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Astronomy Events – May 2013

April 30, 2013

by yaska77

Hot on the heels of an unexpected break in the weather (allowing us to see April’s partial eclipse of the Moon) we’re eager to get stuck in to another new month of astronomical events!

Now spring has finally arrived in the UK we’re hoping to be able to get some new images to show you, and if you get any snaps yourself please feel free to tweet them to us.  Is there anything in particular you’re looking forward to?

Thursday 2nd May – The Moon is at Last Quarter phase today

Monday 6th May – The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks early this morning (01:30 UTC/02:30 BST) with an expected ZHR of 10 meteors per hour as viewed from the UK (observers from more southern latitudes could see up to 55 per hour).  Appearing to originate from the constellation Aquarius (hence the name), Aquarids are known for bright tails left by fast moving meteors

Aquarid Meteor Radiant 06052013 02.30 UTC Sky-Watching.co.uk

Shown above at 02:30 UTC/03:30 BST on 6th May, the Aquarid meteor shower will be active from the end of April until the end of May (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Thursday 9th – Friday 10th May – An annular solar eclipse occurs today when the Moon’s apparent diameter is smaller than that of the Sun (blocking most of its light) which causes it to look like a ring (or annulus)

This type of eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region thousands of kilometres wide, and will be visible from northern Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean, with the maximum of just over 6 minutes visible from the Pacific Ocean east of French Polynesia

The eclipse begins at 21:25:10 UTC

Friday 10th May – Today sees a New Moon so now is a good time for observing deep sky objects usually affected by moonlight

Saturday 11th May – Bright planets Venus and Jupiter flank the Moon just after sunset.  Shown below at 19:45 UTC/ 20:45 BST, if your NW horizon is flat enough this could be a great target for some photos!

Jupiter, Moon and Venus 11052013 19.45 UTC Sky-Watching.co.uk

Jupiter, the Moon and Venus all pay Taurus a visit soon after sunset this evening, look WNW and see if you can spot them! (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

The planet Mercury is also in Superior conjunction today, so is unobservable until later in the month

Monday 13th May – The Moon is at Apogee today at a distance of 405,825 km (252,168 miles), the farthest point in its orbit from the Earth

Saturday 18th May – This morning the Moon is at First Quarter phase

Saturday 25th May – Today’s Full Moon will experience another penumbral eclipse (where it skims the edge of the Earth’s shadow), this time however it will be virtually imperceptible unlike the partial eclipse witnessed on 25th April

Penumbral Eclipse 25042013 21.22 BST Sky-Watching.co.uk

In April the Full Moon also experienced penumbral eclipse, shown above at 20:22 UTC (21:22 BST) with the Earth’s shadow visible across the northern edge (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

May’s Full Moon is also sometimes known as the Milk Moon, Dragon Moon or Hare Moon

Sunday 26th May – Soon after twilight this evening the planets Jupiter, Mercury and Venus should be visible forming an equilateral triangle to the WNW (West North-West)

Jupiter, Mercury and Venus 26052013 20.15 UTC Sky-Watching.co.uk

Forming an equilateral triangle in the twilight sky, Jupiter, Mercury and Venus appear close to each other just after sunset on 26th May, as shown at 20:15 UTC/21:15 BST (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

These planets will be near neighbours from 23rd to 31st of this month, but appear closest together this evening

And today the Moon is at Perigee at a distance of 358,375 km (222,684 miles), the closest point of its orbit to the Earth

Friday 31st May – Tonight sees the Moon at Last Quarter phase; and twilight planets Jupiter, Mercury and Venus appear aligned soon after sunset

Planets visible this month:

Jupiter
Saturn
Venus
Mercury

Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!

