Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of August 2024

Commonly known as the Lagoon Nebula, M8 (NGC 6523) was discovered in 1654 by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna, who, like Charles Messier, sought to catalog nebulous objects in the night sky so they would not be mistaken for comets. This star-forming cloud of interstellar gas is located 5200 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius and its apparent magnitude of 6 makes it faintly visible to the naked eye in dark skies. The best time to observe M8 is during August. The massive stars embedded within the nebula give off enormous amounts of ultraviolet radiation, ionizing the gas and causing it to shine. [Video and Content Credits: NASA, the Office of Public Outreach – Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and JPL Caltech: Preston Dyches, Christopher Harris, and Lisa Poje, with subject matter guidance provided by JPL’s Bill Dunford and Lyle Tavernier, and the Night Sky Network’s Kat Troche] [Image Credit:  Richard Fletcher, Astromart Gallery Contributor - https://www.astromart.com/gallery/photo/17495 RRGB Image taken with Takahashi FC-125 at f/6 with ST-10XE CCD camera from Mt. Pinos, California]

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Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky -- Month of August 2024

Welcome to the night sky report for August 2024 -- Your guide to the constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and celestial events that are observable during the month. Provided you have clear skies, viewing conditions for the Perseid meteors will be favorable this year. In mid-August there will be a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Mars. Also, in August, a number of star-studded figures soar overhead. Look for the constellation Lyra, shaped as a small parallelogram, which points to Epsilon Lyrae and the Ring Nebula (M57, NGC 6720). You can also spot three bright summer stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair, which form the Summer Triangle. Keep observing around the group of stars commonly known as the Teapot and you’ll be looking toward the center of the Milky Way. In that direction, you can see the Lagoon Nebula (M8, NGC 6523), August is also a great month to learn an easy-to-spot constellation – Cygnus the swan. The night sky is truly a celestial showcase, so get outside and explore its wonders from your own backyard.

 

 

During the month of August, the Red Planet, Mars, speeds past our Solar System's largest planet, Jupiter, in the morning sky. They have an extremely close pair-up, called a conjunction, on August 14th, when they'll appear just a third of a degree apart, which is less than the width of the full Moon.

Mars quickly pulls away from Jupiter over the following mornings, but on the 27th, the crescent moon joins the two planets to form a captivating trio in the morning sky.

Saturn flies solo most of the month on the opposite side of the sky, though the Moon chases close behind the Ringed Planet on August 20th. The pair rise shortly after dark, and trek toward the west together until dawn.

The warm summer nights of August in the Northern Hemisphere make the Perseid meteor shower an annual favorite. This year's peak night for Perseids comes on the night of August 11^th and into morning twilight on the 12th. Provided you have clear skies, viewing conditions will be favorable this year, as the Moon sets by around 11:30 PM local time.

Meteor activity picks up from then until dawn. From darker viewing locations, meteor counts of 50 to 75 per hour are pretty normal at the peak.

The Perseids appear to originate from a place in the sky that rises in the northeast, so lie back and face roughly in that direction, but try to take in as much of the sky as you can in your view, as meteors can appear all over.

 

 

The warm August nights offer fine opportunities for stargazing, as a number of star-studded figures soar overhead. In the southeast lies Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky. The Greeks made Vega the anchor of the small constellation Lyra, the lyre of Orpheus. Lyra’s main pattern is a small parallelogram that marks the strings of the instrument.

Alongside Lyra sits Epsilon Lyrae, also known as a Double Double, a point of light consisting of two orbiting pairs of white stars.

Between the bottom two stars of the parallelogram is the Ring Nebula. NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes reveal stunning details of this planetary nebula, a glowing shell of gas expelled by a dying star. The remnant core of the star -- now a small, hot white dwarf -- sits in the center of the shell, providing radiant energy that makes the gas glow. Our own sun may end its life this way in about 6 billion years.

To the east of Lyra we find a second bright star: Deneb, a distant blue-white supergiant. Deneb marks the tail of Cygnus the swan. Cygnus is flying high in the eastern sky after dark in August. Cygnus has an overall shape like a T or cross, and contains a star pattern sometimes called "the Northern Cross." 

