At sunset the Moon, approaching First Quarter phase, is nearly half full and is almost 90° or one quarter-circle to the left of the setting Sun. Tonight and next few evenings are wonderful for using binoculars or a small telescope to view lunar surface features. As the sky darkens, look for bright Jupiter about 6° to Moon's upper left, and the star Spica about twice as far to Moon's lower right. An hour before sunrise on Wednesday, look low in ENE for brilliant Venus accompanied by Mercury 5.5° below, and the Gemini Twins, Castor 4.5° upper left of Pollux, about 10° to Venus' upper left.

This evening the Moon has just passed First Quarter phase and is just over half full. As the sky darkens, look for Jupiter 10° to Moon's upper right, and the 3rd-mag. star Alpha in Libra 5° to Jupiter's left. From now until Sept. 11, watch Jupiter close in on that star. An hour before sunrise, look low in ENE to find bright Venus with Mercury less than 5° below it Aug. 3-18, and as close as 2.2° below it in a "quasi-conjunction" on Aug. 10 and 11.

As the sky darkens, look for the reddish first-magnitude star Antares, heart of the Scorpion, 8° to the Moon's left. Lying closely left of the Moon at dusk is the 3rd-mag. star Pi in the head of Scorpius. From Michigan and elsewhere in eastern U.S., the Moon approaches that star until moonset, but doesn't reach it. From the far West, the Moon does cover the star. For information on the occultation, visit http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota

From East Lansing, MI, the Moon passes due south, about 19° up, at 9:33 p.m. EDT. As the sky darkens, note Antares 5° to Moon's upper right.

From East Lansing, MI, this month's southernmost Moon passes due south, less than 18° up, at 10:33 p.m. EDT. At that time, look for the 3rd-mag. star Gamma Sagittarii, tip of the spout of the Teapot and point of the Archer's Arrow) 3° lower left of the Moon. Binoculars will help you see the star in the glare of moonlight. From rising to setting, the Moon is above the horizon only 8.3 hours.

This evening the Moon is within the handle of the Teapot. Each of the four stars lies within a few degrees of the Moon and can be easily picked up with binoculars. In morning twilight Aug. 7-14, Mercury and Venus form a close pair within 3° apart low in ENE. The best time to look is between 1-1/4 hours and one hour before sunrise. During those eight mornings Mercury will approach within 2.2° below brighter Venus on Aug. 10 and 11, and then drop away again. On Mon. Aug. 7 Mercury is 19° (the greatest distance this time around) from the Sun and 2.8° below Venus, just as the latter planet passes 6.5° lower right of Pollux, one of the Gemini twins.

Saturn is in conjunction with the Sun today and will emerge into morning twilight later this month. It will climb past Mercury Aug. 20-21 and past Venus Aug. 26-27. Meanwhile this week, enjoy the long-lasting pairing of Mercury and Venus low in ENE, best just over an hour before sunrise. At their closest, they'll be just 2.2° apart Aug. 10 and 11. Today from the latitude of East Lansing, MI, the Moon rises 36° south of east about 40 minutes before sunset.

Today the nearly Full Moon rises very near the time of sunset. On Wednesday and Thursday from southern and southwestern U.S. the Moon comes up in twilight, soon after sunset, and from the far northern U.S., it comes up before nightfall for two additional nights.

Tonight from East Lansing, MI, the Moon, just past full, rises in ESE about 9:20 p.m. EDT, just 32 minutes after sunset. You may have to wait several minutes until the reddened Moon begins to peek above distant landscape features. On each successive night, the Moon will rise farther north and not much later. For example, from August 9 to 14 from lat. 40° N and northward, including all of Michigan, the moon rises less than 30 minutes later each night. An hour before sunup on Thursday and Friday mornings, look low in ENE to catch Mercury just 2.2° below Venus in a "quasi-conjunction" during which neither planet overtakes the other. Venus is in the background as Mercury "rounds the bend" of its orbit a bit too low to pass in front of Venus. The Moon is then in the southwest sky.

