Volume 16 -- Issue 8 Sky Watch Calendar -- August 2010 01. Happy B'day Maria Mitchell-1818 03. Last quarter Moon 04. Waning crescent Moon   near Pleiades 05. Waning crescent Moon   near Hyades 07. Mercury at east elongation Viking II orbits Mars-1976 08 Triple Conjunction at sunset:   Venus, Saturn, Mars 09. Launch of Luna 24, (USSR)-1976 10. New Moon Moon at perigee - 357 857 km Sun enters astronomical   sign of Leo Launch of Lunar Orbiter (USA)-1966 11. Neptune has rings! Voyager II-1989 12. Perseid Meteor Shower peak 13. Waxing crescent Moon   near 3 planets 14. Waxing crescent Moon   near Spica 16. First quarter Moon 23. Sun enters astrological   sign of Virgo 19. Venus and Mars conjunction 20. Venus at eastern elongation Mercury begins retrograde Neptune at opposition 24. Full Moon Moon at apogee - 406 389 km 26. Waning gibbous Moon   near Jupiter 29. Waning gibbous Moon   near stars of Aries