August 2023 Skywatching Tips from NASA
What are some skywatching highlights in August 2023?
Saturn reaches opposition this month, meaning it's at its biggest and brightest for the year, and visible all night. The "shooting stars" of the annual Perseid meteors are a must-see, overnight on August 12th. And this month brings two full moons – the second of which is a "Super Blue Moon."
0:00 Intro
0:11 Saturn at opposition
0:40 Pairings of the Moon, stars, and planets
1:05 Perseid meteor shower
2:16 Super Blue Moon
3:46 August Moon phases
SWOT: Earth Science Satellite Will Help Communities Plan for a Better Future
Topography (SWOT) mission will measure the height of water in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and the oceans.
As climate change accelerates the water cycle, more communities around the world will be inundated with water while others won’t have enough. SWOT data will be used to improve flood forecasts and monitor drought conditions, providing essential information to water management agencies, civil engineers, universities, the U.S. Department of Defense, disaster preparedness agencies, and others who need to track water in their local areas. In this video, examples of how SWOT data will be used in these communities are shared by a National Weather Service representative in Oregon, an Alaska Department of Transportation engineer, researchers from the University of Oregon and University of North Carolina, a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist working with the Department of Defense, and a JPL scientist working with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Agency.
:30 - Flood Watches & Warnings - Portland, Oregon
1:08 - Water Management - Fern Ridge Lake, Oregon
2:05 - Protecting Infrastructure - Alaska
2:54 - National Security - Department of Defense
3:24 - Coastal Protection - Mississippi River Delta
SWOT is expected to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in December 2022.
The mission is a collaboration between NASA and CNES, with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency and UK Space Agency. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, leads the U.S. component of the project.