Cygnus is anchored by its brightest star, Deneb, which represents the swan's tail. Deneb is the northernmost of the three stars in the Summer Triangle, and it's visible even in bright city skies. On the other end of Cygnus from Deneb is double star Albireo, which is a stargazing favorite, as it shows beautiful blue and gold colors through even the most modest telescope.

Cygnus lies right along the plane of the Milky Way, so it's dense with glittering stars and dark dust clouds, with lots of interest for telescope observers and astrophotographers to enjoy, including the North America Nebula, the Veil Nebula, and the Blinking Planetary Nebula. It also includes the open star clusters M29 and M39, which are visible with binoculars.

However you're observing the sky where you live, August is a great time to discover the constellation Cygnus, the graceful swan soaring across the dusty lanes of the Milky Way.

Just south of the head of Cygnus lies a small pattern called Vulpecula, the fox. Vulpecula hosts the Dumbbell Nebula, another planetary nebula. The Spitzer Space Telescope’s infrared view shows the expanding cloud of gas heated by the central remnant star—now a white dwarf. Astronomers think that the dumbbell shape of this nebula could be caused by the presence of a second star at the center. Eventually the expelled gas of the nebula will dissipate into surrounding space, leaving only the white dwarf and its possible companion behind.

To the south of Lyra and Cygnus lies another bright star of summer: Altair. Altair marks the neck of Aquila the eagle. Just off the end of Aquila’s outstretched tail lies an open star cluster. Known as the Wild Duck Cluster, early observers thought it resembled a flock of ducks flying in a roughly V-shaped formation.

Taken together, the three bright summer stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair form the Summer Triangle. Use the Summer Triangle as a guide to the stars and nebulas that glide through the late summer night.

All the stars in the sky share a common origin in giant clouds of gas and dust called nebulas. And one such stellar nursery, the Lagoon Nebula, is well placed to observe in the August sky.

The Lagoon Nebula will feel familiar to you if you've ever observed the Orion Nebula – with the latter being just a bit brighter. Being about three times wider than the full moon, it's still relatively easy to find, even under suburban skies, with binoculars or a small telescope.

The Lagoon Nebula is located in the constellation Sagittarius, which regular skywatchers will know is synonymous with the faintly glowing band of the Milky Way core. You'll find it here, just above the top of the star pattern known as the Teapot.

The nebula is located about 4000 light years away. Its oblong structure is about 100 light years long by about 50 light years wide. It's a cauldron of intense star forming activity, with many young stars blazing brightly, causing the surrounding gas to glow. That glow is faint and colorless when peering at the Lagoon Nebula through binoculars, but long-exposure photos reveal its colorful nature. The bright stars are also sculpting the nebula, creating voids and turbulent knots and streamers of gas. The nebula gets its name from one of these dense, dark clouds that stretches across its middle, looking something like a watery lagoon.

The Lagoon Nebula appears high overhead in August for those in the Southern Hemisphere, and quite low for those at higher northern latitudes, but it's visible throughout the lower 49 United States. If you can locate the stars in the Teapot, you should be able to observe the nebula too. To find it, follow a line toward the west, twice the distance from the top of the Teapot's handle to the top of its lid.

Nebulas can be challenging to observe, even with a telescope. But with its large size and relative brightness, the Lagoon Nebula offers a great opportunity to see one of these star forges for yourself in August.

The night sky is always a celestial showcase. Explore its wonders from your own backyard.

The following Deep Sky Objects are found in constellations that peak during the month. Some can be viewed with a small telescope, but the majority will require a moderate to large telescope. The following is adapted from my personal viewing list: "The Guy Pirro 777 Best and Brightest Deep Sky Objects."

 

Constellation: Aquila

NGC 6709                    Open Cluster               P1

NGC 6724                    Open Cluster               P205

NGC 6735                    Open Cluster               P206

NGC 6738                    Open Cluster               P18

NGC 6741                    Planetary Nebula        P207 Phantom Streak Nebula

NGC 6755                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H19-7

NGC 6756                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H62-7

NGC 6760                    Globular Cluster          P19

NGC 6781                    Planetary Nebula        Herschel 400 H743-3

NGC 6790                    Planetary Nebula        P208

NGC 6803                    Planetary Nebula        P209

NGC 6840                    Open Cluster               P124

NGC 6843                    Open Cluster               P125

 

Constellation: Capricornus

NGC 7099                    Globular Cluster          M30                  

 

