Astronomical Almanac 2008

The Sun and Earth
July and August

July 1: Sun rises at 5:11 AM and sets at 8:22 PM

July 4   APHELION : Earth farthest from Sun for this year
152,000,000 kilometers or 94,200,000 miles or 8 minutes 27 seconds at the speed of light

Sun Jul 20 Sun appears to move into Cancer from Gemini due to Earth orbiting Sun

Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower late night into early morning July 26-27
(Waning Crescent Moon – very good year to see meteors!)

Sun Aug 10 Sun appears to move into Leo from Cancer due to Earth orbiting Sun

PERSEID Meteor Shower early morning August 12
(Waxing Gibbous Moon - good year to see meteors!)

September 1:   Sun rises at 6:09 AM and sets at 7:15 PM

The Planets
Stars twinkle, planets do not (or, at least, it’s not as noticeable)

MERCURY best seen MORNING early Jul low in EAST before SUNRISE; leaves morning moving to other side of Sun Jul 29; moves into EVENING during Aug; groups with VENUS & SATURN low on the West horizon after sunset on Aug 14 and MARS & VENUS in early Sep

VENUS slowly moves into evening sky – joins SATURN & MERCURY for a close grouping on Aug 14 – sets 1 hour after sunset, in a group with MARS & MERCURY, by Sep 1, low in WEST

MARS gets lower in EVENING west sky, passes the star Regulus & SATURN, in Leo, Jul 1-14 and nears VENUS & MERCURY by Sep 1

JUPITER, brightest EVENING planet, OPPOSITE the Sun on Jul 9 – in sky all night, rising from SE at sunset – low in SOUTH by Sep 1
Jupiter closest to Earth on Jul 9
400 million miles, 645 million km or 35 minutes 42 seconds at the Speed of Light

SATURN, still near the star Regulus in Leo, nears the west horizon in EVENING, near MARS during early Jul, and setting VERY close to sunset by Sep 1

Neptune OPPOSITE the Sun (up all night and closest to Earth) on Aug 15
4.4 billion kilometers, 2.7 billion miles or 4 hours at the Speed of Light

What is the bright thing (planet or star) near the (phase) Moon?
(evening - 1.5 hours after sunset; morning - 1.5 hours before sunrise)

July 2daytime NEW Moon – NO nighttime Moon

Jul 5-6 evenings MARS, SATURN & Regulus above and then below Waxing Crescent Moon

Jul 10 evening star Spica, in Virgo, to right of FIRST QUARTER Moon

Jul 13-14 evenings star Antares, in Scorpius, above Waxing Gibbous Moon

Jul 16-17 evenings JUPITER to right and then to left of Waxing Gibbous Moon

Jul 18all night FULL Moon - Buck, Hay, Thunder or Wort

Jul 25 morningLAST QUARTER Moon

Jul 27morning Pleiades star cluster below Waning Crescent Moon

 

August 1 daytime NEW Moon – Total Solar Eclipse visible in NE North America, across the Arctic Circle into Siberia and to China

Aug 2 evening VENUS to right and SATURN & MARS to left of VERY thin Waxing Crescent Moon
Aug 3 evening SATURN to right and MARS above VERY thin Waxing Crescent Moon

Aug 6 eveningSpica, in Virgo, above Waxing Crescent Moon

Aug 8 evening FIRST QUARTER Moon

Aug 10 eveningAntares, in Scorpius, to right of Waxing Gibbous Moon

Aug 12-13 eveningJUPITER to left and then to right of Waxing Gibbous Moon

Aug 16 all night FULL (Barley, Grain, Green Corn or Sturgeon) Moon
Partial Lunar Eclipse visible in Africa and Asia

Aug 23morningLAST QUARTER Moon

 Map of the night sky...