August Skylights
Comet NEOWISE
Discovered in late March by the Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, aka NEOWISE, launched by NASA in 2009, Comet F3 NEOWISE has been delighting observers across the northern hemisphere throughout July. After the demise of the ‘overhyped’ comets SWAN and ATLAS, both of which fragmented last month, Comet NEOWISE has bucked this trend, brightening far more than predictions and is probably the brightest comet visible from our shores since Hale-Bopp in 1997.
After rounding the Sun in early July, the comet was closest to the Earth on 23 July, around 64 million miles distant and is now heading outwards into the depths of the solar system. Hopefully it will still be visible in early August, so if you have not already spotted it, you can locate it approximately a hand’s span at arm’s length above the WNW horizon, lower left of the ‘Plough’ asterism. It actually resides in the faint constellation of Coma Berenices.
As of writing (mid-July) NEOWISE is easily visible to the naked eye and does actually look like a comet, complete with visible tail. The view with a pair of binoculars is even more stunning. As we head into August the comet will be best placed in the late evening sky so observe from 11 pm. The comet will not return until 8786 ad so do make the most of any opportunity to view it.
Planetary Skylights
Having reached opposition last month, Jupiter and Saturn reign supreme in the evening sky. Jupiter is the far more conspicuous, a brilliant beacon low to the south, with Saturn trailing in its wake, fractionally higher and several degrees behind. Jupiter is a rewarding object to scrutinise with a telescope, or even binoculars. Look for the banding across the disk and the attendant Galilean moons, which offer a different configuration each night. Although fainter than Jupiter, Saturn is still quite prominent to the naked eye. Of course, to view the famous ring system a telescope is required, but as they are currently well orientated, very modest instruments will suffice. You may also note Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, which resembles a bright, but obvious speck nearby Saturn.
The only downside currently with viewing Saturn and Jupiter is their low altitude, with ‘seeing’ through the eyepiece often compromised by the turbulent air above the horizon. Stick with it as moments of clarity will reward your patience. The Moon passes below Jupiter and Saturn on the 1st and 2nd respectively and again on the 28th and 29th.
Mars rises in the ESE several hours after Jupiter and Saturn and exhibits a distinct orange hue. Conspicuous to the eye, the red planet is still gaining in brightness, but has several months before it becomes the most dominant object in the evening sky. Telescopically, Mars remains disappointingly small to look at, but is slowly improving each week. Even when it reaches opposition in October its disk will appear only half the size of Jupiter’s which is ten times further away. You will however be viewing the surface, which apart from our Moon is the only surface directly visible in any detail. The waning moon passes below Mars on the 8th.
Venus is by far the most prominent object in the early morning sky. Look for it low in the ENE from 3:30 am onwards. On the 15th a waning crescent moon lies above Venus.
Mercury also resides in the dawn sky, but only for the first week of August before departing once again. Look for it very low above the NE horizon between 4:15 and 4:30 am. Use binoculars to pick it out of the twilight if you cannot spot it with the naked eye.
Meteors - The Perseids
The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches a peak during the afternoon of the 12th this year, and with a waning gibbous moon rising in the early morning hours of the 13th, conditions for spotting shooting stars will therefore be somewhat compromised, with many fainter Perseids drowned out.
The Perseids are one of the more reliable meteor showers, composed of debris deposited over thousands of years by the periodic comet Swift Tuttle. It is various strands of this debris which Earth encounters each August, giving rise to the eagerly anticipated shooting stars.
The coffee granule sized Perseid meteoroids penetrate the upper atmosphere 60 miles above our heads at speeds of 43 miles/second, before becoming ionised and releasing a packet of light. It is this brief luminous flash we call a meteor. The radiant of the shower: the location in the sky from which the meteors appear to emanate, lies within the constellation of Perseus, which in August is rising in the north east during the evening.
Under ideal conditions the zenith hourly rate (ZHR) for the Perseids is typically 80-100, but as mentioned earlier conditions will not be ideal, restricting observed rates to less than a quarter of this. Perhaps the best time to spot some Persieds will be the hour before midnight on the 12th and half hour after it. Good spotting and clear skies.
Mark Dawson,
Whitby and District Astronomical Society
WDAS usually meets in room H1, Caedmon College, Normanby campus (Whitby College). New members most welcome.
www.whitby-astronomers.com
email: spanton33@talktalk.net
.
