This chart depicts the evening sky for the times indicated. The edge
represents the horizon; the chart's center is the point overhead. Hold a
printout of the chart out in front of you so the horizon marked with the
direction you're facing is down. Then match the stars on the map with the
real stars in the sky.
This chart show the sky as seen from 40 degrees
north latitude. When viewing from a lower latitude, stars in the southern
sky will appear higher above the horizon while those in the northern sky
will be lower. When viewing from a latitude higher than 40 degrees, the
opposite will be true.
Printing or enlarging the chart requires Adobe
Reader
* Lunar phase times are listed for the U.S. Central Time Zone
Wednesday, August 25
One of the first deep-sky objects
of summer that new telescope owners learn to find is the
Ring Nebula, M57, because its location is so well marked in
Lyra. But have you looked in on Lyra's other Messier object,
the globular cluster M56? See the chart with Gary Seronik's
Binocular Highlight article in the August
Sky & Telescope,
page 45.
Although they look close
together, Jupiter is 1,500 times farther from us
than the Moon is when they pass on the 26th and
27th.
The "star" below the Moon late
this evening is Jupiter, as shown at right.
Friday, August 27
Low in the west-southwest in twilight,
Venus forms the bottom of a flat, symmetrical triangle with much
fainter Mars and Spica a little higher. Binoculars help. Jupiter
shines to the right of the Moon once they rise after dark, as
shown here.
Saturday, August 28
The Venus-Spica-Mars triangle low in
the west-southwest in twilight is distorting now, as Spica moves
closer to Venus.
Meteor showers still to come in 2010
October 7, 8, 2010 Draconids
The radiant point of the Draconid meteor shower almost coincides with the
head of the constellation Draco the Dragon, in the northern sky. That’s why
it is best viewed from the northern hemisphere. This shower is a real
oddity, in the respect that its radiant point is highest in the sky as
darkness falls. The shower is definitely a sleeper, producing only a handful
of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the dragon
awakes! On occasion, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth hundreds – if
not thousands – of meteors in a single hour. An outburt is not predicted for
this year, but then, one never knows when an outburt may occur. Since the
new moon will fall on October 7, we’re guaranteed of dark nights for
observing these meteors. Unlike most meteor showers, more Draconid meteors
are likely to fly in the evening than in the morning hours after midnight.
Look northward for the very slow-moving Draconid meteors on the evenings of
October 7 and 8..
October 21, 2010 Orionids
The almost full moon makes 2010 a very unfavorable year for watching the
Orionid meteor shower. Meteor enthusiasts may try their luck anyway. The
Orionids tend to be fast, occasionally leaving persistent trains and
producing bright fireballs. On a dark, moonless night, this shower exhibits
a maximum of about 15 meteors per hour. If you trace these meteors backward,
they seem to originate from the north of Orion’s bright ruddy star
Betelgeuse. The Orionids have a broad and irregular peak that is difficult
to predict. More meteors tend to fly after midnight, and the Orionids are
typically at their best in the wee hours before dawn. The best viewing time
will probably be one to two hours before dawn on October 21. However, the
light of the waxing gibbous moon will wash out all but the brightest Orionid
meteors.
though bright at
magnitude –4.4, is getting low in the west-southwest during twilight. It
sets by dark
Mars
Vastly dimmer at magnitude +1.5, is a
little to Venus's upper right. Look also for similar Spica farther to
Venus's upper left for most of the week
Jupiter
(magnitude –2.8, in Pisces) rises in late
twilight and is well up in the east-southeast before midnight. It's
highest in the south around 2 or 3 a.m. daylight saving time — the
brightest starlike point in the morning sky. Jupiter's Great Red
Spot is near System II longitude 150°. Assuming it stays there, here's a
list to print out of all the Great Red Spot's predicted transit times
for the rest of 2010.
Saturn
has moved far off to Venus's
right or lower right. Bring binoculars for all three of these faint
objects
Neptune
(magnitude 7.8, at the Aquarius-Capricornus border)
is up high by mid- to late evening.
Uranus
(magnitude 5.8, in Pisces) is about 2° west of Jupiter. In a telescope Uranus is
only 3.7 arcseconds wide, compared to Jupiter's unusually wide 48″.
