Planet Mercury will reach greatest elongation of 27 degrees on 7th of August. After reaching greatest elongation, the angular separation between the planet Mercury and the Sun starts decreasing.
Mercury can be seen low in the western horizon as a bright 0.4 magnitude star, just after sunset.
If observed daily, it can be noticed that, just after the sunset the angle between the horizon and the planet Mercury will start decreasing as days go by.
Planet Mercury will remain in the constellation of Leo all this month, and will be lost in the glare of the Sun towards the last week of August.
Mercury setting times:
| Date | Set Time |
| 7th Aug | 8:16pm IST |
| 14th Aug | 8:00pm IST |
| 21st Aug | 7:36pm IST |
| 28th Aug | 6:58pm IST |
Venus:
Planet Venus is the brightest “star” in the evening western sky now, shining close to -4.5 magnitude. Planet Venus is well placed for observation all this month. Venus will reach greatest elongation on August 20th with an angular separation of 46 degrees from the Sun.
On 8th August, Venus and Saturn can be seen close to each other with an angular separation of just 2.6 degrees. Planet Saturn will be north of Venus.
The crescent Moon will be 4 degrees south of Venus on August 13th. Moon, Venus and Saturn will almost be in a straight line, with red planet Mars placed east of Venus on the evening.
On 20th August, Venus and the red planet Mars will be close each other with a separation of 2 degrees.
Venus setting times:
| Date | Set Time |
| 7th Aug | 9:18pm IST |
| 14th Aug | 9:10pm IST |
| 21st Aug | 9:04pm IST |
| 28th Aug | 8:57pm IST |
Mars:
The red planet Mars will be in the constellation of Virgo all this month. Mars can be spotted easily by taking Venus as reference. Mars will be shining at 1.5 magnitude SE of Venus in the beginning of the month. Middle of month Mars will be in east of Venus and towards the end of the month, Mars will be north of Venus.
| Date | Set Time |
| 7th Aug | 9:40pm IST |
| 14th Aug | 9:25pm IST |
| 21st Aug | 9:12pm IST |
| 28th Aug | 9:00pm IST |
Jupiter:
Jupiter is well placed for observations, in the constellation of Pisces rises around 9:15 in the beginning of the month. The Giant planet is easy to find, shining at -2.5 is the brightest star in the eastern sky at around 9:30pm.
| Date | Rise Time |
| 7th Aug | 9:20pm IST |
| 14th Aug | 8:50pm IST |
| 21st Aug | 8:28pm IST |
| 28th Aug | 8:00pm IST |
Saturn:
Saturn spends the month in the constellation of Virgo this month. In the evening western sky locate bright Venus, just 4 degrees east of Venus, the planet Saturn can be found easily. Towards middle of the month, Saturn can be found north of bright Venus. Saturn can be found NW of Venus and Mars towards the end of August.
| Date | Set Time |
| 7th Aug | 9:30pm IST |
| 14th Aug | 9:04pm IST |
| 21st Aug | 8:40pm IST |
| 28th Aug | 8:15pm IST |
Uranus:
Uranus can be found 3 degrees west of Jupiter. A good pair of binoculars will be needed to see the planet Uranus. A good pair of 7X50 or 10X50 binoculars will show Jupiter and Uranus in the same field. Uranus is 5.8magnitude.
| Date | Rise Time |
| 7th Aug | 9:15pm IST |
| 14th Aug | 8:48pm IST |
| 21st Aug | 8:19pm IST |
| 28th Aug | 7:51pm IST |
Neptune:
Neptune will be in the constellation of Capricornus in the month of August. Planet Neptune can be found at 4 degrees NE of delta Capricorni. Neptune is at magnitude of 7.8. On 20th of August, Neptune will be at opposition.
| Date | Rise Time |
| 7th Aug | 7:25pm IST |
| 14th Aug | 6:57pm IST |
| 21st Aug | 6:30pm IST |
| 28th Aug | 6:02pm IST |
Pluto:
Pluto is in the rich star field of constellation Sagittarius at 14th Magnitude.
Moon Phases for the month:
New moon: 10 Aug 2010
First quarter: 16 Aug 2010
Full moon: 24 Aug 2010
Last quarter: 1 Sep 2010
Sun:
Sun will be in the constellation of Cancer during the first week of August and moves to Leo and will stay in the constellation of Leo all this month.
Meteor Shower:
This month its time for Perseids meteor shower. The peak activity will on the nights of 12th and/or 13th night with 50 to 80 meteors per hour. The shower is called Perseids as the meteors originate from the constellation of Perseus and the constellation rises around 12 in the night. As we are in the middle of the monsoon season, its difficult to get clear skies in this month, hope for the best.
Comet Perihelion (Closest to Sun)
Comet Encke will reach perihelion on 6th of August.
Hi Ravi,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for the info.