Scorpius Rising

The annual Perseids meteor shower has come and gone, and the planetary conjunction in the west is dissipating. Saturn is dropping into the sunset already, and Mars will soon follow it.

So it's time to consider some of the other extraordinary sights currently visible in the night sky, and there is surely no better place to start than the magnificent constellation of Scorpius. No-one is happy to see the shape of a scorpion anywhere near them on the ground, but up in the sky it's a different story. Rendered completely harmless and benign by the great god Zeus (Jupiter) himself, the scorpion in the sky becomes a figure of rare beauty, to be marvelled at as it crawls across the southern sky throughout the months of summer.

It is a large constellation, but in ancient times it was even larger, sporting a pair of giant claws, as its earthbound counterparts do. But for some reason, in modern times the claws were removed, to become the familiar constellation of Libra, the scales.

The brightest star in the constellation is the bright red Antares, which means rival of Mars, because of its blood red color. The star is also known as the heart of the scorpion. Since the planet Mars is also visible in the western sky during the early part of the night, it is a good opportunity to compare the two.

Photo of Scorpius (best viewed in a dark room)

The Sun is in Leo.

Current Solar Flare (X-ray) activity : Current Status of Solar Geomagnetic Field :

(Updated every ten minutes from the NOAA Space Environment Center through n3kl.org.)

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	Sunday, Aug 29	Monday, Aug 30	Tuesday, Aug 31	Wednesday, Sept 1	Thursday, Sept 2	Friday, Sept 3	Saturday, Sept 4
Sunrise	6:55 am	6:56 am	6:56 am	6:57 am	6:58 am	6:58 am	6:59 am
Sunset	7:46 pm	7:45 pm	7:44 pm	7:42 pm	7:41 pm	7:40 pm	7:39 pm
Moonrise	10:15 pm	10:54 pm	11:39 pm	12:31 am	12:31 am	1:30 am	2:35 am
Moonset	12:12 pm mon	1:11 pm tue	2:09 pm wed	3:07 pm thur	3:07 pm	4:01 pm	4:51 pm
Moon Phases

Current Morning Star(s):	The planet Jupiter, high in the east. (mag -2.0)	Current Evening Star(s):	The planet Venus, high in the west. (mag -4.0)

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Previously in Mexican Skies...

Jan 18 Which Way Is Up?	June 7 Saturn's Rings Disappear	Nov 29 Mexican Skies vs American Skies

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