Perseid Meteor Shower!!

As is often the case in early August, the first real breath of northern air will arrive in Virginia later today  clearing skies and dropping temps to near 60 for the Perseid meteor shower.  Tonight, by midnight and into the wee hours streaks of light will zoom across the sky as bits of dust left behind as comet Swift-Tuttle last orbited the sun. The comet won't be back until 2126 but every year Earth passes through the debris trail at this time in August and offers one of the more reliable showers of the year. At a meteor or two a minute, you probably won't have to wait long to see "shooting stars".
To watch a meteor shower is easy; put on some bug spray, set up a lounge chair or blanket in an open spot away from lights and lay back and look up into space. The quick movement will catch your eye. The shower is called the Perseids because the meteors, if traced back to a point of origin seem to come out of the constellation Perseus.  Don't worry about not knowing what Perseus looks like or where it is, the meteors will seem to come from everywhere.
While you're watching for meteors the constellations of summer will be your background: the 3 bright stars of the summer triangle will be overhead with the Milky Way running through the triangle if your location is truly dark, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn will rule the south but by meteor time the big dipper will be below (or near) the northern horizon. The North Star will still be north, at the end of the little dipper handle. It should be a clear, cool evening; perfect for meteor watching and star gazing.
If you are up in the middle of the night (3am) the waning crescent moon will be hanging with Jupiter (higher) and Venus (lower). Check out the sky show tonight on Earth!!

Blue Moons for August

Tonight's FULL MOON at 11:27pm EDT means that August will have the new version of a Blue Moon on the 31st. Before becoming two full moons in one month (a Sky & Telescope mis-statement 70+ years ago) a blue moon was 4 full moons in a season. Summer will not have an old style blue moon.
Mars is still lower (to the west) of Saturn and Spica but will catch up with the star and the ringed world by mid-month as Earth leaves both behind in the solar circling. Watch their dance in the west as the sky darkens all month.  Early risers can watch Venus and Jupiter before the sun rises. On the 13th, in broad daylight, the thin waning crescent moon will occult Venus. Binoculars and a shady view of the western sky will be needed to watch it here in Va. Western observers will have an easier time viewing the blocking of the planet but will need at least binocs to find the moon and Venus in full daylight.