The Sky This Week - Thursday August 8 to Thursday August 15

The first quarter Moon is Thursday, August 8, the full Moon is Thursday August 15.  Jupiter is easily visible as the brightest object in the northern evening skies. On the 10th the Moon is close to Jupiter. Saturn, just past opposition, is high in the late evening skies. On the 12th the Moon occults (passes in front of) Saturn as seen from the east coast.

The first quarter Moon is Thursday, August 8, the full Moon is Thursday August 15.

Sky at 19:02 ACST (90 minutes after sunset) on Saturday, August 10 looking northe-east as seen from Adelaide. Jupiter is past opposition, and high above the north-eastern horizon. Saturn is below and just past opposition.

The left upper insert inset shows the telescopic view of Jupiter at 21:00 just as Io reappears from Jupiter’s Shadow.
 

Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes after sunset, click to embiggen.

The Moon at 18:08pm AEST in Brisbane on Thursday 12 August just as Titan disappears. The left inset shows the telescopic view as Titan  disappears behind the Moon and the right-hand as Saturn reappears at 19:34 AEST (click to embiggen).

From the east coast of Australia Saturn is occulted by the Moon in the early even just around astronomical twilight.  The rest of Australia see the Moon and Saturn very close.

Timings and spotter charts can be found at my occultation site.

Venus is lost in the morning twilight and will return to the evening sky in September.

Mercury is lost in the twilight returning to the morning sky next month.

Jupiter is now well past opposition. However, it is still well worth observing. Jupiter is easily visible as the brightest object in the north-eastern/northern sky (aside from the Moon) and is located just below the distinctive constellation of Scorpius and the bright red star Antares. It is visible all evening long and is a good telescope target in the evening, being highest above the northern horizon around 8:00 pm local time. Jupiter is close to the Moon on the 10th

Mars is lost in the twilight.

Saturn was at opposition on July 10th, when it was visible all night long. Saturn is below Jupiter and just below the “handle” of the “teapot of Sagittarius. It is best for telescopic viewing from just around 8:30 pm local time until the early morning and is highest above the northern horizon when it is ideal for telescopic imaging, around 10:00 pm local time. On the 12th the Moon occults (passes in front of) Saturn as seen from the east coast and is very close from the rest of Australia.

Printable PDF maps of the Eastern sky at 10 pm AEST, Western sky at 10 pm AEST. For further details and more information on what’s up in the sky, see Southern Skywatch.

Cloud cover predictions can be found at SkippySky.

Here is the near-real time satellite view of the clouds (day and night) http://satview.bom.gov.au/