From the latitude of East Lansing, MI, the Moon rises 12° south of east one hour after sunset. On Friday, Mercury is again 2.2° below Venus before it begins to sink farther below it each morning.

Tonight from the latitude of southern Michigan, the Moon rises only two degrees south of east within 1 hour 25 minutes after sunset, before twilight ends.

Tonight the Moon rises 7° north of east still within two hours after sunset from northern U.S., and reduces the number of meteors visible in tonight's peak of the Perseid meteor shower. The best time to look is when the radiant (direction from which the meteors are approaching Earth) is high in a dark sky, which occurs in the hours between midnight and first light of dawn. Meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, but if their paths are extended backward, all shower members trace back to a spot in Perseus near the "W" of Cassiopeia. From East Lansing, MI, first light occurs at 4:53 a.m. EDT, so get in at least an hour or two of viewing before then. The meteors are dust particles spread out around the 130-year orbit of Comet Swift-Tuttle. Earth moves through a stream of meteoroids from this comet every year around this date.

From the latitude of southern Michigan, the waning gibbous Moon rises 17° north of east over two hours after sunset. Low in ENE an hour before sunrise on Monday, Mercury is still within 3° below Venus. Look for the star Procyon low, just N of E, and the bright "Dog Star" Sirius rising in ESE, 26° right of Procyon whose name means "before the dog."

Now that the Moon rises late, these are good nights for viewing the Milky Way. Using our evening sky map for August, follow the path of the Milky Way from Sagittarius in the south, through the Summer Triangle of Vega-Deneb-Altair just east of overhead, down through Cassiopeia in the northeast. The Milky Way appears like clouds of steam rising from the spout of the Teapot of Sagittarius. Using just binoculars, the Cygnus Star Cloud, an especially bright patch of the Milky Way just south of the center star of the Northern Cross, can be easily resolved into stars. (That's because many of its stars are relatively nearby, in our own spiral arm.) Tonight the Moon, just over half full, rises in ENE 2 hours 40 minutes after sunset from the latitude of East Lansing, MI.

Tonight about 4-1/2 hours after sunset, locate the Last Quarter (half full) Moon low in ENE and use binoculars to see the Pleiades star cluster in the same field to the lower left. From East Lansing, MI, the viewing time is shortly after 1 a.m. and the cluster will be within 5° to the Moon's lower left. You can watch the Moon gradually close in on the Pleiades during the night. It will reach the nearer edge of the cluster as Wednesday's dawn brightens on the West Coast. Best view is in predawn in Hawaii, where a few stars are covered by the Moon. For information on this occultation of the Pleiades, visit http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota

Before dawn on Thursday, see how far the Moon has moved in 24 hours. An hour before sunrise, find the fat crescent Moon high in the east, with Aldebaran, eye of Taurus, 10 or 11° to its lower right, and the Pleiades cluster 11° to the Moon's upper right. Mercury is now over 4° to Venus' lower left.

This month's northernmost moonrises occur late tonight, near 2nd-mag. Beta Tauri or Elnath, the Bull's northern horn, and late tomorrow night, in Gemini. From East Lansing, MI, moonrise occurs about 40° north of east tonight (Friday morning) at 1:15 a.m. EDT, and tomorrow night (Saturday morning) at 2:10 a.m. The Moon climbs highest on Friday, 14° south of overhead, at 9:33 a.m., and sets that afternoon at 5:52 p.m. On Friday, from rising to setting, the Moon is above the horizon for 16.6 hours, about an hour longer than the Sun on the longest day of the year, at the summer solstice!

Grab your binoculars and get out by 45 minutes before sunrise to a place with a good view of the ENE horizon and start looking for Saturn. Venus is easy, 8° up, with Mercury on Saturday morning about 5-1/2° to its lower left. Saturn is just rising within 3° lower left of Mercury and will get higher and easier in coming days.

