Here's the latest Night Sky column by Argus astronomy correspondent Jonathan Powell.

RUSSIA has decided that it wants no further part in operations onboard the International Space Station.

To many, this has come as no surprise, but the ironic twist is that the announcement came after the dismissal of Dmitry Rogozin, now former director of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, who has been threatening such actions for months.

Rogozin has been replaced by Yuri Borisov, Russia’s deputy prime minister since 2018.

NASA has provisionally named Friday, August 29, as launch day for Artemis 1.

A ‘megarocket’ will send a capsule on a mission to round the Moon and return home. The ‘Orion’ capsule will have no crew on this occasion, but should all go to plan, the event will mark the restart of NASA’s lunar exploration with plans to eventually establish a permanent human presence on the Moon by the late 2020s.

Stars and constellations

As twilight descends, one of the first stars to appear in the increasing darkness is Vega, positioned almost directly overhead during summer months, and easy to spot with the naked eye.

Vega lies in the constellation of Lyra – the Lyre, in mythology, a harp played by the Greek musician Orpheus.

At 25 light-years distant, Vega is close in astronomical terms and is the fifth brightest star visible from Earth.

The star’s blue white colour indicates a surface temperature of 9,400 degrees Celsius, 4,000 degrees Celsius hotter than our Sun. At an estimated half a billion years old, Vega is around two and half times the size of our Sun.

If you position yourself facing in an easterly direction, look overhead to spot Vega. Then try panning slightly down and to the left to catch another bright star, Deneb, not too far from Vega. Retracing back up to Vega, then sweep at an angle down and to the right, (some distance), where hopefully you will spot Altair. Vega, Deneb, and Altair make up the so-called ‘Summer Triangle’. Deneb lies in the constellation of Cygnus the Swan, with Altair in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle.

Perseids meteor shower

The Perseids meteor shower peaks during August with plenty of opportunity to catch some ‘falling stars’ over the coming weeks.

The Perseids remains one of the most bountiful and reliable of the annual showers and given the time of year with school holidays, possibly the best time for much of the family to experience some celestial fireworks. Remember you do not require binoculars or a telescope; it can all be seen with the naked eye.

The Perseids has a lengthy run of weeks ending just before the last week of August.

The radiant for the shower, (point where the meteors appear to appear from), lies in the constellation of Perseus where the shower derives its name from. Small rocks and rubble associated with debris left behind in the path of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle will enter the Earth’s atmosphere at 37 miles per second, burning up as a streak of light as it does, just like 'shooting stars'.

The comet which has a long orbital period, some 133 years, was discovered in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Parnell Tuttle. Every year during August our planet passes through the debris left by the comet making for an annual event.

This year, the shower coincides with a full Moon, making observations somewhat unfavourable. However, Zenith Hourly Rate, (expected number of meteors per hour), is in excess of 100 and the shower is still worth watching.

Peak activity occurs in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, August 11, and Wednesday, August 12. Look high in the north-east.

Supermoon

The fourth and final ‘supermoon’ of 2022 will take place this month. The moon will appear somewhat bigger and brighter to the naked eye on Friday, August 12.

As with all full Moon’s throughout the year, there are names attached to August’s full Moon which range from Corn Moon to Sturgeon Moon, to the lesser known Flying Up Moon!

Planets

Mercury can be seen low in the west-north-west early in the month but while it can be observed with the naked eye, time is short, as the planet will set around half an hour after the Sun.

If you are planning to sweep the horizon with binoculars for Mercury, wait until the Sun has fully set before doing so. As the month progresses Mercury will eventually become lost in the evening twilight.

Venus continues to dazzle as the ‘Morning Star’, rising around two hours before the Sun.

Venus is beginning to sink lower and lower in the sky, but there’s still plenty of time to catch sight of it.

On the morning of Monday, August 29, watch for a thin crescent Moon lying to the left of Venus.

Mars can be seen in the southeast portion of the sky rising around 11.30pm. Watch for the red planet as it passes below the Pleaides star cluster, (Seven Sisters), during the night of August 20 and 21. The last quarter Moon will sit nearby during these dates, positioned to the left of Mars.

Jupiter will be on view from around 10pm onwards, making for an easily identifiable object over in the south during late evening. On the evening of August 14 and 15, Jupiter is joined by a waning gibbous Moon.

Saturn graces our skies all night long and if you possess a small telescope, (75 mm or larger), the planet presents an excellent opportunity to make out its ring system. Observing the rings for yourself is still something to aim for if you are just starting out in astronomy, along with spotting the four inner moons orbiting Jupiter, and seeing the craters up close on the Moon.

On the night of August 11, Saturn will be positioned to the upper left of the Moon.

Free online talks

‘When the Stars Align: The Quest to Learn How, Why, and Where the Planets are Formed’. Saturday August 20 – 7pm. Register at www.eventbrite.co.uk

Moon phases

  • First quarter: August 5;
  • Full Moon: August 12;
  • Third quarter: August 19;
  • New Moon: August 27.

Sunrise/sunset times

  • Start of August: Sun rises at 5.35am. Sets at 9pm.
  • End of August: Sun rises at 6.22am. Sets at 8pm.

Jonathan is a contributor to the BBC Sky at Night magazine with articles also published in Astronomy Now. He has written three books on astronomy, Cosmic Debris; Rare Astronomical Sights and Sounds (which was selected by ‘Choice’ magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2019); and From Cave Art to Hubble, all of which are available from Amazon. Jonathan worked at BBC Radio Wales as their astronomy correspondent and is currently astronomy and space correspondent for The National, (an online newspaper for Wales), and a columnist at the South Wales Argus, and also a contributor to CAPCOM, an online magazine which promotes astronomy and spaceflight to the general public. He has also presented on commercial radio at Sunshine FM in Worcester, Brunel FM in Swindon, and Bath FM, and has also presented on an astronomy and space dedicated radio station, Astro Radio UK. He is currently at 107.9 GTFM in South Wales. He has also written a book on castles, ‘Fortress Wales’, and was part of the writing team for the BBC Television show, ‘The Fast Show’, which won a BAFTA.