MARSHALL'S NIGHT SKY THIS WEEK - August 12th to August 18th
We are proud to present you with another edition of Marshall's night sky events this week! Welcome, we hope you find something of interest! Let us know in the replies if you did, we would love to hear about it! We have also started a look back at events this week in history, hope you enjoy the new segment.
Let's get started by examining the highlights of the night sky this week, August 12th to August 18th. As usual we will list the highlights and discuss a few. We hope you find this info useful and if you have anything you wish to discuss or add, please hit the "Reply" button below and let us know!
Information is freely gathered from various websites. We would encourage you to download and print your finder charts more specific to your location, the charts/graphics included are for basic guidance only. Many websites like Skymaps.com will allow you to download and print out a free planisphere for each month, the link is here: https://www.skymaps.com/.
EVENTS
12th August
Perseids Meteor peak
Moon at First Quarter
Lunar X and V Clair-Obscur event for August. (01:30 UT)
13th August
14th August
Mars is 0.3* north of Jupiter
15th August
16th August
17th August
18th August
PLANETS
Mercury
In the evening sky all month long, approaching Earth but fading in brightness. It starts the month off at mag. -0.6 and loses a full magnitude by months end.
The best evening apparition in 2024 for southern hemisphere observers.
Venus
Begins to re-emerge into the evening sky all month long, doubling its elongation from the Sun at 7.5* on the 1st to 15* on the 31st.
Mars
Continues its climb on the ecliptic and brighten, passing the border from Aries into Taurus on the 11th. Compare its red hue to nearby Aldebaran and Betelgeuse.
Jupiter
Continues its rise on the Eastern horizon at Sunrise this month and becoming ever more prominent in the morning twilight.
Saturn
Is visible and starting to get higher in the East pre dawn sky.
Uranus
Continues to rise in the morning sky in the constellation of Taurus.
Neptune
Is visible in the overnight and morning hours in the constellation of Pisces.
COMETS
Three 10 mag and brighter comets this week in Coma Berenices, Leo and Vela. All three are horizon targets. Do not try to observe till after the Sun is below the horizon. C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is brightening as it approaches Perihelion but at risk of breaking up. As described here:
13P/Olbers
Magnitude: 7.3 Fading
Coma Diameter: 3.5' Tail Length: 7.0'
J2000: 11h 59m 26s +30° 13’ 48” in Coma Berenices
https://theskylive.com/13p-info (enter your location)
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)
Magnitude: 8.7 Brightening
Coma Diameter: 2.6' Tail Length: 20.0'
J2000: 10h 53m 32s -00° 31’ 38” in Leo
https://theskylive.com/c2023a3-info (enter your location)
12P/Pons-Brooks
Magnitude: 9.8 Fading
Coma Diameter: 5.2' Tail Length: n/a
J2000: 11h 02m 10s -46° 22’ 15” in Vela
https://theskylive.com/12p-info (enter your location)
STARS
Zeta Herculis - An unequal binary pair with a highly eccentric 35 year orbit. Currently at maximum separation. Zeta Herculis is the star at the bottom right of the Hercules keystone asterism. And for a bonus point, can you spot the Minor Planet Pallas passing by to the south of Zeta Herculis? It will be at opposition on the 19th June.
Sirius - Have you ever tried for Sirius B? Sirius A and B are now at their widest apparent separation in their 50-year orbit, 11 arcseconds apart, and will remain so for the next couple years before they start closing up again. If you can block it out of your FOV you might have a shot at open cluster Gaia 1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_1)
T Coronae Borealis - A star system, located 3,000 light-years away from Earth, is predicted to become visible to the unaided eye soon. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime viewing opportunity as the nova outburst only occurs about every 80 years. T Coronae Borealis, or T CrB, last exploded in 1946 and astronomers believe it will do so again between February and September 2024. Once in a lifetime event! Plan ahead just in case! Full article here. The TSS TCrB Citizen Science Thread is here.
SPACE LAUNCHES
August 11/12 Falcon 9 • ASBM
Launch time: 7:02 p.m. PDT (10:02 p.m. EDT, 0202 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, consisting of two satellites owned by Space Norway. The Falcon 9 will launch the two Northrop Grumman-built satellites into a highly elliptical orbit that lingers over the Arctic region. The satellites carry communications payloads for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, the U.S. Space Force, and Inmarsat. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, B1061, will land on the droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’
August 15 Falcon 9 • Transporter-11
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch dozens of satellites to a sun-synchronous orbit on the company’s 11th such rideshare mission. Among the payloads are the European Space Agency’s Arctic Weather Satellite, UK-based Surrey Satellites’ Tyche satellite for the UK Space Command, Japan-based iQPS’ QPS-SAR No. 8 satellite and U.S.-based Planet Labs’ Tanager-1 satellite. Delayed from July 10.