An hour before sunrise on Sunday, look in ENE for a beautiful crescent Moon with Pollux and Castor, the Gemini Twins, 4-1/2° apart and to the Moon's left. Venus is far below. In the next 15 minutes, use binoculars to find Mercury just over 6° lower left of Venus, and fainter Saturn just over a degree below Mercury.

An hour before sunrise on Monday, a very pretty sight: Low in ENE, look for a slender crescent Moon with its dark side illuminated by sunlight reflected off the Earth: earthshine! Above the Moon are the Gemini Twins, Castor above Pollux, and below the crescent lies brilliant Venus. In the next 15 minutes, using binoculars, watch for Saturn 6° to Venus' lower left, and Mercury nearly one degree to Saturn's lower left. The three planets Venus-Saturn-Mercury span just 7°, their most compact grouping.

On Tuesday 45 minutes before sunrise, find Venus 7° up in ENE, with a very slender crescent Moon 4° to its lower left. Binoculars will show Saturn 3° to Moon's lower right, and Mercury rising within 5° below the Moon and within 3° lower left of Saturn. This compact gathering of the Moon and three planets spans less than 8°. From East Lansing, the Moon is just 33 hours before New.

An hour before sunrise on Wednesday, find Venus nearly 5° up in ENE with Saturn rising 4° to its lower left. Last chance for Mercury? Wait 15 minutes, then, using binoculars, watch for its rising about 4.5° lower left of Saturn. In conjunction with the Sun tonight is the star Regulus, which will emerge into the morning sky near Venus in two weeks.

The Moon is New today at 3:10 p.m. EDT, and won't be seen from U.S. until Friday or Saturday, very low in the west soon after sunset.

On Friday an hour before sunrise, Venus is within 4° up in ENE, with Saturn 1.7° to its lower left. Watch their close pairing over the weekend.

Within half an hour after sunset, if you have an unobstructed horizon nearly due west, you can try for the 2-day-old crescent Moon. Across the southern to southwestern U.S. and Hawaii, binoculars may show faint Mars a few degrees to the Moon's right. An hour before sunrise on Saturday, find Venus very low in ENE, with Saturn just 0.6° to its lower left. Check again tomorrow.

Half an hour after sunset, the 3-day-old Moon may be easy to see, even though it's very low in W to WSW. As the Moon sets, try to find Spica about 15° to Moon's upper left, and 19° lower right of Jupiter. An hour before sunup on Sunday, find Saturn 0.5° upper right of Venus.

This evening, an hour after sunset, look very low in WSW to find the 4-day-old crescent Moon with Spica within 4° to its upper left. Look to the lower right of bright Jupiter. An hour before sunup on Monday, Saturn appears 1.6° upper right of Venus.

An hour after sunset, look low in SW to WSW for a crescent Moon with Jupiter 12° upper left, and Spica within 9° to Moon's lower right. Binoculars show the 3rd-mag. star Alpha in Libra 2.3° to Jupiter's upper left. On Tuesday an hour before sunup, Saturn is 2.7° to Venus' upper right.

An hour after sunset, find a fat crescent Moon low in SW, with Jupiter 6° upper right, Antares 25° upper left, and Spica 21° lower right. An hour before sunrise on Wednesday, look low in ENE to find Saturn nearly 4° upper right of Venus.

An hour after sunset, find the Moon nearly half full, low in SW, with Jupiter 15° right, and Antares, heart of the Scorpion, 13° to Moon's upper left. On the last morning of August, an hour before sunup, Venus and Saturn are 5° apart. Each day, Venus gets lower, Saturn higher, owing to different speeds of Venus, Earth, and Saturn in their orbits around the Sun.

An hour after sunset from mid-Michigan, the First Quarter (half) Moon is in SSW with Antares, heart of the Scorpion, within 1-1/4° above the Moon's northern (top) edge. As the evening progresses the Moon creeps eastward toward Tau Scorpii, the 3rd-mag. star 2.3° lower left of Antares. An occultation of that star is visible north of Los Angeles, but the event is very low in the sky.

Please send any comments, suggestions, or questions to Shane Horvatin: horvati3@msu.edu