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Avid sky watchers look forward to the month of August. That’s because one of the best meteor showers of the year is on the calendar for the middle part of the month. This year, there will be another special show as the planets align on the evening of August 12.

 

The Perseid meteor shower has been going on for over a week already, but reaches its peak the night of Thursday, August 12. Meteors will be visible in the evening, but the best time to watch is between midnight and dawn when the constellation Perseus is high in the northeastern sky. The meteors will appear to originate from that point and then shoot across the sky in different directions. The best thing to do is find a nice dark spot, preferably away from city lights. Just face northeast, and look up…it’s that easy! You might even grab a sleeping bag or a blanket so you can lay on the ground and watch more comfortably (and probably see more meteors). Dozens of meteors per hour are expected, higher in dark, rural areas, and lower in the light-polluted metro areas. The shower will continue for another week or so with activity declining each night.

 

The other sky show is the planetary alignment. It is already happening, and will just be an extra treat along with the Perseids. Looking west-southwest about an hour after sunset, you’ll be able to see Mars, Saturn and Venus (the brightest) in a planetary triangle. By the peak of the Perseids on the 12^th the 3 planets will be very close together, just above the beautiful crescent moon. Here are sky maps from NASA for August 10, August 11, August 12, and August 13.

 

Mother nature doesn't always cooperate with our sky watching opportunities, but hopefully we will get in at least a few peeks of the celestial sky show over the next week.

 

Oh, and by the way, Mars will NOT be as big as the moon on August 27.  That is an email that has been circulating for the past 7 years. It wasn't true then and it isn't true now.   If you get it, just delete it!  Here is a link to my blog about it from last year which explains how it all got started:  CINDI:  The Mars Hoax Returns