OBSERVING REPORT FOR AUG 15, 1016

Location:  Front Yard in Little Lepreau, NB, Canada

Date Time:  August 15, 2016 2200-2230 hrs

Weather:  Partly cloudy, no wind, high humidity, 18 C and a few mosquitoes.

Attendance:  Myself

Equipment:  Canon Rebel Xsi with 18-55mm lens on tripod.

Objective:  To capture an image of Mars and Saturn in the SW sky, after first dark.  Also to look for Perseid's Meteors

Report:

• While driving home, at approx 2100 hrs, noted was how early the sky darkens now.  By 2100 hrs the sun is now down and quite dark.
• A very large Gibbous Moon was 93% illuminated and so bright, it cast shadows on the ground.  It seemed low in the southern sky, not even higher than the big tree in front yard.
• Mars appears to be moving to the east against the background stars, rather rapidly.  A string of cloudy weather recently makes it more noticeable when it finally clears and appears.  Conversely, Mars and Saturn, together, appear to be moving farther west in the evening sky as the days go on.  This is all due to the Earths', Saturns' and Mars. orbit around the Sun.  As we pull ahead of the two planets on our inside track around the Sun, the outer planets appear to move across the sky from, from our perspective.  Have included in the image section a July 11, 2016 image taken at 2323 hrs of the south western sky.  When compared to the image taken on Aug 15, 2016 at 2210 hrs, it clearly shows how Mars is moving closer to both Saturn and Antares.
• With all the rainy weather, there has been many spectacular rainbows this summer.  The rainbow in the images section was taken Aug 13, 2016 at 0632 hrs in the western early morning sky.  Many people have been commenting on the rainbows this summer.
• Could only see two stars in Pegasus, which indicates a limiting factor of 2, which is terrible viewing conditions for deep sky objects.  Poor conditions were mostly due to the very bright gibbous Moon.
• Imaged constellations Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Pegasus, and parts of Andromeda and Scorpius while looking for shooting stars.
• Images Polaris and one corner star of the Big Dipper while trying to capture Perseid's as well.
• No satellites or shooting stars were visible to the naked eye, but, in an image, one shooting star appeared above Ursa Major.

Images:

Dubhe is one of the bowl stars in the Big Dipper.

Shooting star appeared in image.  Didn't see this during observing time.

July 11, 2016 @ 2327hrs

South western sky August 15, 2016 @ 2210 hrs

Mars passing under Saturn on August 19, 2016

Mars passing inbetween Antares and Saturn August 23, 2016

Mars passing to the left of Saturn and Antares.

By the 2nd of September Mars is moving much farther to the East of Saturn and Antares.