Look, up in the sky: Sky viewing for August 22-28, 2009

Neither Mercury nor Saturn will be easily visible this week. Both lie in the west at sunset and can be viewed with binoculars low on the horizon during the twilight hours. Venus rises later throughout the week but still appears for almost 3 hours each night before sunrise. Jupiter rises before sunset and can be found in the sky until just before sunrise all this week. With not much Moon in the way, this is an excellent time to observe this bright planet. Mars increases its time in the sky, rising around 1 AM each night for good late-night viewing.

 

The Moon reappears after the New Moon phase early this week – watch for it in the west just after sunset. It reaches its First Quarter phase on Thursday morning.

 

Look for the Moon to lie extremely close to the bright star Antares (in Scorpio) on Thursday evening. The Moon actually covers the star earlier in the afternoon (5:38 PM in New York City, see this chart  for other locations and further information), but it will be difficult to view in daylight.

 

See the image to the right for a view of the Moon and Antares around 9 PM.