Stellar Vista Observatory Sky Report for Aug. 22 – 28

This meteorite which fell in Australia in 1960 is a chip of the asteroid Vesta knocked off in a collision with another asteroid roughly a billion years ago. The color comes from lying in the Australian desert for several decades before it was collected | Photo courtesy Rich Csenge, St. George News

Stellar Vista Observatory Sky Report
John Mosley

Aug. 22 – 28

The Sky Report is presented as a public service by the Stellar Vista Observatory, a nonprofit organization based in Kanab, Utah, which provides opportunities for people to observe, appreciate and comprehend our starry night sky. Additional information is at www.stellarvistaobservatory.org. Send questions and comments to [email protected].

The naked-eye planets are pretty much where they’ve been all month, but you might look for one “minor planet.” More on it momentarily.

First, Mercury is making a poor appearance in the evening sky. You might see it in twilight slightly to the left of where the sun just set. Mercury is only about 10 degrees high at the moment of sunset so it’s a very challenging object. On Aug. 28, the ultra-thin crescent moon is 9 degrees straight to the right of Mercury, so look that night with binoculars or a telescope. Good luck!

Saturn rises in the east as the sun sets in the west, and as the hours pass it moves to the south, appearing due south and a third of the way up the sky at 2 a.m.

At 2 a.m. Jupiter is halfway up the southeastern sky where it outshines every star by at least several times. Jupiter rises roughly two hours before midnight and it’s in Cetus.

Mars follows Jupiter by about three hours, rising shortly after midnight. It, too, is brighter than any star and it’s distinctly orange, so you can’t miss it in the morning hours. Mars is just above the orange star Aldebaran, the eye of Taurus, the Bull. Aldebaran is one of the brightest stars but Mars outshines it by 2½ times. The earth is catching up to Mars as we orbit the sun faster on an inside track, and Mars will be closer and considerably brighter when we catch it in December. Note the difference in brightness between Mars and Aldebaran now, and then note the difference in December.

Venus rises 80 minutes before the sun but its great brilliance lets you see it in morning twilight, leading the sun as they both rise a bit north of due east. On Thursday morning, the thin crescent moon is 6 degrees above Venus and you can see them together in wide-angle binoculars. In the hours before sunrise the winter constellations Orion, Taurus, Canis Major, Gemini, etc. are all prominent, giving you a preview of the evening sky you’ll see this coming winter.

That minor planet alluded to is Vesta, which lies opposite the sun (at “opposition”) on Tuesday. Vesta is the third-largest of the thousands of asteroids that orbit between Mars and Jupiter, and it was discovered in 1807. It’s round with a diameter of only 300 miles – a sixth the diameter of our moon – and at a distance of 120 million miles – 500 times the distance of the moon – it’s no surprise that you need at least binoculars to see it, and at 6th magnitude it’s easily visible in any binoculars or telescope.

You’ll find it in Aquarius 11 degrees to the left of Saturn. Heavens-Above.com and other websites can generate a finding chart. Vesta appears point-like (“asteroid” means “starlike”) in any telescope but the Dawn spacecraft orbited it 10 years ago and we have marvelous photos of it from up close. Google “Vesta” for more information.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!