Archive
08/07/2019 – Ephemeris – Let’s check out the bright planets for this week
Ephemeris for Wednesday, August 7th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 25 minutes, setting at 9:00, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:36. The Moon, at first quarter today, will set at 1:00 tomorrow morning.
Let’s look at the planets for the first full week in August. Mars, Mercury and Venus are all too close to the Sun to be seen. Mars is still on the evening or east side of the Sun. Mercury and Venus are on the west or morning side of the Sun. Bright Jupiter will be in the southern sky as it gets dark. It will pass the meridian, due south at 9:30 p.m. With steadily held binoculars a few of the 4 largest satellites of Jupiter can be seen. Four of Jupiter’s largest satellites can be spotted in telescopes tonight. Two, on the east and two west of Jupiter. Jupiter will set at 1:58 a.m. Saturn, the ringed planet, will be in the south-southeast in the evening, the brightest star-like object in that direction, but significantly dimmer than Jupiter. It will set at 4:10 a.m.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon with the bright stars of the southern summer sky at 10:30 p.m. August 7, 2019. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The first quarter Moon as it might appear in binoculars or a small telescope tonight at 10:30 p.m. August 7, 2019. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Saturn with the same magnification at 1o:30 p.m.August 7, 2019. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on August 7, 2019. The night ends on the left with sunrise on the 8th. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
08/06/2019 – Ephemeris – More about viewing the Perseid meteor shower: Meteor trains
Ephemeris for Tuesday, August 6th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 27 minutes, setting at 9:02, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:35. The Moon, 1 day before first quarter, will set at 12:29 tomorrow morning.
The Perseid meteor shower has to compete this years with the bright waxing Moon, so only the brightest meteors will be visible, However even though this cuts down on the meteors visible, it happens that some of the brightest of meteors leave smokey trains, which can be seen in binoculars. Unlike aircraft contrails which are created the same altitude, meteor trains descend through the atmosphere where the winds at the different altitudes slowly bend and twist the train, tearing it up. The same occurs with any really bright meteor, Perseid or not. So remember to add binoculars to your meteor viewing kit along with a blanket, warm coat, mosquito spray and hot coffee or other beverage.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
These are screen caps from a time lapse video by Australian Phil Hart of a meteor train being torn apart by upper level winds. Credit Phil Plait’s Bad Astronomy/Phil Hart. This was not a Perseid meteor.
The actual video and much more about meteor trains are located here: https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/catching-meteor-train.
08/05/2019 – Ephemeris – Previewing the Perseid meteor shower
Ephemeris for Monday, August 5th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 30 minutes, setting at 9:03, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:34. The Moon, 2 days before first quarter, will set at 12:01 tomorrow morning.
After the Moon sets in the morning hours for the next week and a half the numbers of meteors visible will increase each night. These are members of the Perseid meteor shower of August. The peak this year is expected to be during the morning of the 13th. However by then the Moon will be nearly full. These meteors are the result of debris left along the orbit of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle shed by innumerable visits to the inner solar system. Every year at this time the Earth passes through this trail of debris which intersects its orbit giving rise to the meteor shower. We call them the Perseids, because they appear to come from the direction of the constellation Perseus the hero, which is first seen in the early evening low in the northeast.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Perseid radiant is located off the highest star in Perseus as it ascends the sky at about 10:30 p.m. The Perseid radiant is circumpolar for observers in northern Michigan. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
The passage of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle through the inner solar system November 1, 1992 to January 30, 1993. The meteoroids shed by the comet on its numerous trips close to the Sun lie close to that orbit. Note that its orbit intersects with the Earth’s orbit. That’s where the Earth will be around August 12-13 every year. Created using my LookingUp program.
08/02/2019 – Ephemeris – The Milky Way
Ephemeris for Friday, August 2nd. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 37 minutes, setting at 9:07, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:31. The Moon, 2 days past new, will set at 10:31 this evening.
