What’s Up in the Night Sky? August 2024

Fred Barrett | Jul 31, 2024

Well, we’re on that downhill slide to Winter but that’s good news for amateur astronomers. It means that days are getting shorter and, most importantly, the nights are getting longer. No more staying up to late night to catch a glimpse of your favourite Milky Way targets. The bugs are getting scarcer too!

The main event this month is the annual Perseid meteor shower. It’s the big one with more fireballs and bright tracks than any other shower. It’s radiant is centred near the top portion of the constellation Perseus, the part that peaks above the horizon first. At the peak too, is its easy to see and famous double cluster. To help you find it, look also for the constellation Cassiopeia which rises before Perseus and has the shape of a ‘W’. The radiant rises in the north east near 10 pm in early August and sooner as the month progresses. Mars and Jupiter are very close to each other near the bright red star Aldebaran in Taurus, the eye of the Bull.

The shower peaks August 12. The Moon is in its First Quarter in the south west and sets by midnight. It will be negligible and out of the way in time for the best meteor watching time late in the evening and on until dawn. Perseus reaches its highest in the eastern sky in early morning just when the Earth is facing directly into the path of the debris cast off by comet 109P Swift-Tuttle in its orbit around the Sun. The trail also has an unusual number of larger debris particles and this produces more fireballs – more than any other meteor shower! A bright meteor is seldom bigger than a pea and most are closer in size to grains of sand. The heat from the Sun converts the comet’s ice into gas that releases trapped dust particles that produce the debris trails around the Sun. The Earth crosses this trail about the same time every year. Most comets that generate a ring of debris around the Sun are pretty small, with diameters of about 2 or 3 kilometres. Swift-Tuttle, on the other hand, is much larger at 26 kilometres in diameter and more debris gets scattered in its wake.

When viewing for meteor trails, don’t look directly at the radiant. If you stare at the radiant, the streaks will be short because, in essence, you’re looking at them head on. Look off to the sides about 30 degrees from the radiant (with one arm extended, count about 3 to 5 fist widths away from the radiant). This shower lasts longer than others and runs from July 17 to August 24. In case of bad weather, there will be plenty of streaks to see for two weeks before and after the peak as the leading and following particles of the swarm arrive. Expect about 80 to a 100 meteors per hour.

Make sure you’re comfy: a chair, bug spray, a warm coat to ward off the night chill and snacks and drinks. No beer! You might end up observing the inside of your eyelids.

Venus is an evening star for a short while after the Sun sets. Saturn rises in the east soon after 10 pm in early August and by 8 pm later in the month. The tilt of the rings increases through to November until it reaches 5.2 degrees. Mars and Jupiter rise after 2 am and Mars close in on each other until they are separated by 0.3 degrees at 1 pm on the 14th. With bright Mars paired with Aldebaran, Taurus the Bull seems to sport an extra eye!

Highlights this month: August 4: New Moon. August 5: Mars is 5 degrees north of Aldebaran. The Moon passes 1.7 degrees north of Venus at 6 pm. Try to make out bright Venus while it’s still daylight. August 8: The Moon is at apogee – 402,944 Kilometres. August 12: Perseid meteor shower peaks. First Quarter Moon. August 14: Mars passes 0.3 degrees north of Jupiter during the day and is a beautiful pairing when they rise at 2 am. Uranus is above them and to the right. It will take an effort to search it out. August 19: Full Moon. Full Sturgeon Moon. Great time for catching Great Lakes Sturgeon. First corn starts being sold around here so I would call it the Oh Yum, its Corn Harvest Full Moon. August 21: The Moon is at perigee – 358,104 kilometres. August 26: Last Quarter Moon.

Enjoy the Perseids! And keep looking up.

Don’t forget to check out events at the North Frontenac Dark Sky site, or, as it’s known now, the North Frontenac Astronomy Park and also check the Lennox and Addington Dark Sky Viewing Area for observing opportunities in the coming months.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) website https://rasc.ca has a listing of astronomy events for Ontario and the Kingston branch of the RASC website lists events happening, especially in our area.

Feel free to contact me with questions or observations at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

I would like to know how you have done with your observing. Meteors or auroras anyone?