In the Sky This Month

The constellation Lyra, the harp, is high overhead at nightfall. It’s easy to spot because its brightest star, Vega, is one of the brighter stars in the night sky. Four stars outline a tilted, flat box that stretches below Vega.

Orion, the hunter, one of the signature star patterns of winter, is in good view in the early morning sky. Orion clears the eastern horizon a couple of hours before sunrise and is high in the sky at first light.

If we could see the stars behind the Sun now, we would notice that the Sun is almost touching Regulus, the heart of the lion. The Sun crossed into Leo almost two weeks ago, and it won’t exit the constellation until next month.

Mars is high in the east at dawn, to the lower left of brilliant Jupiter. It looks like a bright star. Mars passed especially close to Earth 100 years ago this week. An astronomer organized an effort to listen for radio signals from the planet. None were heard.

The Moon will squeeze past the planet Saturn this evening. They climb into good view by about 9:30 or 10 p.m. Saturn looks like a bright star. As seen from most of the United States, it will pass just a fraction of a degree from the Moon.

The Moon is full today at 1:26 p.m. CDT as it lines up opposite the Sun in our sky. The full Moon of August is known by several names, including the Grain Moon and Green Corn Moon.

Jupiter stands high in the east at daybreak. It’s the brightest point of light in the sky at that hour, so you can’t miss it. Through binoculars, its four largest moons look like tiny stars near the giant planet.

The Summer Triangle is high in the eastern sky at nightfall. It’s easy to see even through the glare of the almost-full Moon. Vega is the highest and brightest of the three stars. Deneb stands to the lower left of Vega, with Altair farther to the lower right.

Scorpius and Sagittarius are in the south at nightfall. Look for the curving body of the scorpion just above the horizon, with bright Antares in its middle. Sagittarius is to the left, close to the upper right of the Moon, and looks a teapot.

As the Sun sets tonight, the constellation Capricornus is just rising in the southeast. Its brightest stars form a wide triangle that resembles the bottom of a bikini bathing suit. The sea goat is bright enough to see even from mildly light-polluted areas.