We’ll get darkness tonight, but that will erode night by night as the Moon waxes in our evening sky. At mid month this month and September will be the start of about two weeks of the best evening sky viewing of the year. This is the period the summer Milky Way is displayed to its fullest to the southern horizon. City folk come to our area and are sometimes fooled by the brightness and expanse of the Milky Way and think it’s clouding up. Yes those are indeed clouds, but they are star clouds. Binoculars will begin to show them to be millions of stars, each too faint to be seen by themselves to the naked eye, but whose combined glow give the impression of a luminous cloud. Binoculars are the ideal tool to begin to explore the Milky Way. Objects still too fuzzy can be checked out with a telescope to reveal their true nature.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
The Milky Way in the Summer Triangle, also showing the constellations of Cygnus the swan and the the northern part of Aquila the Eagle. This image a stack of 5 30 second exposures taken the morning of the Perseid meteor shower the is year in a vain attempt to capture some meteors. I was hampered by a smoky haze blown in all the way from the West Coast from forest files out there.
08/01/2019 – Ephemeris – Previewing August skies
Ephemeris for Thursday, August 1st. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 40 minutes, setting at 9:08, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:29. The Moon, 1 day past new, will set at 9:54 this evening.
Let’s look ahead at the month of August. Daylight hours will decrease from 14 hours and 40 minutes today to 13 hours 17 minutes on the 31st. The altitude of the Sun at local noon, that is degrees of angle above the horizon will decrease from 63 degrees today to just over 53 degrees on the 31st. Straits area listeners can subtract one degree from those angles. Local noon, when the Sun is due south, is about 1:43 p.m. The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak during the morning hours of the 13th, by then the Moon will be nearly full. On the nights between now and then when the moon has set these meteor numbers will be building to the peak. Jupiter and Saturn will be our easily visible evening planets.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
August Evening Star Chart
Star Chart for August 2019 (10 p.m. EDT August 15, 2019). Click on image to enlarge.Created using my LookingUp program. Click on image to enlarge.
The planets and stars are plotted for the 15th at 10 p.m. EDT in the evening and 5 a.m. for the morning chart. These are the chart times. Note that Traverse City is located approximately 45 minutes behind our time meridian, West 75° longitude. (An hour 45 minutes behind our daylight saving time meridian during EDT). To duplicate the star positions on a planisphere you may have to set it to 1 hour 45 minutes earlier than the current time.
Note the chart times are for the 15th. For each week before the 15th add ½ hour (28 minutes if you’re picky). For each week after the 15th subtract ½ hour. The planet positions are updated each Wednesday on this blog. For planet positions on dates other than the 15th.
August Morning Star Chart
Star Chart for August mornings 2019 (5 a.m. EDT August 15, 2019). Click on image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
For a list of constellation names to go with the abbreviations click here.
- Pointer stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper point to Polaris the North Star.
- Leaky dipper drips on Leo.
- Follow the arc of the handle of the Big Dipper to the star Arcturus, and
- Extend like a spike to Spica.
- The Summer Triangle is in red.
