Overview of the visibility of constellations and planets
The new moon will occur on August 4 shortly after midday. The Sun and Moon will be in the constellation Cancer, but the Moon will be three and a half degrees north of the Sun. The constellations closest to them — Leo (through which the fastest planets — Venus and Mercury — are currently moving), Sextans, Canis Minor and Hydra — are invisible at this time, due to their proximity to the Sun.
The Moon, although not directly visible, nevertheless has the appearance of an extremely thin crescent, which is inaccessible to the eye. But the most experienced astrophotographers sometimes manage to photograph the Moon — its crescent-shaped reflection — even on the day of the new moon — at the limit of the capabilities of their cameras and software.
Let’s talk about what is available for observation on these days and the calendar dates close to them
An hour and a half after sunset — above the sector of the horizon where this happened — the stars of the Ursa Major’s Dipper will become most noticeable. Under the handle of the Dipper is the constellation Canes Venatici, and to the left of them is the orange Arcturus — the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere and the head of the constellation Bootes. The figure of this constellation extends upward from Arcturus and is similar to the symbol of a parachute, on the lines of which the orange Arcturus descends to the horizon. This descent occurs quite quickly. And in a few minutes you will notice it without difficulty and any devices. Even to the left of Bootes you can find a dim, but noticeable and very beautiful constellation of the Corona Borealis — an arc of faint stars, decorated with a pearl — Gemma. The head of the Serpens stretches toward Gemma — the only constellation on the star map divided into two parts. The Serpent’s Tail is currently located in the southern sky. We will move our gaze there a little later.
Below the constellation Canes Venatici and to the right of Arcturus, the constellation Coma Berenices, not shining with bright luminaries, but very beautiful, leans toward the horizon, in the northern part of which a swarm of stars of medium and low brightness flickers, which does not have an ancient mythological name — only a number in the catalog — Melott 111. But it was this unclear starry glow that ancient people perceived as the luxurious hair of the Egyptian Queen Berenice. This was a sacrifice to the Gods and the price of the return of her husband — the Egyptian king Ptolemy III — from the war as a winner.
In the direction of the southern point, you can see the constellation Sagittarius, barely peeking out from behind the horizon. Sagittarius does not rise completely in the middle northern latitudes. Its figure, composed of fairly bright stars, seems dim and inexpressive here due to the absorption of starlight by the atmosphere near the horizon, where in the evenings there is always a lot of dust raised during the day. By morning, the dust settles, but Sagittarius will set behind the horizon much earlier.
To the right of Sagittarius, the “Claws of Scorpius” have almost set behind the horizon — a small part of this constellation visible in the north, but it is among the stars of the “Claws” that the orange-red Antares — “Heart of Scorpius” shines. Together with Scorpius (to the right of it), Libra, which was once only an extension of the sharp and long claws, is also hiding behind the horizon. The stars of Libra still bear the corresponding names — “Northern Claw”, “Southern Claw” — in Arabic, of course.
A bright star shines above Sagittarius — Altair. This is alpha Aquila — one of the main summer constellations. Its figure, composed of stars of medium brightness, really resembles a bird flying in the sky. To the west of the Aquila, there is an extended constellation of Ophiuchus — a constellation very rich in interesting telescopic objects, but poor in stars even of medium brightness. Between Ophiuchus and Aquila, experienced observers can find the constellation Scutum and the very same “Tail of the Serpent”.
To the east and above Altair, you can notice several miniature constellations — Equuleus, Delphinus, Sagitta and Vulpecula (in which on July 30, 2024, a new, but very weak — 10th magnitude — star flared up). These four constellations are located one after the other — following from bottom to top and from left to right near Altair.
In the eastern direction, it is easy to notice the huge Square of Pegasus — now it is turned so that it looks more like a Rhombus. Pisces is emerging right from under it — only the alpha of this constellation — Alrisha — remains under the horizon. But it will also rise soon.
To the right of Pisces and Pegasus, Aquarius and a fairly bright Saturn are rising. Neptune is located somewhere near it, but you cannot see it without a telescope — it is a very distant and weak planet. Even further to the right, Capricornus has almost completely risen.
To the right of the Square of Pegasus, there is a chain of stars of the asterism “Head of Pegasus” — it adjoins the Equuleus.
To the left of the Square of Pegasus, there is a chain of stars of the constellation Andromeda. Historically, Pegasus and Andromeda were drawn inseparably on star maps. This continues to this day — the constellations are connected by the star alpha Andromeda — Alpheratz. Previously, it belonged to two constellations at the same time. And above Andromeda, the beautiful and noticeable constellation Cassiopeia is easily recognizable, this season resembling the Latin letter “W”. Below Andromeda, you can see the constellations Triangulum and Aries. Aries has not yet fully risen above the horizon.
