2018 Week 33: (August 12-August 18)

This upcoming week is usually particularly interesting to the casual observer.  A lot of people get outside under the dome of darkness to witness the Perseid Meteor Shower.  The chart below highlights this upcoming week in the sky.

Date	Event
August 12	Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks
August 14	Venus 6°S of Moon
August 17	Jupiter 5°S of Moon
August 18	Mercury Stationary
August 18	First Quarter

The Moon is brand new and will be a waning crescent until the weekend.  This would be a good time to catch some deep sky objects in the later evening sky after the Moon has set.  Also, this bodes very well for the Perseid Meteor Shower as we will not have as much natural light pollution.  After the Sun sets Sunday evening turn your eyes toward the northeastern sky.

Perseid Radiant Map

The basic idea is to find the well known 'W' asterism in the constellation Cassiopeia in the northeast.  Look just below this region toward the constellation Perseus.  You should be able to find an assortment of meteors falling to Earth that seem to radiate from this area.  The estimate of hourly rates is provided below.  As you can see, the further you get away from the city the more meteors you will expect to see.

City	Suburbs	Rural	Optimal
10	20	50	100

This year we may have to contend with smoke in the air.  This will certainly hinder our ability to catch sight of a Perseid Meteor.  If the smoke is think enough, expect to see zero.  A few evenings last week I had trouble finding the brightest planets in the sky.

The weather for this week is above average temperatures but not like that of the preceding week.  We can only hope the smoke clears from our sky to allow us a great view of the wonders above.  The global dust storm on Mars has cleared up only for us to become encompassed by a shroud of forest fire smoke.

The smoke in the sky has been quite adept at scattering light from bright objects such as the Moon and the Sun.  It is important to note that the smoke does not block all the harmful radiation from the Sun.  It is dangerous to look at the Sun without proper protection.  Many people damage their eyes at this time because it does not immediately feel uncomfortable to look at our solar friend.  If you want to avoid permanent eye damage, DON'T LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN.

However, take a look at the Moon when it sets.  It will likely be quite red as the smoke scatters more of the blue spectrum leaving the red to transmit through to our eyes.

The Parker Space Probe was delayed by a day and will be launching early in the morning on August 12, 2018 at 1:31am.  It will be lifted into space by a Delta IV Heavy which is quite an impressive rocket.  Check this launch out at the following link.

https://spaceflightnow.com/

It is worth watching as this will be a history setting mission that will be talked about for decades to come.

Enjoy the Perseids if the smoke clear out and continue to look up and be amazed each night!