August Falcon 9 • WorldView Legion 3 & 4
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the second pair of WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. Maxar plans to deploy six commercial WorldView Legion high-resolution remote sensing satellites into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-inclination orbits on three SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
We highly recommend using "Spot the Station" from NASA to find out when the International Space station will be passing over your location. This is a fun object to see flying high above, try using binoculars here, lots of fun!
For the HAM radio enthusiasts among you, please keep a eye on the ARISS website for upcoming contacts or SSTV broadcasts for when the International Space Station is within range. There are several HAMS on board the ISS, they should have a busy radio schedule coming up. AMSAT are another great resource in this regard.
This video is from the ISS live feed on YouTube. Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
12th August
147 years ago, in 1877, Asaph Hall, Sr., an American astronomer, discovers the first of Mars' moons, Deimos.
64 years ago, in 1960, Echo 1A, a metalized balloon passive-communications satellite, is launched.
62 years ago, in 1962, Vostok 4 is launched into orbit to meet up with Vostok 3.
55 years ago, in 1969, ATS-5 is launched, but starts to spin in the wrong direction after orbit insertion, thus ending the mission.
47 years ago, in 1977, the shuttle Enterprise makes its first Approach and Landing Test (ALT-12) after being releasd from the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
47 years ago, in 1977, HEAO-1 (High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1) is launched, carrying four X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy instruments.
46 years ago, in 1978, International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) is launched to investigate the solar wind.
19 years ago, in 2005, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is launched.
6 years ago, in 2018, the Parker Solar Probe is launched on its seven year mission to study the Sun.
13th August
126 years ago, in 1898, 433 Eros, the first discovered and second-largest near-Earth asteroid, is discovered by the German astronomer Carl Gustav Witt at the Berlin Urania Observatory.
94 years ago, in 1930, a meteor explodes in an air burst over the Curuca River area in Brazil.
52 years ago, in 1972, Meteoroid Technology Satellite (MTS, Explorer 46) is successfully launched to measure meteoroid penetration rates and information on meteoroid velocity.
12 years ago, in 2012, Voyager 2 becomes NASA's longest operating mission, breaking the previous record of 12,758 days held by Pioneer 6.
14th August
227 years ago, in 1797, Caroline Herschel and Eugene Bouvard independently discover Comet C/1797 P1 (Bouvard-Herschel).
58 years ago, in 1966, NASA's Lunar Orbiter 1 becomes the first American craft to orbit the Moon.
55 years ago, in 1969, Zond 7 reenters the Earth's atmosphere and makes a soft landing 50 km south of Kustanai, Kazakhstan.
48 years ago, in 1976, Luna 24 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.
15th August
462 years ago, in 1962, after successful communication with each other and almost 4 days in orbit, Vostok 3 and 4 return home.
47 years ago, in 1977, at Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope, astronomers detect the famous "Wow!" signal.
31 years ago, in 1993, the ESA's Hipparcos satellite is deactivated after a successful mission of just over four years.
16th August
63 years ago, in 1961, Explorer 12 is launched to measure the Solar Wind, Cosmic Rays, and interplanetary magnetic fields.
61 years ago, in 1963, NASA's M2-F1 wingless aircraft prototype makes its first glide flight after being towed 12,000 feet into the air by a C-47 Skytrain.
9 years ago, in 2015, Cassini makes its last flyby of Saturn's moon Dione.
17th August
91 years ago, in 1933, under the leadership of Sergey Korolev, the Group for the Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD) launches the first Soviet liquid-fueled rocket.
66 years ago, in 1958, Able 1 (Pioneer 0) is the world's first craft intended for launch out of Earth's orbit, but explodes 77 seconds after lift-off.
58 years ago, in 1966, Pioneer 7 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
54 years ago, in 1970, Venera 7 is launched for Venus.
44 years ago, in 1980, Viking Orbiter 1 ends its mission at Mars.
28 years ago, in 1996, aboard the Soyuz TM-24 mission to Mir, Claudie André-Deshays becomes the first French woman in space.
10 years ago, in 2014, Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.
7 years ago, in 2017, the first-ever observation of gravitational waves from two colliding neutron stars is observed.
18th August
156 years ago, in 1868, French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers an unknown element, now known as helium, in the spectrum of the sun during a total eclipse.
147 years ago, in 1877, Asaph Hall, Sr., an American astronomer, discovers the second of Mars' moons, Phobos.
58 years ago, in 1966, Lunar Orbiter 1 begins taking photos of the Moon.
48 years ago, in 1976, Luna 24 (USSR) lands on the Moon, and successfully collects a soil sample.
39 years ago, in 1985, Suisei (MS-T5), Japan's second deep space probe, is launched from the Uchinoura Space Center.
25 years ago, in 1999, Cassini makes a pass by Earth for a gravity assist to Saturn.
And that is it for the upcoming week. We hope you can all get out and do some observing, sketching and imaging.
Clear skies!
The TSS Team.