- PerR is the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower (Peaks on the 13th)
Twilight Limits, Nautical and Astronomical
| EDT | |||||||
| Traverse City |
Morning twilight | Evening twilight | Dark night | Moon | |||
| Date | Astro. | Nautical | Nautical | Astro. | Start | End | Illum. |
| 2019-08-01 | 4h30m | 5h18m | 22h27m | 23h16m | 23h16m | 4h30m | 0.01 |
| 2019-08-02 | 4h31m | 5h20m | 22h26m | 23h14m | 23h14m | 4h31m | 0.04 |
| 2019-08-03 | 4h33m | 5h21m | 22h24m | 23h12m | 23h12m | 4h33m | 0.11 |
| 2019-08-04 | 4h35m | 5h23m | 22h22m | 23h10m | 23h33m | 4h35m | 0.2 |
| 2019-08-05 | 4h37m | 5h24m | 22h21m | 23h07m | – | 4h37m | 0.3 |
| 2019-08-06 | 4h39m | 5h26m | 22h19m | 23h05m | 0h01m | 4h39m | 0.42 |
| 2019-08-07 | 4h41m | 5h27m | 22h17m | 23h03m | 0h30m | 4h41m | 0.53 |
| 2019-08-08 | 4h43m | 5h29m | 22h15m | 23h01m | 1h00m | 4h43m | 0.64 |
| 2019-08-09 | 4h45m | 5h30m | 22h14m | 22h59m | 1h33m | 4h45m | 0.74 |
| 2019-08-10 | 4h47m | 5h32m | 22h12m | 22h57m | 2h11m | 4h47m | 0.83 |
| 2019-08-11 | 4h49m | 5h33m | 22h10m | 22h54m | 2h54m | 4h49m | 0.9 |
| 2019-08-12 | 4h51m | 5h35m | 22h08m | 22h52m | 3h44m | 4h51m | 0.9 |
| 2019-08-13 | 4h52m | 5h36m | 22h06m | 22h50m | 4h38m | 4h52m | 0.95 |
| 2019-08-14 | 4h54m | 5h38m | 22h04m | 22h48m | – | – | 0.98 |
| 2019-08-15 | 4h56m | 5h39m | 22h03m | 22h46m | – | – | 1 |
| 2019-08-16 | 4h58m | 5h41m | 22h01m | 22h43m | – | – | 0.99 |
| 2019-08-17 | 5h00m | 5h42m | 21h59m | 22h41m | – | – | 0.97 |
| 2019-08-18 | 5h01m | 5h43m | 21h57m | 22h39m | – | – | 0.93 |
| 2019-08-19 | 5h03m | 5h45m | 21h55m | 22h37m | 22h37m | 22h53m | 0.87 |
| 2019-08-20 | 5h05m | 5h46m | 21h53m | 22h34m | 22h34m | 23h16m | 0.8 |
| 2019-08-21 | 5h07m | 5h48m | 21h51m | 22h32m | 22h32m | 23h41m | 0.72 |
| 2019-08-22 | 5h08m | 5h49m | 21h49m | 22h30m | 22h30m | – | 0.62 |
| 2019-08-23 | 5h10m | 5h51m | 21h47m | 22h28m | 22h28m | 0h10m | 0.52 |
| 2019-08-24 | 5h12m | 5h52m | 21h45m | 22h25m | 22h25m | 0h43m | 0.41 |
| 2019-08-25 | 5h14m | 5h54m | 21h43m | 22h23m | 22h23m | 1h23m | 0.3 |
| 2019-08-26 | 5h15m | 5h55m | 21h41m | 22h21m | 22h21m | 2h13m | 0.2 |
| 2019-08-27 | 5h17m | 5h56m | 21h39m | 22h19m | 22h19m | 3h13m | 0.11 |
| 2019-08-28 | 5h19m | 5h58m | 21h37m | 22h16m | 22h16m | 4h23m | 0.05 |
| 2019-08-29 | 5h20m | 5h59m | 21h35m | 22h14m | 22h14m | 5h20m | 0.01 |
| 2019-08-30 | 5h22m | 6h01m | 21h33m | 22h12m | 22h12m | 5h22m | 0 |
| 2019-08-31 | 5h24m | 6h02m | 21h31m | 22h10m | 22h10m | 5h24m | 0.03 |
Twilight calendar was generated using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
See my blog post: Twilight Zone for the definitions of the different periods of twilight here: https://bobmoler.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/.
