This month’s photo topic was “Quarters” and the photo was taken by the local photographer and club member Sue Donohue.
With the subject open to interpretation, we had photos including Shearer’s quarters, Military quarters, fruit quarters etc.
This photo was of the first quarter moon phase taken on 26th July using a 150-600mm lens.
The next first quarter moon phase will occur on 24th August.
August has been a particularly exciting month for stargazers and Astronomers alike with 5 astrological events taking place.
The Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn occurred on 3rd August and the Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter on 8thAugust.
August 12-14th, the Perseid meteor shower peaked above Sydney. Lauded as the ‘best meteor shower of the year’ by NASA, the Perseid shower whizzes past Earth every August, and has a 133 year orbit. Stargazers across the world were able to witness over 100 meteors per hour.
Hopefully with a clear sky on August 27th we’ll have good visibility of Saturn at opposition.
Around its August 26-27 opposition, Saturn is rising in the east at sunset and visible all night. Afterward, for the rest of 2023 Saturn will remain visible in the evening sky. It’ll finally disappear in the sunset glare by mid-February 2024.
Date and time of opposition: 18:00 AEST on August 27, 2023
At opposition, the ringed planet shines at its brightest for 2023 as it will be fully illuminated by the sun and at its closest approach to Earth,
Finally, August 31st is the full Blue Super Moon with the Moon’s closest approach to earth. Because it’s the second full Moon in the month, it’s called a Blue Moon.
Make sure you look skyward. For information about the Myall U3A Photography Group please email the Groups Convenor Paul at mulvaney@bigpond.com.
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