To make it easier to find this list of astronomical happenings you can also locate it in the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right. Handy! :)

Guide images created with Stellarium

Archive:
Astronomy Events – April 2013
Astronomy Events – March 2013
Astronomy Events – February 2013

Posted in Astronomy, Meteor, Moon, Night sky, Planets, Resources, Space, Stars, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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April showers of the Lyrid kind

April 17, 2013

by yaska77

Beginning now until the 25th of this month we see the April Lyrid meteor shower (peaking on April 22nd before dawn). The meteors in this shower tend to be bright and leave persistent trails as they enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

In recent years the shower has seen anything from 10 to 20 meteors per hour.

01-wye-downs-perseid-12082012-sky-watching-co-uk

We caught this Perseid meteor flashing across the night sky in August 2012, so we’re hoping to have clear skies for the Lyrids! (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Although that might sound like a fairly mediocre “shower”, it has been known for the Lyrids to surge to over 100 per hour! This is what makes this shower so difficult to predict. How many will we see?

Will it be a downpour of shooting stars or a washout this year!?

Lyrid Meteor Radiant 22.04.2013 01.00UTC Sky-Watching.co.uk

Although the meteors will seem to originate from Lyra, they can appear all over the sky. Shown above at 01:00 UTC (02:00 BST) on 22nd April just at the start of the peak (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Lyrid meteors originate from a radiant point in the constellation of Lyra which is where this shower gets its name. The best time to look for Lyrid meteors is late in the evening after 21:00 UTC (22:00 BST) however, the waxing gibbous Moon will still be in the sky until the early hours so its light may wash out the fainter meteors.

02-perseid-from-andromeda-12082012-sky-watching-co-uk

Another Perseid from August 2012, this one has more definition to the shape at the end of the streak and is seen heading away from the Andromeda galaxy (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Don’t let this deter you though, the unpredictable nature of the Lyrid shower is what makes it worth watching so we hope you have clear skies!

Now we’ve expressed an interest we’re expecting it to be cloudy, but amateur astronomers are nothing if not optimistic :)

Posted in Astronomy, Meteor, Moon, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

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Astronomy Events – January 2013

December 31, 2012

by yaska77

We’d like to take this opportunity to wish all our visitors a very happy and prosperous New Year! 2013 has much potential for stargazing and we’ve vowed to bring you more photos and articles than ever before.

As usual we’ve highlighted below some great heavenly happenings throughout January to keep your eyes skyward and don’t forget UK astro fans, Stargazing Live! returns to our screens on the 8th January for another series.

It’s all very exciting! :)

Wednesday 2nd January – The Earth is at Perihelion today, the point in it’s orbit where it passes closest to the Sun

Thursday 3rd January – The best time to try catch some of this year’s Quadrantid meteor shower is probably after nightfall this evening. The peak is actually around the middle of the day, but with the Moon rising later tonight (around 23:15 UTC) some of the fainter meteors will be lost in the glare as midnight approaches

The radiant shows the direction meteors will appear to originate from, but they can appear all across the sky (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

The radiant shows the direction meteors will appear to originate from, but they can appear all across the sky! Shown above at 23:00 UTC (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

While the Quadrantids can produce hundreds of meteors an hour, this year the ZHR in the early evening is expected to be lower at around 10-20 meteors per hour.

If you’ve got clear skies however any meteor shower is worth craning your neck for so wrap up warm, get outside and see how many you can spot!

Saturday 5th January – Today is a last quarter Moon

Tuesday 8th January – The BBC’s ever popular Stargazing Live! returns to our screens this evening (BBC2/BBC HD 20:00 UTC) as hosts Professor Brian Cox and comedian Dara O Briain kick off the new series looking at Mars exploration

Last year viewers of Stargazing Live! helped identify a new planet - Credit: BBC

Professor Brian Cox and comedian Dara O Briain return for 3 more nights of Stargazing Live! Last year viewers helped identify a new planet using the data from Planethunters.org – Credit: BBC

Wednesday 9th January – This evening Stargazing Live! will look into how it is possible to chart the history of the Universe by looking millions of light years out into the depths of space (BBC2/BBC HD 20:00 UTC)

Thursday 10th January – The Moon is at Perigee today at a distance of 360,045 km (223,722 miles), the closest point in its orbit to the Earth

