Asteroid 2 Pallas is stationary at 7 A.M. EDT in the constellation Aquila. At 10th magnitude, this space rock is a bit of a challenge, but should be visible through amateur scopes.
Aquila itself is hard to miss — its brightest star, magnitude 0.8 Altair, anchors one point of the huge Summer Triangle asterism and dominates northeastern Aquila. Pallas is not far from this star, about 6.5° (one binocular field) to its southeast.
Note that the main-belt world is just 5’ from a field star of similar brightness. If you spot the two points of light together in your optics, Pallas is the easternmost object of the two. Previously moving westward, or retrograde, against the background stars, Pallas will now make a turn back toward the east, resuming prograde motion. If you come back over the next few nights, you’ll see Pallas pull away from the background star, moving south and slightly east as it makes a slow, shallow turnaround in the sky.
Sunrise: 6:51 A.M.
Sunset: 6:51 P.M.
Moonrise: 10:41 A.M.
Moonset: 8:23 P.M.
Moon Phase: Waxing crescent (14%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.
For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column.