NASA Calendar of Planetary Events
Aug 1 Th Venus: 3.6° W 2 Fr 3:08 am Moon Perigee: 359400 km 7 We 1:31 pm First Quarter 9 Fr 6:53 pm Moon-Jupiter: 2.6° S 9 Fr 6:59 pm Mercury Elongation: 19° W 12 Mo 12:28 am Moon South Dec.: 22.4° S 12 Mo 6:05 am Moon-Saturn: 0° 12 Mo 10:45 am Moon Descending Node 12 Mo 12:29 pm Jupiter-Antares: 6.9° N 13 Tu 2:53 am Perseid Shower: ZHR = 90 14 We 1:44 am Venus Superior Conj. 15 Th 8:29 am Full Moon 17 Sa 12:24 am Mercury-Beehive: 1.2° S 17 Sa 6:50 am Moon Apogee: 406200 km 23 Fr 10:56 am Last Quarter 24 Sa 5:24 am Moon-Aldebaran: 2.5° S 26 Mo 1:53 pm Moon North Dec.: 22.5° N 26 Mo 9:50 pm Moon Ascending Node 28 We 7:31 am Moon-Beehive: 0.2° S 30 Fr 6:37 am New Moon 30 Fr 11:57 am Moon Perigee: 357200 km Sep 1 Su Venus: 5.2° E
All event times are given for UTC-4 hr: Eastern Daylight Saving Time.
Sky Events Calendar by Fred Espenak and Sumit Dutta (NASA’s GSFC),
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SKYCAL/SKYCAL.html.
If you go to the above site you can print out a list like the above for the entire year or calendar pages for your time zone.
Sun and Moon Rising and Setting Events
LU Ephemeris of Sky Events for Interlochen/TC
August, 2019 Local time zone: EDT
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| DATE | SUN SUN DAYLIGHT| TWILIGHT* |MOON RISE OR ILLUM |
| | RISE SET HOURS | END START |PHASE SET** TIME FRACTN|
+=======================================================================+
|Thu 1| 06:28a 09:08p 14:40 | 10:24p 05:12a | Set 09:54p 1%|
|Fri 2| 06:29a 09:07p 14:37 | 10:22p 05:14a | Set 10:31p 5%|
|Sat 3| 06:31a 09:06p 14:35 | 10:20p 05:15a | Set 11:03p 12%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 4| 06:32a 09:04p 14:32 | 10:19p 05:17a | Set 11:33p 21%|
|Mon 5| 06:33a 09:03p 14:30 | 10:17p 05:18a | Set 12:01a 31%|
|Tue 6| 06:34a 09:02p 14:27 | 10:15p 05:20a | Set 12:29a 42%|
|Wed 7| 06:35a 09:00p 14:25 | 10:14p 05:21a |F Qtr Set 01:00a 53%|
|Thu 8| 06:36a 08:59p 14:22 | 10:12p 05:23a | Set 01:33a 64%|
|Fri 9| 06:37a 08:57p 14:20 | 10:10p 05:24a | Set 02:11a 73%|
|Sat 10| 06:39a 08:56p 14:17 | 10:08p 05:26a | Set 02:54a 82%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 11| 06:40a 08:55p 14:14 | 10:06p 05:27a | Set 03:44a 89%|
|Mon 12| 06:41a 08:53p 14:12 | 10:05p 05:29a | Set 04:38a 94%|
|Tue 13| 06:42a 08:51p 14:09 | 10:03p 05:30a | Set 05:36a 98%|
|Wed 14| 06:43a 08:50p 14:06 | 10:01p 05:32a | Set 06:36a 100%|
|Thu 15| 06:44a 08:48p 14:03 | 09:59p 05:33a |Full Rise 09:17p 100%|
|Fri 16| 06:46a 08:47p 14:01 | 09:57p 05:35a | Rise 09:44p 98%|
|Sat 17| 06:47a 08:45p 13:58 | 09:55p 05:36a | Rise 10:08p 94%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 18| 06:48a 08:44p 13:55 | 09:53p 05:38a | Rise 10:31p 89%|
|Mon 19| 06:49a 08:42p 13:52 | 09:51p 05:39a | Rise 10:53p 83%|
|Tue 20| 06:50a 08:40p 13:49 | 09:49p 05:41a | Rise 11:16p 75%|
|Wed 21| 06:51a 08:39p 13:47 | 09:47p 05:42a | Rise 11:41p 66%|
|Thu 22| 06:53a 08:37p 13:44 | 09:46p 05:44a | Rise 12:10a 56%|
|Fri 23| 06:54a 08:35p 13:41 | 09:44p 05:45a |L Qtr Rise 12:43a 46%|
|Sat 24| 06:55a 08:34p 13:38 | 09:42p 05:47a | Rise 01:24a 36%|
+------+-----------------------+----------------+-----------------------+
|Sun 25| 06:56a 08:32p 13:35 | 09:40p 05:48a | Rise 02:13a 26%|
|Mon 26| 06:57a 08:30p 13:32 | 09:38p 05:50a | Rise 03:13a 16%|
|Tue 27| 06:59a 08:28p 13:29 | 09:36p 05:51a | Rise 04:23a 9%|
|Wed 28| 07:00a 08:27p 13:26 | 09:34p 05:52a | Rise 05:40a 3%|
|Thu 29| 07:01a 08:25p 13:23 | 09:32p 05:54a | Rise 07:00a 0%|
|Fri 30| 07:02a 08:23p 13:20 | 09:30p 05:55a |New Set 08:59p 1%|
