AUGUST 2019 OBSERVING
Celestial Calendar by S. N. Johnson-Roehr
Three for One
Three asteroids, traveling conveniently close to one another in the southern sky,
come to opposition this month.Look for asteroids 16 Psyche, 15
Eunomia, and 39 Laetitia in Cap-
ricornus and Aquarius this month.
The chart above shows the aster-
oids’ paths, with tick marks indi-
cating their positions every three
days at 0h UT, which corresponds
to evening of the previous date for
those in North America.A
steroids 16 Psyche, 15 Eunomia, and 39 Laetitia wander through
western Aquarius and northern Capricornus this season, offer-
ing an excellent opportunity for observers to spot all three in a single
observing session. Shining between 8th and 9th magnitude, any of the
trio should be visible in a small telescope or 10×50 binoculars.
Asteroid 16 Psyche, traveling across Capricornus, sets the stage
for the month, reaching opposition on the night of August 6–7. The
9.3-magnitude asteroid rises at sunset and sets at sunrise on that
date, and will be about 20° high by the time full darkness sets in. The
waxing crescent Moon hangs around another hour or so after the end
of twilight, but will be well out of the way by the time Psyche culmi-
nates at 1 a.m. daylight-saving time. Psyche stands around 35° high48 AUGUST 2019 • SKY & TELESCOPE
Path (^) o
f (^) Ps
ych
e
Pa
th
(^) of
(^) La
et
iti
a
Path^ of^ Eunomia
M72
46
29
M73
June
2
5
8
11
14
17
20
26
July
5 8
1114
1720
23 26
29
Aug
1 4 7 10
(^1316192528) Sept
3
9 2427
9 Oct 3
12
18
18
(^272421)
June^30
(^85 2)
26 17
July 2
8
14
20
26
Aug 1^7
(^1013)
16
19
22
25
28
31
Sept 3
9
15
18
27
Oct 3
9
27 21 15
June 2
20
26
14
(^2023)
(^2629)
Aug 1
(^710)
13
(^1619)
(^25) Sept
3
9
15
21
24
(^18159) Oct 3
(^272421)
30
β
δ
ε
γ
ι
ι
θ
22 h 00 m 21 h 40 m^21 h^20 m 21 h 00 m 20 h 40 m
7009
AQUARIUS
CAPRICORNUS
–5°
–10°
–15°
July
5
ν
ξ
4
3
5
6
7
S 8
ta
r^ m
ag
ni
tu
de
s