August (the word)
“Marked by majestic dignity or grandeur.” (from the Merriam-Webster dictionary)
August (the month)
In 8 B.C. the Roman Senate honored Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, by changing the name of their month “Sextilis” to “Augustus.”
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As Sunday is a restful pause before commencing the work week, August is the pause before the start of school and the resuming of our normal lives. I realize that these days “normal” is no longer – normal. But August is summer’s last act. And it is ours to enjoy.
“The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year,
like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning.
The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring,
and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn,
but the first week of August is motionless, and hot.
It is curiously silent, too, with blank white dawns and glaring noons,
and sunsets smeared with too much color.”
Natalie Babbitt
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August 2, August 19: Saturn and Jupiter Oppositions
In August, Saturn and Jupiter will appear bright all month long, and reach peak brightness during an event known as opposition (opposite of the sun from the perspective of Earth). Saturn is set to reach opposition on Aug. 2, while Jupiter is set to reach opposition on Aug. 19. They will rise in the east around sunset, track across the southern sky throughout the night and eventually set in the west around sunrise each night in August.
August 12-13: The Perseid Meteor Shower
One of the brighter meteor showers of the year, the shower will peak on August 12-13 in the Chicago area, with up to 100 meteors/hour visible where it is dark enough to see them.
August 21-22: Blue Moon
Each astronomical season usually has three full moons, but once every two or three years, there is a season that has four full moons. When this happens, the third of the four full moons of the season is considered a seasonal blue moon.
Lord, how wonderful you are!
You have stored up so many good things for us,
like a treasure chest heaped up and spilling over with blessings —
Psalm 31:19a The Passion Translation