|Sat 31| 07:03a 08:21p 13:17 | 09:28p 05:57a | Set 09:31p 4%|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* Nautical Twilight
** Moonrise or moonset, whichever occurs between sunrise and sunset
Generated using my LookingUp for DOS program.
07/31/2019 – Ephemeris – Looking at the bright planets on this last day of July
Ephemeris for Wednesday, July 31st. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 9:10, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:28. The Moon is new today, and won’t be visible.
Let’s look at the planets for the last day of July. Mars, Mercury and Venus are all too close to the Sun to be seen. Mars is still on the evening or east side of the Sun. Mercury and Venus are on the west or morning side of the Sun. Bright Jupiter will be in the southern sky as it gets dark. It will pass the meridian, due south at 9:58 p.m. With steadily held binoculars a few of the 4 largest satellites of Jupiter can be seen. Three of Jupiter’s largest satellites can be spotted in telescopes tonight. One, Ganymede will be passing in front of the planet tonight. Jupiter will set at 2:26 a.m. Saturn, the ringed planet, will be lower down in the southeast in the evening, the brightest star-like object in that direction, but significantly dimmer than Jupiter. It will set at 4:40 a.m.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Jupiter and Saturn with the constellations of the southern summer sky at 10:30 p.m. July 31, 2019. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium.
Jupiter and Saturn with the same magnification at 11p.m. July 31, 2019. Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is about to transit the face of Jupiter. The transit starts at 11:11 p.m. and ends at 1:32 a.m. Despite how they appear here Jupiter’s moons are dimmer than the planet. The same is true for Saturn’s moons, however Titan is much brighter than the other moons. Created using Cartes du Ciel (Sky Charts).
Planets and the Moon at sunset and sunrise of a single night starting with sunset on the right on July 31, 2019. The night ends on the left with sunrise on August 1st. Click on the image to enlarge. Created using my LookingUp program.
07/30/2019 – Ephemeris – Finding the Little Dipper
Ephemeris for Tuesday, July 30th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 44 minutes, setting at 9:11, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:27. The Moon, 1 day before new, will rise at 5:37 tomorrow morning.
11 p.m. is the best time now to spot the Little Dipper. It is difficult to spot, being much smaller and dimmer than the Big Dipper. However it is the Big Dipper that points to it, by the two stars at the front of the bowl of the Big Dipper to point to the North Star, Polaris, the star that doesn’t appear to move. That is the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. The handle is seen in a curve of the stars upwards and a bit to the left to a small box of stars that is its bowl. The two brighter stars at the front of the bowl are called the Guard Stars because they guard the pole. The Little Dipper is not an official constellation, but is Ursa Minor the lesser bear. To the Anishinaabe native peoples of this area it represents a loon.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Little Dipper finder animation. The Little Dipper is also Ursa Minor and the Loon. Polaris is the Pole Star and North Star. The Guard Stars are Kochab and Pherkad. Except for the named stars, the Little Dipper stars are quite faint and require moonless skies away from the city to spot. Chick on the image to enlarge. Created using Stellarium and GIMP.
