Welcome to August! Also known as the new fall!
It sure feels like September outside today…Temperatures in the 70s and dewpoints in the 40s! That’s downright crisp! Where’s my pumpkin beer?
Obviously today is not the typical August experience around here…On average, highs this time of year are a few degrees on either side of 80.
One not-so-fun fact about this month, we start losing daylight at a pretty good clip. Friday will be our final day of the year with sunsets 8pm or later.
It’s going to be a lovely night to do some skywatching…The Full “Sturgeon” Moon will rise just after 8:30pm in the east. Reminder that this is also a “supermoon”…a full moon that occurs at perigee (when the Moon is closest to Earth in its orbit).
Wednesday will be another gorgeous, comfy day.
On Thursday, we will start to see some clouds and a slight uptick in humidity. Cannot completely rule out a PM shower either.
Friday looks like the wettest day of the week.
In fact, some areas could receive an inch or two of rainfall.
The good news about the Friday rain…it isn’t coming on Saturday! Most indications are that the rain will largely clear out in time for the weekend. Perhaps just a widely scattered, leftover shower. Looking like a great couple of days for a bike ride!
It’s a bird…it’s a plane…nope it’s actually a rocket!
Tonight at 8:31pm NASA will launch the Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia.
This rocket is the latest in a series of missions to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.
And…drum roll please…you can see it! From Massachusetts!
As the rocket heads southeastward off the East Coast, it will be visible to folks up and down the Coast from South Carolina to Massachusetts. The farther away you live from the launch, the lower in the horizon it will be. Folks living in Connecticut, Rhode Island and most of southern and southeastern Massachusetts will be on the very northern edge of the visibility window.
So, how do you see it?
You will certainly need a clear and unobstructed view of the southern horizon. Assuming the rocket launches on time, you should be able to see the vapor trail approximately 2 and a half to 3 minutes after the launch (8:33:30-8:34:00).
The farther south you live, the better the view. Those on the South Coast, Cape and Islands should have a terrific show. If you live in northern MA. or southern New Hampshire, you are likely out of luck with the vapor trail projected to be just below the horizon.
With any rocket launch, there is always the chance of a postponement or scratch. The weather looks pretty good right now down in Virginia, but it doesn’t take much for NASA’s team to push for another day.
The weather here could not be more perfect for a viewing! Daytime cumulus will die off and skies will be mainly clear in our entire region.
One more bonus…just minutes after the rocket launch, the full “sturgeon” Moon will rise in the east.
This is the first of two supermoons this month. Supermoon’s occur when the Moon is at its closest to Earth in its orbit. Tonight’s full Moon will appear both larger and brighter than average.
Happy viewing!
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