Flying Into The Final Frontier

Venus has now departed from our evening sky, but two other planets remain visible low in the dusk during August. During the first half of the month, Mercury can be seen close to the horizon, while Mars is slightly higher. The Red Planet disappears into twilight by month’s end, not to reappear in our morning sky until about six months from now.

Our solar system’s two largest worlds dominate the skies this month. Saturn, already in the southeast by the end of dusk, is at opposition directly opposite the sun in the sky August 26 and remains visible throughout the night. Jupiter follows along about three hours later, rising an hour or two before midnight and prominently placed in the eastern sky throughout the morning.

After passing between Earth and the sun mid-month, Venus rapidly shoots into the morning sky in late August, already rising before the end of dawn by month’s end. Our sister planet dominates the morning sky throughout the rest of 2023.

The annual Perseid meteor shower should reach its peak on the morning of Sunday, August 13. The moon will be just a few days before its new phase and thus will not interfere, although monsoon season may be another matter. If the weather cooperates, sky-watchers in dark rural sites may see as many as 60 or more meteors per hour.

Virgin Galactic successfully conducted its first commercial flight to space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences June 29. The flight had a passenger crew of three Italian researchers. Full commercial operations are expected to begin in August, with flights to suborbital space expected to take place monthly.