The loon image constellation art is part of the latest versions of Stellarium. Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) constellation art by Annette S Lee and William Wilson from Ojibwe Sky Star Map Constellation Guide, by A. Lee, W Wilson, C Gawboy, J. Tibbetts. ISBN 978-0-615-98678-4.
07/29/2019 – Ephemeris – The South Delta Aquariid meteor shower is at peak now
Ephemeris for Monday, July 29th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 47 minutes, setting at 9:12, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:26. The Moon, 2 days before new, will rise at 4:30 tomorrow morning.
The South Delta Aquariid meteor shower is at its peak now. It’s not that great of a meteor shower. If its radiant were at the zenith we might expect 25 meteors an hour. The radiant will be highest low in the south at 3 a.m. However along with meteors appearing to radiate from the south from this meteor shower we expect growing numbers of meteors coming from the northeastern sky because the Perseid meteor shower that peaks around August 13th is beginning to be seen. The Perseids will be visible all night, but the South Delta Aquariids will be best seen after midnight. I suggest that you look for the Perseids before peak this year because the bright Moon will interfere at its peak.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
South Delta Aquariid meteor shower at peak and Perseids firing up at 3 a.m. July 30 2019. PerR and DAqrR are the radiants.
07/26/2019 – Ephemeris – Scorpius the starry scorpion crawls over the southern horizon
Ephemeris for Friday, July 26th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 53 minutes, setting at 9:15, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:23. The Moon, 2 days past last quarter, will rise at 2:11 tomorrow morning.
There’s a large constellation located low in the south at about about 11 tonight. It’s Scorpius the scorpion. Its brightest star is Antares in its heart, a red giant star, that I get calls about from time to time as being a UFO. With bright Jupiter above and left of it, it won’t be as noticeable. From Antares to the right is a star then a vertical arc of three stars that is its head. The Scorpion’s tail is a line of stars running down to the left of Antares swooping to the horizon before coming back up and ending in a pair of stars that portray his poisonous stinger. There is a beautiful star cluster seen in binoculars at that first bend in the tail that is unfortunately too low to appreciate from this far north. I was very impressed with it when spotting it from the Florida Keys when I was down there in 1986 observing Halley’s Comet.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Animated finder chart for Scorpius the scorpion for 11 p.m. July 26, 2019. A year from now Jupiter will be just pass where Saturn is, and Saturn will be just off the frame of this image. Also note the “Teapot” asterism of Sagittarius just left of the scorpion with the Milky Way as steam rising from its spout.
07/25/2019 – Ephemeris – Finding the second bird in the summer sky: Aquila the eagle
Ephemeris for Thursday, July 25th. Today the Sun will be up for 14 hours and 55 minutes, setting at 9:16, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:22. The Moon, 1 day past last quarter, will rise at 1:40 tomorrow morning.
Aquila the eagle is a constellation that lies in the Milky Way. It’s in the southeastern sky as it gets dark. Its brightest star, Altair is one of the stars of the Summer Triangle, a group of three bright stars dominating the eastern sky in the evening now. Altair, in the head of the eagle, is flanked by two slightly dimmer stars, the shoulders of the eagle. The eagle is flying northeastward through the Milky Way. Its wings are seen in the wing tip stars. A curved group of stars to the lower right of Altair is its tail. Within Aquila the Milky Way shows many dark clouds as part of the Great Rift that splits it here. The other summer bird is Cygnus the swan above and left of Aquila, flying in the opposite direction.
The times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan. They may be different for your location.
Addendum
Animated Cygnus finder chart. Created using Stellarium.
The Great Rift finder animation as seen in the Summer Triangle, also showing the constellations of Cygnus the swan and the the northern part of Aquila the Eagle. This image a stack of 5 30 second exposures taken the morning of the Perseid meteor shower last year in a vain attempt to capture some meteors.
