First total eclipse of the Sun in over two years top event of August

Yours truly will go to China today for two weeks to intercept the phenomenon from the headline in Xinjiang and it is not clear (yet) whether continuing to update this blog will be possible on the road. Thus the sky highlights of August 2008 come to you already today.

• Aug. 1: Total Eclipse of the Sun in Greenland, Canada, Russia and China - there's more info here and esp. here while webcasts are/will be linked here and here and there are already blogs of folks going to Mongolia and Siberia.
  
  
• Aug. 2: Very young Moon 4° from Venus; evening apparition of the latter get's going.
  
  
• Aug. 5: Venus near Regulus just after sunset.
  
  
• Aug. 12, around noonn UTC: Maximum of the Perseids (waxing Moon setting after midnight).
  
  
• Aug. 13: Venus just 0.2° from Saturn (telescope required).
  
  
• Aug. 15: Neptune in opposition at 7.8 mag. in Cap.
  
  
• Aug. 16/17: Partial lunar eclipse, max. phase 81%

In other news the apparent survival of the Little Red Spot in Jupiter's clouds can be seen in images from July 18, July 17 and July 15 (lower-res views from that date here and here); a much-quoted Hubble press release on its demise was premature. More challenging Jovian sights? How about Amalthea with 80 cm?

• The light curve of Boattini is going down; also pics of d'Arrest, Lulin and Chury. • A paper on next year's Epsilon Aur campaign and how to contribute with small equipment. • How a newspaper covered a green flash, and NLCs over Iran. • The Moon transits Earth as seen by EPOXI. And an ISS movie of July 14.