Discovered in late March by the Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, aka NEOWISE, launched by NASA in 2009, Comet F3 NEOWISE has been delighting observers across the northern hemisphere throughout July. After the demise of the ‘overhyped’ comets SWAN and ATLAS, both of which fragmented last month, Comet NEOWISE has bucked this trend, brightening far more than predictions and is probably the brightest comet visible from our shores since Hale-Bopp in 1997.
After rounding the Sun in early July, the comet was closest to the Earth on 23 July, around 64 million miles distant and is now heading outwards into the depths of the solar system. Hopefully it will still be visible in early August, so if you have not already spotted it, you can locate it approximately a hand’s span at arm’s length above the WNW horizon, lower left of the ‘Plough’ asterism. It actually resides in the faint constellation of Coma Berenices.
As of writing (mid-July) NEOWISE is easily visible to the naked eye and does actually look like a comet, complete with visible tail. The view with a pair of binoculars is even more stunning. As we head into August the comet will be best placed in the late evening sky so observe from 11 pm. The comet will not return until 8786 ad so do make the most of any opportunity to view it.
Planetary Skylights
Having reached opposition last month, Jupiter and Saturn reign supreme in the evening sky. Jupiter is the far more conspicuous, a brilliant beacon low to the south, with Saturn trailing in its wake, fractionally higher and several degrees behind. Jupiter is a rewarding object to scrutinise with a telescope, or even binoculars. Look for the banding across the disk and the attendant Galilean moons, which offer a different configuration each night. Although fainter than Jupiter, Saturn is still quite prominent to the naked eye. Of course, to view the famous ring system a telescope is required, but as they are currently well orientated, very modest instruments will suffice. You may also note Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, which resembles a bright, but obvious speck nearby Saturn.
The only downside currently with viewing Saturn and Jupiter is their low altitude, with ‘seeing’ through the eyepiece often compromised by the turbulent air above the horizon. Stick with it as moments of clarity will reward your patience. The Moon passes below Jupiter and Saturn on the 1st and 2nd respectively and again on the 28th and 29th.
Mars rises in the ESE several hours after Jupiter and Saturn and exhibits a distinct orange hue. Conspicuous to the eye, the red planet is still gaining in brightness, but has several months before it becomes the most dominant object in the evening sky. Telescopically, Mars remains disappointingly small to look at, but is slowly improving each week. Even when it reaches opposition in October its disk will appear only half the size of Jupiter’s which is ten times further away. You will however be viewing the surface, which apart from our Moon is the only surface directly visible in any detail. The waning moon passes below Mars on the 8th.
Venus is by far the most prominent object in the early morning sky. Look for it low in the ENE from 3:30 am onwards. On the 15th a waning crescent moon lies above Venus.
Mercury also resides in the dawn sky, but only for the first week of August before departing once again. Look for it very low above the NE horizon between 4:15 and 4:30 am. Use binoculars to pick it out of the twilight if you cannot spot it with the naked eye.
Meteors - The Perseids
The annual Perseid meteor shower reaches a peak during the afternoon of the 12th this year, and with a waning gibbous moon rising in the early morning hours of the 13th, conditions for spotting shooting stars will therefore be somewhat compromised, with many fainter Perseids drowned out.
The Perseids are one of the more reliable meteor showers, composed of debris deposited over thousands of years by the periodic comet Swift Tuttle. It is various strands of this debris which Earth encounters each August, giving rise to the eagerly anticipated shooting stars.
The coffee granule sized Perseid meteoroids penetrate the upper atmosphere 60 miles above our heads at speeds of 43 miles/second, before becoming ionised and releasing a packet of light. It is this brief luminous flash we call a meteor. The radiant of the shower: the location in the sky from which the meteors appear to emanate, lies within the constellation of Perseus, which in August is rising in the north east during the evening.
Under ideal conditions the zenith hourly rate (ZHR) for the Perseids is typically 80-100, but as mentioned earlier conditions will not be ideal, restricting observed rates to less than a quarter of this. Perhaps the best time to spot some Persieds will be the hour before midnight on the 12th and half hour after it. Good spotting and clear skies.
Mark Dawson,
Whitby and District Astronomical Society
WDAS usually meets in room H1, Caedmon College, Normanby campus (Whitby College). New members most welcome.
www.whitby-astronomers.com
email: spanton33@talktalk.net
.
