Saturday SkyWatch

🌌 Saturday SkyWatch! 🌌

🌅 Sunset & Observatory Hours

• Sunset: 5:46 PM
• Nautical Sunset: 6:41 PM
• Astronomical Sunset: 7:11 PM
  This Saturday we will be open from sunset till 9:30pm.

☁️ Weather & Viewing Conditions

B.O.M. Forecast for The Rock: http://www.bom.gov.au/places/nsw/the-rock/

To learn how to read the Clear Outside forecast page, follow this link: https://clearoutside.com/page/how_to_use/

🌙 Moon Phase

Tonight’s Moon is a New Moon (0.0%) and will set at 5:42PM. It won’t be rising again till tomorrow, so dark skies all around for viewing tonight. Great for galaxies and Nebula!!

🌟 Feature Object: Little Gem Nebula (NGC 6445)

One of the largest known planetary nebula’s, this gem sits in the constellation of Sagittarius and is estimated to be just over a thousand parsecs away. That’s about 206.3 million astronomical units or 206.3 times the distance from the Sun to Earth. It has been classified as a bipolar nebula – a nebula that has two lobes around a central star.

ℹ️ Other Information

The Perseids meteor shower peaked on the 12th and while the radiant is not visible from our location there is still a small chance to see meteors, so keep an eye out.
Bring warm clothes, a beanie, and some gloves if you don’t like the cold. The view will be well worth venturing out!
Feel free to bring a picnic blanket and some snacks and non-alcoholic refreshments.

🔭 In the Sky Tonight

Note that just because these objects are in the sky at the moment, you may not always see them. Visibility is dependent on weather, moon brightness, atmospheric conditions, and equipment parameters. Check the weather and viewing conditions above, and if in doubt ask a friendly volunteer if you’re able to see an object in the night sky!

Prominent Constellations

Sagittarius (The Archer), Scorpius (The Scorpion), Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer), Aquila (The Eagle), Libra (The Scales), Centaurus (The Centaur), Crux (The Southern Cross), Lupus (The Wolf), Corona Australis (The Southern Crown), Ara (The Altar), Capricornus (The Seat Goat – Rising), Aquarius (The Water Bearer – Rising), Cygnus (The Swan/Northern Cross – Rising), Vulpecula (The Fox – Rising), Delphinus (The Dolphin – Rising), Virgo (The Virgin – Setting), Bootes (The Herdsman – Setting), Corona Borealis (The Northern Crown – Setting), Pavo (The Peacock), Telescopium (The Telescope), Indus (The Indian), Microscopium (The Microscope).

Bright Stars

Kaus Australis, Antares, Rasalhague, Altair, Zubeneschamali, Alpha Centauri, Acrux, Men, Alphecca Meridiana, Choo, Deneb Algedi, Sadalsuud, Deneb, Anser, Rotanev, Spica, Arcturus, Alphecca, Peacock, Alpha Telescopii, The Persian, Gamma Microsccopii.

Star Clusters

M22 (NGC 6656) Globular Cluster, M25 Open Cluster, M23 (NGC 6494) Open Cluster, M21 (NGC 6531) Open Cluster, M18 (NGC 6613) Open Cluster, M54 (NGC 6637) Globular Cluster, M69 (NGC 6637) Globular Cluster, M70 (NGC 6681) Globular Cluster, M6 (NGC 6405) Butterfly Cluster, M7 (NGC 6475) Ptolemy Cluster, NGC 6231 Northern Jewel Box, NGC 6124 Open Cluster, NGC 6383 Open Cluster, M11 (NGC 6705) Wild Duck Cluster, M10 (NGC 6254) Loose Globular Cluster, M12 (NGC 6218) Loose Globular Cluster, M62 (NGC 6266) Irregular Globular Cluster, NGC 4755 Jewel Box Cluster, NGC 5139 Omega Centauri

Galaxies

Barnard’s Galaxy: NGC 6822, NGC 6744: Barred Spiral in Pavo, NGC 7213: Lenticular in Grus, NGC 7314: Face-On Spiral in Piscis Austrinus, NGC 7424: Barred Spiral in Grus, NGC 7552: Barred Spiral Starburst in Grus, NGC 6907: Barred Spiral in Capricornus, NGC 6753: Lenticular in pavo, Centaurus A: NGC 5128

Nebula

Lagoon Nebula: M8 (NGC 6523), Trifid Nebula: M20 (NGC 6514), Swan/Omega Nebula: M17 (NGC 66618), Eagle Nebula: M16 (NGC 6611), War and Peace Nebula: NGC 6357, Cat’s Paw Nebula: NGC 6334, Prawn Nebula: IC 4628, Bug Nebula: NGC 6302, Saturn Nebula: NGC 7009, Glowing Eye Nebula: NGC 6751, Ghost of Jupiter: NGC 3242, Eight-Burst Nebula: NGC 3132, Running Chicken Nebula: IC 2944, Eta Carinae Nebula: NGC 3372, Coalsack Nebula in Crux

Planets

Mars after sunset, Saturn rising at approximately 9:30pm early August and 7:30pm late August

🪐 Upcoming Astronomical Events for this week

📅 23^rd August: New Moon
📅 30^th August: Moon at apogee

As always, don’t forget to look up wherever you are!
– The TRRO Team