Here’s what to look for in the night sky this week.
Aug. 23 The Moon tonight passes breathtakingly close to one of
the brightest stars in the night sky: Antares, in the constellation
Scorpius.
Here’s what to look for in the night sky this week.
Aug. 23 The Moon tonight passes breathtakingly close to one of the brightest stars in the night sky: Antares, in the constellation Scorpius. Look for them beginning at nightfall. Bright orange Antares stands just below the Moon.
Aug. 24 The planet Uranus this week lines up closest to Earth for the year. Through binoculars, it looks like a faint blue-green star in the constellation Aquarius. It rises around sunset and scoots low across the southern sky during the night.
Aug. 25 Scorpius, the scorpion, continues its trek across the evening sky. The constellation resembles its namesake, with a broad head and a long, curved body. The center of the Milky Way galaxy stands just above its tail, at the western edge of neighboring Sagittarius.
Aug. 26 Not long after sunset, look low in the east for a dark blue-gray band sitting atop the horizon, with a thin layer of pink above it, fading into the pale blue-white of the daytime sky. That dark band is the shadow of our own planet Earth extending far into space.
Aug. 27 The planet Uranus is putting in its best appearance of the year. It rises at sunset, in the constellation Aquarius, and remains in the sky all night. It’s also closest to us for the year, so it shines brightest. But you still need binoculars to find it.
Aug. 28 The Moon swims through the celestial “sea” tonight – a group of constellations that all relate to water. As darkness falls, the constellation Capricornus, the sea goat, stretches to the upper right of the Moon. Aquarius, the water bearer, is to the left of the Moon, with Pisces, the fishes, beyond it.
Aug. 29 Two bright planets stand side by side the next few mornings. Tomorrow, they are separated by about the width of a finger held at arm’s length. The brighter planet is Venus, the brilliant “morning star.” Fainter golden Saturn is just to its left.
Source: The University of Texas McDonald Observatory