In the final episode of this series of Stargazing Live! Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain discuss meteors, comets and asteroids, and examine what the study of them reveals about the origins of life (BBC2/BBC HD 20:00 UTC)

Friday 11th January – This evening it’s a New Moon which rises and sets just before the Sun. This makes it a good time to observe deep sky objects like NGC 2244, an open cluster of stars in the heart of the Rosette Nebula in Monoceros, found to the right of Orion

NGC 2244 is an open cluster of stars in the heart of the Rosette Nebula (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

NGC 2244 is an open cluster of stars in the heart of the Rosette Nebula (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

I took the image above last February after watching an episode of Stargazing Live! It was a late night but the images I got were worth the lack of sleep I believe (click here to see for yourself!)

Saturday 12th January – A 21 hour old slither of crescent Moon may just be visible low down to the southwest immediately after sunset this evening. If you have clear skies and a zoom lens on your camera you may be able to get a shot of this faint but illusive occurrence

Friday 18th January – Today is a first quarter Moon, and the planet Mercury is in Superior Conjunction. This means it is on the opposite side of the Sun to the Earth so will be unobservable until the end of the month

Monday 21st January – Jupiter appears high in the sky this evening, midway between the Hyades and Pleiades clusters (see below). Joining the bright winter object is the waxing gibbous Moon which may dim the stars around it

Shown to the south at 20:00 UTC the waxing gibbous Moon appears between Hyades and Pleiades clusters (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Shown to the south at 20:00 UTC the waxing gibbous Moon appears next to Jupiter and between Hyades and Pleiades clusters this evening (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Tuesday 22nd January - Today the Moon is at Apogee at a distance of 405,310 km (251,848 miles), the farthest point in its orbit to the Earth

Sunday 27th January – The Full Moon this morning is also sometimes called the Wolf Moon, Ice Moon or Old Moon

Thursday 31st Jaunary – Mercury makes a brief appearance low down in the southwest just after sunset. Those with a flat horizon and clear skies may find this a challenging photo target (but then Mercury usually is!)

Planets visible this month:

Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!

To make it easier to find this list of astronomical happenings you can also locate it in the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right. Handy! :)

Guide images created with Stellarium

Archive:
Astronomy Events – December 2012
Astronomy Events – November 2012
Astronomy Events – October 2012

Posted in Astronomy, Meteor, Moon, Night sky, Planets, Resources, Space, Stars, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

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Astronomy Events – December 2012

November 30, 2012

by yaska77

We’re now into advent calendar territory as we venture into December! Another year nearly done but don’t look too far ahead just yet.

Listed below are some upcoming astronomical events with something to interest everyone, so we hope you can get out there and get stargazing. If anyone is taking pictures please tweet them to us on Twitter!

Clear skies all…

Monday 3rd December - The gas giant Jupiter is at Opposition in Taurus, meaning it will be observable in the night sky all evening as it’s opposite the Sun in the sky

Tuesday 4th December – Mercury is at its Greatest Western Elongation today and rises before the Sun. It forms a nice alignment with Venus, Saturn and the star Spica (shown below)

Mercury will be visible as a morning object for the first couple of weeks of the month

Shown at 06:30 UTC, this morning is a good opportunity to image Mercury if your eastern horizon is flat enough (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Shown at 06:30 UTC, this morning is a good opportunity to image Mercury if your eastern horizon is flat enough (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Thursday 6th December – This evening is a last quarter Moon

Wednesday 12th December – Today the Moon is at Perigee at a distance of 357,075 km (221,876 miles), the closest point in it’s orbit to the Earth

Thursday 13th December – This morning sees a New Moon which rises and sets with the Sun, so with the darker skies now is a good time for observing deep sky objects like galaxies and nebulae

M42 the Orion Nebula (in the constellation of the same name) will be high and south at midnight (see below)

M42 the Orion Nebula is a great sight through binoculars or a small telescope (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

M42 the Orion Nebula is a great sight through binoculars or a small telescope (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Thursday 13th into Friday 14th – The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks at 19:00 UTC on Thursday evening, with a ZHR of over 100 being fairly common. Viewing rates are expected to be good all night through to dawn so if you can brave the damp and the cold they should be well worth a look (and early enough to get kids involved!)

