Minnesota Night Skies: Keep the moon at your back and enjoy the Perseids!

This month on Minnesota Night Skies, August is the month of the full Sturgeon Moon!

We’ve got tips for watching the Perseids mid-month, either from your very own lounging chair in the backyard, or via a livestream.

Jupiter and Venus are in conjunction this month (if you want to sing the song, here’s the link). Look to the northeast August 12, between 4:00-5:00am  to see what Bob calls “a potentially life-changing” event.

Mercury returns, and Bob assures us that it’s ok if we really didn’t notice Mercury was missing in the first place.

Plus Bob’s got a link to check out wildfire smoke and its movement, for all your stargazing needs.

And next month, no meteor showers, no bright stars, no eclipses available in our hemisphere, but Saturn and Neptune get cozy. All the details of September, next month on Minnesota Night Skies!

Astro Bob is podcasting! Astro Bob King and Echo Press reporter and host Lisa Johnson did an astronomy radio show together for many years, and now they’re back on a new podcast for all of Minnesota, called Minnesota Night Skies. 

Bob King is an amateur astronomer, an photographer and author. His most recent book is called “Magnificent Aurora” about the Northern Lights. He writes a syndicated column for the Duluth News Tribune and is a regular contributor to Sky & Telescope magazine. 

Bob recommends several guides to help you find what’s up in the sky. For more information about the star maps and a local information calendar, you can check out Skymaps.com. You can look for Starwalk and Stellarium Mobile wherever you get your apps. They’re available for both Apple and Android phones. And check out Heavens Above at Heavens Above.com.