The Sky This Week for August 23 to August 28

THE WIZARD AND HIS DRAGONS

The Sky This Week for August 23 to August 28

Planets, Pallas, and the Big Dipper will all make wonderful viewing this week.

By Richard Talcott

 

Tuesday, August 23

• The three evening planets form a pretty isosceles triangle above the western horizon tonight. Jupiter stands highest and lies some 4° from both Mercury and Venus, while the two inner planets appear 6° apart.

• The western twilight vista isn’t the only exciting one happening this evening. As those three planets set, shift your gaze about 25° above the south-southwestern horizon. There you will find fiery Mars flanked by golden Saturn some 4° above it and ruddy Antares 2° below it. The two bright planets form a straight line with the 1st-magnitude star tonight.

Wednesday, August 24

• Last Quarter Moon occurs at 11:41 p.m. EDT. It rises around midnight local daylight time and climbs high in the southeast by the time twilight starts to paint the sky. Earth’s only natural satellite lies next to the Hyades star cluster in the constellation Taurus the Bull.

Thursday, August 25

• Mars passes 4° due south of Saturn today. The Red Planet shines twice as bright as its ringed companion, and the two make a stunning pair with the naked eye and through binoculars. Both are worth examining through a telescope as well. Mars’ sports an orange-red disk that spans 11″ and shows several subtle dark markings. Saturn measures 17″ across while its dramatic ring system stretches 38″ and tilts 26° to our line of sight.
Friday, August 26

• Distant Neptune reaches opposition and peak visibility one week from today, but the view now is essentially the same. The ice giant planet rises during evening twilight and climbs nearly halfway to the zenith in the southern sky by 1:30 a.m. local daylight time. The magnitude 7.8 planet lies in Aquarius, 1.1° southwest of 4th-magnitude Lambda (l) Aquarii. You’ll need binoculars to spy Neptune and a telescope to see its blue-gray disk, which spans 2.4″.

Saturday, August 27

• Venus and Jupiter lie closer to each other today than at any time since May 2000. At their tightest, just 4.2′ separate them. Unfortunately, this happens in late afternoon from North America. By twilight, the two worlds have pulled slightly apart — 5.5′ from the East Coast and 12.1′ from the West Coast. Still, that’s close enough that many people will see the two merge into one. Binoculars will provide spectacular views, clearly splitting the pair and revealing Mercury 5° to their lower left and just above the horizon. Most telescope-eyepiece combinations will show Venus and Jupiter in the same field, with Jupiter spanning 31″ and Venus 11″.

Sunday, August 28

• Evenings this week are great times to explore the constellation Sagittarius the Archer. This star group lies due south and at peak altitude around 9 p.m. local daylight time, just as the last vestiges of twilight fade away. The brightest stars within the constellation form the shape of a teapot — a distinctive asterism once you’ve found it. The central regions of the Milky Way pass through Sagittarius, so it’s always worth exploring the area through binoculars or a telescope.

 

Source

Astronomy Magazine

 

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Tuesday, August 23rd

Dragon Lord

Your Daily Sun & Moon Data for Tuesday, August 23rd

The Sun
Sun Direction: ↑ 114.67° ESE
Sun Altitude: 45.23°
Sun Distance: 93.984 million mi
Next Equinox: Sep 22, 2016 9:21 AM (Autumnal)
Sunrise Today: 6:18 AM↑ 75° East
Sunset Today: 7:35 PM↑ 285° West
Length of Daylight: 13 hours, 16 minutes

The Moon
Moon Direction: ↑ 268.43° W
Moon Altitude: 19.25°
Moon Distance: 228753 mi
Next New Moon: Sep 1, 20164:03 AM
Next Full Moon: Sep 16, 20162:05 PM
Next Moonset: Today12:01 PM
Current Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Illumination: 67.3%

Source

timeanddate.com

Good Tuesday Morning WOTC! May The Goddess Fill Your Path With Love, Light & Blessings Today!

Lady of the Dragons...

We Are Witches All

 

We sing and dance and hold our rites,
We live and love together.
We go sky-clad or wear our outer robes
If it is chilling weather.
About the altar we do dance;
We praise The Gods
We love and ever do, we give
Our thanks to the sun.
And moon above, We are The Craft;
Love The Craft; We are Witches All.
Join us.. In Our Circle For We Are Witches All.
Walk into our Circle and feel the love Bound,
And Meet The Lord and Lady who guide us in our Rounds;
” An’ Harm None, Do What Thou Wilt.”
It is The Wiccan Rede.
We fear no foe for love we show,
In thought and also Deed.
Our words of thanks, our songs of praise,
We offer them in pray’r.
We sing their praise, we ask their help;
We know that they are there.

—-Author Unknown
Originally published on Pagan Library

 

Basic Herbal Ointment

pent

Basic Herbal Ointment
This is a basic ointment that you can make with any herb you want to use for a magical purpose. Just choose the herb you want by consulting the correspondences and add it as directed. You’ll need 1 ounce of lanolin or cocoa butter and 1/2 oz of beeswax, 3-4 ounces of apricot kernel oil, 1 ounce of strong herb infusion of your choice, and 5 drops of essential oil of your choice. You can match the infusion and essential oil or use different herbs. Melt the lanolin or cocoa butter and the beeswax in the top of a double boiler. When completely melted begin adding the oil, pouring a very stream into the pan while stirring constantly until all the oil is added. Turn off the heat and slowly add the herb infusion stirring constantly until the cream has cooled. Add the essential oil and stir in completely. Spoon or pour the cream into an opaque white jar or clear jar covered with paper. You may add 6-8 drops of tincture of benzoin to the mixture when you add the essential oil as a preservative if desired.