Learn what is happening in August 2009 and what has happened in August in the past. Discover highlights of the night sky and learn what to look for in August 2009.
August Highlight - Jupiter Rules the Night
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Jupiter stepped onto the celestial stage last month and it continues to rule the night sky. The 14th may be an especially good night for its viewing as it reaches opposition. Saturn is still hanging around, though much lower in the sky, setting just 90 minutes after the sun. Mercury also makes a brief appearance during the first few days of the month, though it, too, is low in the sky at sunset. Three days after Jupiter, Neptune also reaches opposition, continuing to hang near Jupiter. Also, don't forget to watch for Venus and Mars.
August Skymap
Nick Greene
Check out this map for the month of August, or create your own customized map with our Free Sky Maps tool.
Note: This map is for a median time and location and August have slight differences from your location and viewing time. Planets and moons shown on this map will have the highest probability of appearing in different locations.
Use this handy Sky Map Symbols Key to figure out what you should be looking for.
Events in August
NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute
Check out our Astronomical Events Calendar to learn about other happenings in space and on Earth. Here is a sampling of highlights.
- 1 - Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower Peak
- 3 - 5th Anniversary (2004), MESSENGER Delta 2 Launch
- 6 - Penumbral Lunar Eclipse
- 6 - Southern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
- 10 - Kuiper Belt Object 2004 PG115 Closest Approach To Earth (35.781 AU)
- 12 - Perseids Meteor Shower Peak
- 14 - Jupiter At Opposition
- 14 - 10th Anniversary (1999), Galileo, Callisto 22 Flyby
- 15 - Progress M-SO-2 Soyuz FG Launch (International Space Station 5R)
- 17 - Neptune At Opposition
- 24 - Mercury At Its Greatest Eastern Elongation (27 Degrees)
- 25 - Northern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
- 27 - Cassini, Telesto Flyby
Featured Constellation - Scorpius
Nick Greene
Featured Biography - Dr. Arthur Bertram Cuthbert Walker II
Born an only child in Cleveland on Aug. 24, 1936, Arthur Bertram Cuthbert Walker II was destined for great things. Like his parents and grandparents, he wasn't satisfied with just "getting by." He launched a number of telescopes into space to allow researchers a better view of the sun and in 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to serve on one of the most important committees in U.S. history, the commission that investigated the space shuttle Challenger explosion.This Month in History
NASA
Check every day to learn what happened "This Day in History."
- 5: 1973 - Mars 6 - USSR Mars Orbiter/Soft Lander launched.
- 7: 1971 - Apollo 15 splashed down safely.
- 12: 1978 - International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 - USA Interplanetary Monitor launched.
- 19: 1871 - Orville Wright born in Dayton, Ohio.
- 29: 1541 - Nicolaus Copernicus's book "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" ("On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres") went to the printer.
