Shropshire Sky At Night – August
I have been bowled over by the wide range of spectacular images appearing in the Shropshire Star, as well as across the social media platforms capturing the awe and wonder of noctilucent clouds and comet Neowise.
Neowise is visible just below and to the left of the Big Dipper constellation, two hours after sunset, enabling you to spot the comet with its icy tail.
However, as it fades into the distance, only to return in about 6,000 years, you might need the assistance of binoculars or a small telescope.
Most comets have two tails which appear as it approaches the Sun. One tail contains dust particles while the other tail is made of electrically charged molecules of gas, called ions.
Undoubtedly the main event of August is the Perseid meteor shower, which should put on a good show either on August 11 or 12, late evening onwards.
As the Earth makes its annual trip through the trail of dust and ice debris which astronomers call meteoroids, left behind from the last visit of comet Swift-Tuttle in 1992, some of these meteoroids, no bigger than a grain of sand, try and penetrate the Earth's atmosphere producing streaks of light across the night sky.
The darker the skies the more meteors will be spotted but even from an urban setting you can have success by shielding yourself from local lights. The best option is to use a sun lounger or deck chair. Wrap up warm and take a flask of your favourite tipple.
For the first few days of August, planet chasers are served up a real treat with the chance of catching a glimpse of all the planets within our Solar System during a single night. Jupiter is first to appear just after 10pm soon followed by Saturn. We do have to wait until 1am to get good views of Neptune, Mars and Uranus before Venus and Mercury complete the set just before dawn.
In astronomy, a new moon is referred to the first lunar phase, which next happens on August 19. Following a new moon we get the opportunity to find and maybe photograph a waxing crescent just a few hours old, which is an amazing sight.
In the darkening evening skies the brighter stars start to emerge earlier. The first, almost directly above, will be Vega in the constellation of Lyra. It is soon followed by Deneb and Altair in the constellations of Cygnus and Aqulia, respectively, to form the huge asterism known as the summer triangle.
Astronomers use such asterisms as signposts to other interesting objects such as the Andromeda galaxy, the most distant object that can be seen with the naked eye at 2.5 million light years away. Many star maps are available in books or downloadable, but learning the night sky is best done in groups and more fun.
The Shropshire Astronomical Society always welcomes experienced or novice stargazers, but unfortunately has suspended all meetings and public events for the foreseeable future. For further information visit www.shrophire-astro.uk
Steve Szwajkun of Shropshire Astronomical Society