In the northern part of the sky, the bright Capella, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, attracts attention — the brightest star of the constellation Auriga, which belongs to the winter group of constellations. But in the middle northern latitudes, Capella never sets below the horizon.
To the right of Capella, you can see the constellation Perseus, whose brightest star — Mirfak — lies on the continuation of the chain of Andromeda stars and seems to connect Andromeda and Auriga. Closer to the morning, Perseus will rise high in the sky and shower the August night with dozens of sparkling meteors, sometimes called “falling stars.” This meteor shower is called the Perseids, and during its annual activity — from mid-July to the end of August — not a single real star is damaged.
The peak activity of the Perseid shower occurs on the nights from August 11 to 13. The Moon at this time will be located in the evening sky, and will not interfere with pre-dawn observations of meteors.
Above Capella and to the left of Perseus lies the practically starless space of the constellation Camelopardalis. In the city, it will not be possible to discern the figure of this constellation. Lynx, a constellation located between Auriga and Ursa Major, is equally inconspicuous.
Above Capella you can see the North Star and a couple of stars of Ursa Minor that are comparable in brightness. To the right of it, like an upside-down house, is Cepheus, adjacent to Cassiopeia. And between the Ursulas, the Draco runs like a winding river, its tail resting against the Camelopardalis, and its head reaches the very zenith of the summer skies.
In the zenith region of the sky are the constellations of Lyra and Cygnus, headed by the bright stars — Vega and Deneb, which together with Altair (located below them in the southern direction) form the famous asterism — the “Summer Triangle”. Cygnus flies with its wings spread wide. At the same time, the left wing points to the “Hooves of Pegasus”, and the right — to the “Head of the Draco” — a small and beautiful trapezoid of medium-brightness stars, adjacent to Vega and the constellation of Hercules, which also has its own stellar trapezoid — so it is called — “Trapezium of Hercules”, and one of the brightest globular star clusters — M13 is hidden from the naked eye in it. There are quite a lot of globular clusters in the summer sky. But the most famous are M13 in the “Trapezium of Hercules” and M15 in the “Head of Pegasus”.
A little to the side of the “Hooves of Pegasus” and the “Tail of the Swan”, in which the bright Deneb burns, there is an inconspicuous constellation of the Lacerta, whose dim stars are unlikely to be seen within the city limits.
By two o’clock in the morning, the Aquarius constellation will rise to its maximum height, and the bright Saturn located in it will be very clearly visible in the southern direction.
To the left of Aquarius and under the highly risen Pisces, Cetus has already fully risen — a large constellation of not very clear configuration, the stars of which seem to split into two groups — the “Head of Cetus” and the “Tail of Cetus”, directed upward and decorated with the alpha of the constellation — the star Menkar. The famous long-period variable star Mira of Cetus is also located in the “Tail”, but it has already passed its annual maximum in May and has already weakened greatly — invisible to the eye.
To the left of Cetus — directly above the point of the east, Taurus is already shining with two bright planets — Jupiter and Mars. Both of these luminaries are located near Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus, and form a beautiful triangle with Aldebaran — a few nights ago it was equilateral, but from night to night its proportions change noticeably — the fast Mars is rapidly catching up with Jupiter.
There is another planet in the constellation Taurus now — Uranus. It is not visible to the naked eye, but can be easily found with binoculars a little to the south of the Pleiades — the most beautiful open star cluster in the sky. Another beautiful and bright star cluster — the Hyades — surrounds the orange Aldebaran, which does not belong to the Hyades, because in space it lies approximately halfway from the Sun to the stars of the mentioned cluster.
Directly above the constellation Taurus and the trinity of “Jupiter — Mars — Aldebaran” Perseus looks down from the heavenly heights upon the mortal Earth, holding in his hand the severed head of Medusa the Gorgon, in whose eye the eclipsing variable star Algol — beta Persei slyly winks every three nights. Perseus is known as the illusory source of the Perseid stream. It seems to us that the sparks of the “falling stars” fly to us from this constellation. But in fact, the trajectory of the orbit of the comet Swift-Tuttle is directed in this direction. In July-August of each year, the Earth approaches the orbit of this comet, along which small meteoroids — particles of the disintegrating comet’s core — fly. Some of them meet the Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. On the night of maximum, in an hour of observation, it is possible to notice several dozen (sometimes even up to a hundred) meteors. But they should be observed outside the city, preferably in the mountains.
Just before dawn, the stars of the Gemini constellation, Castor and Pollux, will rise above the northeastern horizon. These are winter stars, but in August some winter constellations already begin to peek out from behind the horizon coulisse, to become fully visible by autumn and for quite a long time.
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