Neptune at Opposition, August 2014
Friday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m. EDT. The planet Neptune reaches opposition with the sun in Aquarius, at magnitude 7.8. It is 29 astronomical units from Earth and 2.4 arc seconds in diameter.
Saturn and the Moon, August 2014
Sunday, Aug. 31, early evening. Saturn will be just to the right of the crescent moon in North America. Observers in West Africa will see the moon pass in front of Saturn, as seen from Ibadan, Nigeria, here.
Mercury, August 2014
Mercury will be too close to the sun to observe most of the month, reappearing at dusk in the Southern Hemisphere late in the month.
Venus, August 2014
Venus is low in the eastern sky, rising just before the sun. Close encounters with Jupiter and the Beehive Cluster on the 18th, low in the dawn sky.
Mars, August 2014
Mars is now fading rapidly in brightness as it moves towards the far side of the sun.
Jupiter, August 2014
Jupiter reappears from behind the sun in the middle of the month, rising in morning twilight.
Saturn, August 2014
Saturn, in Libra, is low in the mid-evening sky.
Uranus, August 2014
Uranus is located in the constellation Pisces, rising in the late evening.
Neptune, August 2014
Neptune is in opposition to the sun on the 29th in Aquarius, visible all night long.
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