2019 Week 33: (August 11-August 17)

There is quite a lot happening in the sky this week and some of it observable from your backyard!  Saturn will be in close conjunction with the Moon and, perhaps, the most famous meteor shower peaks this week.

	Event
August 11	Jupiter Stationary
August 12	Uranus Stationary
August 12	Saturn 0.04°N of Moon
August 13	Perseid Meteors Peak
August 14	Venus in Superior Conjunction
August 15	Full Moon

The week Jupiter will finish its retrograde motion and once again start to appear to move eastward relative to the background stars.  Several hours later Uranus will start its retrograde motion until January of next year.  I'm sure astrologers are having fun this week with their 'science'.

Saturn will be in close conjunction with the Moon and, when it sets in Calgary, they will be only a degree and a half away from each other.  For those in Australia, you may actually see the Moon go in front of Saturn in what is known as an 'occultation'.

The big news, although I am not really excited about it, is the Perseid Meteor Shower will peak early in the morning on Tuesday, August 13.  Why am I not excited?  The weather forecast seems to indicate thick clouds and possible rain AND there will a be a large waxing gibbous Moon to contend with.  If the sky is clear it will be difficult to catch these meteors as the bright Moon will pollute the sky with light.  I've never really been much of a Perseid fan.  A great number of mosquitoes, muggy Summer air, overabundance of media exuberance and boring northeastern skies have driven me to the meteor showers of Fall and Winter.

If you are interested, the map below shows where the radiant will be in the northeast 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

The next evening, Venus will be in superior conjunction and will basically be in conjunction with the far side of the Sun.  It will then slowly make its way into the evening skies for a great showing late in the year.

To finish off the week, the annoying, meteor killing Moon will be full on the 15th.

There is one rocket launch scheduled for this week as it will take-off from New Zealand with an assortment of satellites.  It is nicknamed "Look Ma, No Hands".

Date	Event
August 16	Electron - "Look Ma, No Hands" (06:57)

This week has a couple of public events that are worth taking the time to attend.  If you haven't attended one of our "Astronomical Sights of Summer" programs at the Calgary Public Library, you are missing out.  Explore the wonders of the Summer sky and get a hands-on experience with actual telescopes.  Join us at either the Signal Hill or Central Library this week.

Date	Event
August 12	Astronomical Sights of Summer - Signal Hill Library (18:00-19:00)
August 15	Astronomical Sights of Summer - Central Library (11:30-12:30)

The weather looks to improve by the end of the week and will provide ample opportunity to get outside and enjoy the Summer night sky.  Get your heads up from your devices and enjoy the stars and planets above!