1 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:10,680 Your guide to constellations, deep-sky objects, 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:15,240 planets, and events, 3 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:23,940 Tonight's Sky, highlights of the August Sky 4 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:40,860 Soon after sunset, look to the west to find Jupiter, 5 00:00:40,860 --> 00:00:49,600 king of planets. 6 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,880 Use a telescope to glimpse its cloud bands 7 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:59,500 and some of its moons. 8 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,040 Saturn spends these August evenings 9 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:11,400 perched in the southern sky. 10 00:01:18,900 --> 00:01:26,420 Catch sight of its famous rings through a telescope. 11 00:01:36,700 --> 00:01:39,180 Stargazing on a hot August night 12 00:01:39,180 --> 00:01:46,540 reveals a multitude of wonders. 13 00:01:46,540 --> 00:01:52,120 Lyra, the Small Harp, lies high in the late evening sky. 14 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,120 Its main star is the great Vega, 15 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,840 one of the brightest in the sky. 16 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,520 Look for Lyra by locating Vega and then 17 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,460 the parallelogram of stars nearby. 18 00:02:04,460 --> 00:02:08,000 Epsilon Lyrae, the bright star near Vega, 19 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,060 is actually a wonderful quadruple-star system, 20 00:02:12,060 --> 00:02:18,860 known as the Double-Double. 21 00:02:18,860 --> 00:02:21,120 In the parallelogram of Lyra 22 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,300 lies the dramatic Ring Nebula. 23 00:02:24,300 --> 00:02:27,820 It is an expanding shell of glowing gas 24 00:02:27,820 --> 00:02:34,860 expelled by the dying star at its center. 25 00:02:41,780 --> 00:02:45,640 The great constellation Cygnus, the Swan, 26 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:48,420 flies high through the August night. 27 00:02:48,420 --> 00:02:51,520 Using bright Vega as your guide star, 28 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:54,620 look for the cross just to the east. 29 00:02:54,620 --> 00:02:59,400 Cygnus is also known as the Northern Cross. 30 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,380 Albireo, at the head of the Swan, 31 00:03:02,380 --> 00:03:06,040 is a showpiece for small telescopes. 32 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:09,740 This spectacular pair of stars features contrasting 33 00:03:09,740 --> 00:03:14,160 colors of sapphire and golden topaz. 34 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:19,140 Deneb, the Swan’s tail, is a supergiant star. 35 00:03:19,140 --> 00:03:21,240 If Deneb replaced the Sun 36 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,680 in the center of our solar system, 37 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:27,260 it would engulf Mercury and Venus. 38 00:03:27,260 --> 00:03:30,700 On a clear night, hazy patches of nebulae 39 00:03:30,700 --> 00:03:33,500 can be seen by casually panning across 40 00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:39,180 the Cygnus area with binoculars. 41 00:03:39,180 --> 00:03:42,520 The most prominent is the North America Nebula, 42 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,620 an area of gas and dust illuminated by the nearby, 43 00:03:46,620 --> 00:03:54,760 brilliant star Deneb. 44 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:59,260 Cygnus also hosts several clusters of stars. 45 00:03:59,260 --> 00:04:04,820 The easiest to find are M29 and M39. 46 00:04:04,820 --> 00:04:09,920 M29 is found near the center of the Northern Cross. 47 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:11,960 When viewed in a small telescope, 48 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,620 it resembles a small square. 49 00:04:15,620 --> 00:04:17,480 Best seen in binoculars, 50 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:22,620 M39 is a loosely bound cluster of about 30 stars, 51 00:04:22,620 --> 00:04:28,080 just to the north of Deneb. 52 00:04:29,740 --> 00:04:33,660 Just south of Cygnus lies the small constellation 53 00:04:33,660 --> 00:04:37,920 Vulpecula, the Little Fox, first charted by 54 00:04:37,940 --> 00:04:46,680 Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in the 17th cent. 55 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,720 Vulpecula hosts the Dumbbell Nebula, 56 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,740 which can be seen as a faint smudge in binoculars. 57 00:04:53,740 --> 00:05:01,460 A small telescope reveals its double-lobed shape. 58 00:05:28,060 --> 00:05:23,320 ancient Greeks as the great bird of Zeus. 59 00:05:28,060 --> 00:05:31,460 Altair, the brightest star in Aquila, 60 00:05:31,460 --> 00:05:39,760 is only 16 light-years from Earth. 61 00:05:47,620 --> 00:05:52,120 The bright stars of the summer night sky, Vega, Altair, 62 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:57,860 and Deneb, make up the Summer Triangle. 63 00:05:57,860 --> 00:06:00,740 Use binoculars to look for the Coathanger, 64 00:06:00,740 --> 00:06:08,180 located halfway between Altair and Albireo. 65 00:06:14,260 --> 00:06:16,920 This remarkable little group of stars 66 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:25,040 forms a familiar pattern from our point of view. 67 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,320 The appearance of Venus in the east announces that 68 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,320 dawn is approaching. 69 00:06:48,580 --> 00:06:50,740 Before the sky grows bright, catch a 70 00:06:50,740 --> 00:06:58,000 glimpse of Venus through a telescope. 71 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:08,620 Skywatchers in eastern Europe, Africa, 72 00:07:08,620 --> 00:07:12,560 Asia, and Australia will have the chance to see a 73 00:07:12,580 --> 00:07:16,240 partial lunar eclipse on August 7th and 8th, 74 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:18,700 depending on their location. 75 00:07:18,700 --> 00:07:22,280 The Moon will darken slightly as it passes through 76 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:28,140 the edge of Earth’s shadow. 77 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:34,600 The Perseid meteor shower is an always anticipated 78 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:41,320 feature of the August night sky. 79 00:07:43,860 --> 00:07:46,700 Look for meteors during the early morning hours 80 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:53,460 of August 12th and 13th. 81 00:07:53,460 --> 00:07:57,240 Unfortunately, abundant moonlight will likely limit the 82 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,620 show this year, allowing skywatchers to see 83 00:08:00,620 --> 00:08:06,300 only the brightest meteors. 84 00:08:07,660 --> 00:08:12,300 On August 21st, a total solar eclipse will wow 85 00:08:12,300 --> 00:08:15,900 millions of skywatchers across the United States 86 00:08:15,900 --> 00:08:23,060 along a path stretching from Oregon to South Carolina. 87 00:08:23,069 --> 00:08:26,800 A partial solar eclipse will also be visible throughout 88 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,780 the continental U.S., Canada, Mexico, 89 00:08:30,780 --> 00:08:34,800 and Central America.