This week in the sky might be good for those seeking out deep sky objects. The Moon is slowly moving east in the sky towards its last quarter phase on the 23rd. This will allow the early part of the evening to be free for darker skies to find some great objects!
| Event |
|---|
| August 21 | Uranus 5°N of Moon |
| August 23 | Last Quarter |
Uranus, which now resides in the constellation Aries, will be in conjunction with a waning gibbous Moon on the 21st of August. This is best seen early in the morning several hours before the Sun rises.
 |
| Uranus |
There are three rocket launches scheduled for this week. The Electron rocket launch scheduled last week from New Zealand has been moved to this Monday. The same day, a Long March 3B rocket will takeoff from Xichang, China with another communications satellite. The last of the launches will be a Soyuz rocket taking a Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft to the International Space Station. This is a demonstration for approval of this configuration for future manned missions.
| Date | Event |
|---|
| August 19 | Electron - "Look Ma, No Hands" (06:12) |
| August 19 | Long March 3B - Chinasat 18 |
| August 21 | Soyuz - ISS 60S (21:38) |
This week will offer many public astronomy events that are worth the time to check out. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will be at two local public library branches presenting their Astronomical Sights of Summer program. Come to Saddletowne or Seton to attend one of these free offerings. The week ends with a three-night Milky Way Nights at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory. Come out late at night to enjoy the night sky and catch a glimpse of the Milky Way with your own eyes. This is a wonderful opportunity as most of us live under the terrible light pollution of Calgary and are unable to see more than a handful of bright stars.
| Date | Event |
|---|
| August 18 | Astronomical Sights of Summer - Saddletowne Library (15:30-16:30) |
| August 21 | Astronomical Sights of Summer - Seton Library (18:00-19:00) |
| August 22 | Milky Way Nights - RAO (22:00-02:00) |
| August 23 | Milky Way Nights - RAO (22:00-02:00) |
| August 24 | Milky Way Nights - RAO (22:00-02:00) |
We hope to see you out at one of these events so we can share our love of the night sky with you. The weather looks like it will be perfect for observing and will not be too cold or cloudy.
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