Constellation: Cygnus

IC 1318                        Diffuse Nebula             P24 Gamma Cygni Nebula

IC 1369                        Open Cluster               P11

IC 4996                        Open Cluster               P16

IC 5067                        Diffuse Nebula            P79 Pelican Nebula

     - IC 5070                 Diffuse Nebula               - Part of P79

IC 5117                        Planetary Nebula        P223

IC 5146                        Open Cluster               C19 Cocoon Nebular Cluster

NGC 6811                    Open Cluster               P10 Hole Cluster

NGC 6819                    Open Cluster               P12

NGC 6826                    Planetary Nebula        C15, Herschel 400 H73-4 Blinking Planetary Nebula

NGC 6834                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H16-8

NGC 6866                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H59-7

NGC 6871                    Open Cluster               P9

NGC 6874                    Open Cluster               P142

NGC 6883                    Open Cluster               P17

NGC 6888                    Diffuse Nebula           C27 Crescent Nebula

NGC 6910                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H56-8 Gamma Cygni Nebular Cluster

NGC 6913                    Open Cluster               M29

NGC 6914                    Diffuse Nebula            P143

NGC 6960                    Diffuse Nebula            C34 Veil Nebula (West)

NGC 6989                    Open Cluster               P144

NGC 6992                    Diffuse Nebula            C33 Veil Nebula (East)

     - NGC 6995             Diffuse Nebula                 - Part of C33

NGC 6996                    Open Cluster               P224

NGC 6997                    Open Cluster               P145

NGC 7000                    Diffuse Nebula            C20, Herschel 400 H37-5 North America Nebula

NGC 7008                    Planetary Nebula        Herschel 400 H192-1

NGC 7024                    Open Cluster               P146

NGC 7026                    Planetary Nebula        P147

NGC 7027                    Planetary Nebula        P25

NGC 7031                    Open Cluster               P148

NGC 7037                    Open Cluster               P225

NGC 7039                    Open Cluster               P13

NGC 7044                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H24-6

NGC 7048                    Planetary Nebula        P226

NGC 7062                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H51-7

NGC 7063                    Open Cluster               P14

NGC 7067                    Open Cluster               P149

NGC 7071                    Open Cluster               P227

NGC 7082                    Open Cluster               P15

NGC 7086                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H32-6

NGC 7092                    Open Cluster               M39

NGC 7127                    Open Cluster               P150

NGC 7128                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H40-7

NGC 7175                    Open Cluster               P151

 

Constellation: Delphinus

NGC 6891                    Planetary Nebula        P152

NGC 6905                    Planetary Nebula        Herschel 400 H16-4 Blue Flash Nebula

NGC 6934                    Globular Cluster          C47, Herschel 400 H103-1

NGC 7006                    Globular Cluster          C42, Herschel 400 H52-1

 

Constellation: Equuleus

NONE

 

Constellation: Lyra

NGC 6720                    Planetary Nebula        M57 Ring Nebula

NGC 6779                    Globular Cluster          M56

NGC 6791                    Open Cluster               P162

 

 

Constellation: Sagittarius

IC 4684                        Diffuse Nebula            P182

IC 4725                        Open Cluster               M25

IC 4776                        Planetary Nebula        P183

NGC 6440                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H150-1

NGC 6445                    Planetary Nebula        Herschel 400 H586-2 Little Gem Nebula

NGC 6469                    Open Cluster               P184

NGC 6494                    Open Cluster               M23

NGC 6507                    Open Cluster               P185

NGC 6514                    Diffuse Nebula           M20, Herschel 400 H41-1 Trifid Nebula

NGC 6520                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H7-7

NGC 6522                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H49-1

NGC 6523                    Diffuse Nebula            M8 Lagoon Nebula

NGC 6528                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H200-2

NGC 6530                    Open Cluster               P49

NGC 6531                    Open Cluster               M21

NGC 6540                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H198-2

NGC 6544                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H197-2

NGC 6546                    Open Cluster               P106

NGC 6553                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H12-4

NGC 6558                    Globular Cluster          P107

NGC 6561                    Open Cluster               P186

NGC 6563                    Planetary Nebula        P187

NGC 6565                    Planetary Nebula        P248

NGC 6567                    Planetary Nebula        P188

NGC 6568                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H30-7

