the dust left over in our orbit from the Comet Swift-Tuttle which orbits our Sun every 133 years. The next flyby will be in 2126 so not worries for now! The shower actually starts in late July and continues until late August, however, the peak will be the night of the 11th and 12th. The radiant of the meteors will be from the constellation Perseus in the northeast sky. This means that any meteors you see that are of the Perseid shower will be heading away from that area. For an in depth look at the Perseid Meteor shower and what to expect, please visit earthsky.org.

Moon Phase | Date | Time of Day |
---|---|---|
New Moon | August 8 | 6:50 A.M. |
First Quarter | August 15 | 8:21 A.M. |
Full Moon | August 22 | 5:02 A.M. |
Last Quarter | August 30 | 12:15 A.M. |
