This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023 August 19 – August 26
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, 2023 August 19 – August 26
One of the prettiest constellations can be seen halfway up in the southeastern sky around 10 pm. Delphinus the Dolphin is composed of a small diamond-shaped asterism with a star tailing off to the right, and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to picture a dolphin leaping out of the sea. Although its stars are not bright, its compact shape is eye-catching. Below it are the watery constellations of Capricornus, Aquarius, Piscis Austrinus and Pisces. In mythology, Poseidon had designs on the sea nymph Amphitrite but she hid on him. A dolphin kept track of her and eventually convinced her that the sea god was an okay guy, and it was rewarded with a place of honour in the sky. The diamond part of the constellation has also been called Job’s Coffin but the origin of this is unknown.
Above Delphinus, and within the Summer Triangle, are two other small constellations called Sagitta the Arrow and Vulpecula the Fox. Like Delphinus, Sagitta does resemble its namesake but apparently the fox is too sly to give itself away readily. Sagitta is supposedly the arrow shot by Hercules to kill an eagle (Aquila), which had been commanded by Zeus to peck out the liver of Prometheus each day to punish him for giving humans the secret of fire. Binoculars might reveal the tiny gaseous remnants of an expired star, called the Dumbbell Nebula or M27, above the arrowhead, and the Coathanger Cluster is to the upper right of the fletching.
This Week in the Solar System
Saturday’s sunrise in Moncton is at 6:23 am and sunset will occur at 8:21 pm, giving 13 hours, 58 minutes of daylight (6:29 am and 8:24 pm in Saint John). Next Saturday the Sun will rise at 6:32 am and set at 8:09 pm, giving 13 hours, 37 minutes of daylight (6:38 am and 8:12 pm in Saint John).
The Moon is at first quarter on Thursday and, unfortunately for NB stargazers, it sets that night just before it occults the bright star Antares. Venus has popped up into the morning sky and late in the week it will rise an hour before the Sun. Mercury and Mars set a half hour and an hour, respectively, after sunset this weekend; too close to the Sun for viewing. Saturn reaches opposition next weekend, rising at sunset, and before the end of the week Jupiter will be rising at 11 pm.
The weather forecast does not look good for the RASC NB star party at Mount Carleton this weekend.