TRAC Action Plan: August 2024
- Category: Action Plans
- Author: JM
- Published: 04 Aug 2024
- Last updated: 04 Aug 2024
Summer Constellations
On a clear night, we'll see how many of these constellations we can spot:
- Hercules – named after the brave Roman mythological hero.
- Lyra – an eagle carrying a lyre. Brightest star: Vega.
- Cygnus – a regal swan. Brightest star: Deneb.
- Scorpius – shaped like a scorpion's tail. Brightest star: Antares.
- Pegasus – an enormous winged horse from Greek mythology.
- Ophiuchus – commonly drawn as a man grasping a snake.
- Aquila – its name is Latin for 'eagle'. Brightest star: Altair.
- Sagittarius – a centaur with a bow. Contains the ‘tea pot' asterism.
We'll also look out for the Summer Triangle asterism – a large isosceles triangle with the bright stars Vega, Altair, and Deneb at its vertices.
See the Sun
We'll take a look at the Sun through the solar glasses and solar filter on a bright afternoon. We'll look out for sun spots in the photosphere (the upper atmosphere of the Sun), which indicate increased solar activity.
Pinhole Camera
Please refer all the way back to the May Action Plan! A homemade pinhole camera offers an interesting way to view the Sun safely.
Planets
Finally, there's some good news regarding the planets! The gas giant Saturn will be visible, and the view will steadily improve. Saturn can even be seen with the naked eye; just look for an orange 'star' low in the east after 23:00.
Lunar Observations
August 2024 Lunar Calendar
- New Moon Sun 04
- First Quarter Mon 12
- Full Moon Mon 19
- Last Quarter Mon 26
The full moon is much better placed this month. It'll be possible to view it on the 19th, or better yet, on the 20th, when the Moon and Saturn will appear close together (conjunction), low in the sky, and almost perfectly aligned with the road at around 23:00.
Perseid Meteor Shower
This year the Perseids will peak on 12-13 August. Astronomy books claim that it's possible to see up to 100 meteors per hour, under ideal sky conditions.
The meteor shower is best viewed under dark skies – that means after midnight for us at this time of year.
Admin Tasks
Please refer to the July Action Plan! We urgently need to design a leaflet to distribute to neighbours whose houses back onto the park.
The website has been launched at long last! There's still much work to be done. If you'd like to add any text/images, let me know or send an email.
Summary
Our main goals this month will be to see the summer constellations, the planet Saturn, and hopefully some meteors will make an appearance, too!
James M
TRAC Team Leader
04 Aug 2024 – Rainham, Kent
TRAC is an amateur astronomy group based in Rainham (Kent) in the United Kingdom.
On clear nights, you'll find us outside, observing stars, planets, moons, galaxies, satellites, meteors, and comets.
This action plan is specifically tailored for our location, schedules, optical equipment, level of experience, personal interests, and local sky conditions.
Unless stated otherwise, all magnitude values refer to apparent magnitude and have usually been rounded to one decimal place.
We welcome any questions, feedback, or suggestions you may have. Please let us know if anything is unclear or if you notice an error, inaccuracy, or typo. Contact us via email.
© 2024 Taverners Road Astronomy Club