Sun rises at 5:56am
Sun sets at 6:35pm
Moon phase: Third Quarter, Waning Gibbous
Moon rises at 8:29pm
Moon sets at 7:57am
Daytime Moon
The moon is up during the daylight hours half the time. It has to be, since it orbits around the whole Earth once a month. The crescent moon (first quarter and last quarter) can be hard to see because it’s so near the bright sun. This weekend is a good time to see the moon during the daytime. It’s in its third quarter phase, currently rising in the east a little later each night; and each night it gets skinnier until it “disappears” on August 31. All that means you can catch a glimpse of the moon during the daytime this weekend, just look above the western horizon after sunrise. You can also view the moon during the night time hours: look in your eastern sky in the evening hours, after 8:30.
Mars and Saturn
Over these past months, the planets Mars and Saturn – along with the star Antares in the constellation Scorpius – have made a prominent triangle on our sky’s dome. But Mars is on the move now, shifting rapidly eastward. It’ll pass in between Saturn and Antares next Tuesday and Wednesday, August 23 and 24, so that the three objects appear in a straight line in our sky.
Keep watching in the coming nights, to notice Mars’ movement in front of the starry background. By the end of next week, Mars will have passed between Saturn and Antares. The triangle of bright stars we have been watching all year is inverting itself! Fascinating geometry of the heavens! On Wednesday night, Mars and Saturn will get close together in our sky, what astronomers call a conjunction. Be sure to keep an eye on this trio of objects as darkness falls each night. Mars will travel farther and farther east of Saturn and Antares.
Mars and Saturn are planets, while Antares is a star. Contrast them, and you’ll see that Mars and Saturn shine steadily, while Antares lives up to its reputation for being a fierce twinkler. Right now, Mars is about seven light-minutes from Earth (79 million miles, or 127 million km). Saturn is about 82 light-minutes (914 million miles, or 1,470 million km). Antares – being a star and not an object in our own solar system – is vastly farther away at about 550 light-years.
By the way, three other planets – Jupiter, Mercury and Venus – are also up after sunset. If you locate them, you’ll be seeing all five planets visible to the unaided eye from Earth. Look soon, though, because Mercury will soon disappear, especially as seen from Northern Hemisphere skies (it’ll stay visible a few more weeks from Earth’s Southern Hemisphere).
Neptune rising
Sounds like a sci-fi novel, but the fact is that Neptune, the fourth-largest planet in our solar system, is staging its best appearance in late August and early September. Unfortunately, Neptune is so far away that you need a telescope to see it. However, if you have a scope, get it out because Neptune won’t get any clearer than it is now and in the next few weeks.
Cassiopeia
The Queen of the nights at this time of the year is always Cassiopeia. She sits upon her throne in the northern sky, looking like a giant W on its side, and whirls around the north star, Polaris, making one circular trip every 24 hours. This is an easy constellation to learn, and is visible anywhere in the northern hemisphere.
Thank you for keeping up with the Night Sky articles. If you are out later on in the week, each star rises about four minutes earlier each day than written here, and the moon rises 50 minutes later. Night Sky is researched and compiled by Lisa Davis-Burnett. Questions or comments? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
