See Saturn sparkle brilliantly for this once-a-year nighttime spectacle.
On August 1 and 2, Saturn will be at resistance, which means the Earth will be situated between the ringed planet and the sun. This is the point at which the external planet will be at its generally iridescent, making for a brilliant night sky view.
Saturn’s resistance is at 2 a.m. ET on August 2, or 11 p.m. PT for those on the West Coast, as per EarthSky.
When Venus sinks below the horizon after the sun sets, Jupiter will be the most brilliant article in the sky, EarthSky said. To discover Saturn, look only west of Jupiter.
In case you’re wanting to get a glimpse of Saturn’s popular rings, you’ll need to whip out a telescope, as per the Farmer’s Almanac.
“Sunday night into Monday morning much of the Midwest and portions of western California will see mostly clear skies,” CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said. “A swath of cloudy skies will exist across the Northwest into the Rockies, across many southern states and into the Northeast.”
Relax if your town has overcast cloudy weather the start of August since Saturn will stay brilliant in the sky for the remainder of the month, EarthSky said.
Saturn is the 6th planet from the sun, and it would take nine Earths to span the breadth of the gaseous planet, as per NASA – and that is excluding the rings.
Full moons
Regular of a typical year, 2021 has 12 full moons. (There were 13 full moons last year, two of which were in October.)
Here are the entirety of the full moons staying this year and their names, as per The Old Farmer’s Almanac:
- August 22 – sturgeon moon
- September 20 – harvest moon
- October 20 – hunter’s moon
- November 19 – beaver moon
- December 18 – cold moon
Make certain to check for different names of these moons too, ascribed to their particular Native American tribes.
Meteor Showers
The Perseid meteor shower, the most mainstream of the year, will top between August 11 and 12 in the Northern Hemisphere, when the moon is just 13% full.
Here is the meteor shower schedule for the remainder of the year, as per EarthSky’s meteor shower viewpoint.
• October 8: Draconids
• October 21: Orionids
• November 4 to 5: South Taurids
• November 11 to 12: North Taurids
• November 17: Leonids
• December 13 to 14: Geminids
• December 22: Ursids
Solar and lunar eclipses
This year, there will be one more shroud of the sun and another eclipse of the moon, as indicated by The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
November 19 will see a partial eclipse of the moon, and skywatchers in North America and Hawaii can see it between 1 a.m. ET and 7:06 a.m. ET.
Furthermore, the year will end with an total eclipse of the sun on December 4. It will not be apparent in North America, yet those in the Falkland Islands, the southern tip of Africa, Antarctica and southeastern Australia will actually want to spot it.
Visible planets
Skywatchers will have various opportunities to recognize the planets in our sky during specific mornings and nights all through 2021, as indicated by the Farmer’s Almanac planetary aide.
It’s feasible to see the greater part of these with the naked eye, except for far off Neptune, yet optics or a telescope will give the best view.
Mercury will seem as though a bright star toward the beginning of the day sky from October 18 to November 1. It will sparkle in the night sky from August 31 to September 21, and November 29 to December 31.
Venus, our nearest neighbor in the close planetary system, will show up in the western sky at sunset in the nights through December 31. It’s the second-brightest object in our sky, after the moon.
Mars shows up toward the beginning of the day sky between November 24 and December 31, and it will be noticeable in the evening sky through August 22.
Jupiter, the biggest planet in our close planetary system, is the third-most splendid item in our sky. It will be in plain view toward the beginning of the day sky through August 19. Search for it in the nights August 20 to December 31 – however it will be at its most splendid from August 8 to September 2.
Saturn’s rings are just noticeable through a telescope, however the actual planet can in any case be seen with the unaided eye in the mornings through August 1 and in the nights from August 2 to December 31. It will be at its most brilliant during the initial four days of August.
Optics or a telescope will help you recognize the greenish glow of Uranus in the mornings through November 3 and in the nights from November 4 to December 31. It will be at its most splendid between August 28 and December 31.
Also, our most far off neighbor in the close solar system, Neptune, will be apparent through a telescope in the mornings through September 13 and during the nights September 14 to December 31. It will be at its most brilliant between July 19 and November 8.