NGC 6569                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H201-2

NGC 6583                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H31-7

NGC 6590                    Open Cluster               P50

NGC 6603                    Open Cluster               M24 Sagittarius Star Cloud

NGC 6613                    Open Cluster               M18

NGC 6618                    Open Cluster               M17 Omega Nebula

NGC 6624                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H50-1

NGC 6626                    Globular Cluster          M28

NGC 6629                    Planetary Nebula        Herschel 400 H204-2

NGC 6637                    Globular Cluster          M69

NGC 6638                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H51-1

NGC 6642                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H205-2

NGC 6645                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H23-6

NGC 6647                    Open Cluster               P108

NGC 6652                    Globular Cluster          P31

NGC 6656                    Globular Cluster          M22

NGC 6681                    Globular Cluster          M70

NGC 6715                    Globular Cluster          M54 Sagitarius Dwarf Galaxy

NGC 6716                    Open Cluster               P109

NGC 6717                    Globular Cluster          P110

NGC 6723                    Globular Cluster          P52

NGC 6809                    Globular Cluster          M55

NGC 6818                    Planetary Nebula        Herschel 400 H51-4

NGC 6822                    Galaxy                         C57 Barnard’s Galaxy

NGC 6864                    Globular Cluster          M75

 

Constellation: Sagitta

IC 4997                        Planetary Nebula        P246

NGC 6838                    Globular Cluster          M71

NGC 6879                    Planetary Nebula        P181

NGC 6886                    Planetary Nebula        P247

 

Constellation: Scutum

NGC 6625                    Open Cluster               P196

NGC 6631                    Open Cluster               P251

NGC 6649                    Open Cluster               P197

NGC 6664                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H12-8

NGC 6694                    Open Cluster               M26

NGC 6704                    Open Cluster               P198

NGC 6705                    Open Cluster               M11 Wild Duck Cluster

NGC 6712                    Globular Cluster          Herschel 400 H47-1

 

Constellation: Vulpecula

NGC 6802                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H14-6 Coat Hanger Cluster

NGC 6823                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H18-7

NGC 6830                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H9-7

NGC 6853                    Planetary Nebula        M27 Dumbell Nebula

NGC 6882                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H22-8

NGC 6885                    Open Cluster               C37, Herschel 400 H20-8

NGC 6940                    Open Cluster               Herschel 400 H8-7

 

 For more information:

Northern Latitudes:

https://hubblesite.org/resource-gallery/tonights-sky

https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/planner.cfm

https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/skywatching/home/

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-messier-catalog/

https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/skyreport

http://outreach.as.utexas.edu/public/skywatch.html

https://griffithobservatory.org/explore/observing-the-sky/sky-report/

http://www.beckstromobservatory.com/whats-up-in-tonights-sky-2/

https://www.fairbanksmuseum.org/planetarium/eye-on-the-night-sky

http://dudleyobservatory.org/tonights-sky/

https://cse.umn.edu/mifa/starwatch

http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/learn/astro/nightsky/maps

https://tonightssky.com/MainPage.php

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/visible-planets-tonight-mars-jupiter-venus-saturn-mercury

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/

https://stardate.org/nightsky

https://www.adventuresci.org/starcharts

https://www.astromart.com/news/search?category_id=3&q=kiss+the+sky&from=&to

 

Equatorial Latitudes:

https://heavens-above.com/SkyChart2.aspx

https://in-the-sky.org/data/constellations_map.php

https://ytliu0.github.io/starCharts/chartGCRS.html

 

Southern Latitudes:

https://www.scitech.org.au/explore/the-sky-tonight/

https://www.stardome.org.nz/star-charts--sky-spotter

 

Daily Moon Observing Guide:

https://moon.nasa.gov/moon-observation/daily-moon-guide/?intent=011

 

Find Astronomy Clubs, Events, and Star Parties in Your Area:

https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/

 

Watch Satellites Pass Over Your Location:

https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/

 

Astromart News Archives:

https://www.astromart.com/news/search?category_id=3&q=.

 

Check out some of my favorite Words of Wisdom:

https://astromart.com/news/show/words-of-wisdom-my-favorite-quotable-quotes

https://astromart.com/news/show/words-of-wisdom-my-favorite-proverbs-from-around-the-world

 

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