We’ve put a radiant guide below (the direction the meteors will appear to originate from) but the meteors will be visible flashing all over the sky. As Geminids enter the atmosphere at a relatively slow speed, and are fairly robust in composition, the streaks can last longer than the quicker Orionid or Perseid meteors

The Geminid Meteor Radiant is shown on 13th December at 22:30 UTC (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

The Geminid Meteor Radiant is shown above on 13th December at 22:30 UTC, but meteors will be visible all over the sky (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

And with the added bonus of the Moon being out of the way any you see should be bright against the dark sky, so happy hunting!

Tuesday 18th December – The dwarf planet Ceres is at opposition in the constellation Taurus, though you’ll need a telescope or some good binoculars to see it

Thursday 20th December – This morning it’s a First Quarter Moon

Friday 21st December – Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere

Tuesday 25th December – Today the Moon is at Apogee at a distance of 406,100 km (252,339 miles), the farthest point in its orbit to the Earth

Friday 28th December – Today’s Full Moon is also sometimes known as the Oak Moon, Frost Moon or Winter Moon

Planets visible this month:

Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Uranus
Neptune
Saturn

Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!

To make it easier to find this list of astronomical happenings you can also locate it in the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right. Handy! :)

Guide images created with Stellarium

Archive:
Astronomy Events – November 2012
Astronomy Events – October 2012
Astronomy Events – September 2012

or click on Monthly Guide for the full archive

Posted in Astronomy, Jupiter, Mars, Meteor, Moon, Night sky, Planets, Resources, Space, Stars, Venus, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Astronomy Events – October 2012

September 30, 2012

by yaska77

As it is getting darker earlier and the nights once again have that familiar chilly bite, it can only mean we’ve reached our Astronomy Guide for October already!

We were lucky to observe a very active Perseid meteor shower in August, so with two showers reaching peak in October we’d like to get some more photos! Get out there and enjoy the best free shows on Earth!

Clear skies all…

Thursday 4th October – One of our favourite planets Jupiter can be located right between the “horns” of Taurus this evening, and will appear high and bright in the sky to the south around 04:00 UTC (05:00 BST) on Friday morning

A bright Moon may make images tricky, but we might try to get Jupiter, the Moon and Pleiades in the same shot (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Friday 5th October – The Moon is at Apogee at a distance of 405,160 km (251,755 miles)

Monday 8th October – This morning’s Moon is at Last Quarter phase, and the Draconid Meteor Shower reaches its peak around lunchtime. With this in mind the best time for meteor spotting will be after nightfall and before Moonrise at 23:00 UTC/00:00 BST

The radiant will be almost directly overhead at dusk so meteors could appear anywhere in the sky!

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Thursday 11th October – With the Moon out of the way for a while why not try get a look at our sister galaxy Andromeda this evening? It will be at its highest point in the sky at midnight (see above)

Friday 12th October – The bright planet Venus is a beautiful sight in the early morning sky, appearing close to the waning crescent Moon today (see below)

Venus will rise to the east with the waning crescent Moon just before 03:00 UTC/04:00 BST (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Monday 15th October – It is a New Moon today that rises and sets with the Sun, so now is a good time to observe deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae

Wednesday 17th October – The Moon is at Perigee at a distance of 360,670 km (224,110 miles)

Thursday 18th October – The waxing crescent Moon appears close to Mars
 in the sky this evening, and will set a few hours after the Sun

If you have a flat south west horizon look for Mars and the Moon at dusk this evening, shown above at 17:30 UTC/18:30 BST (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Sunday 21st October – The First Quarter Moon will set around 22:00 UTC/23:00 BST tonight, leaving most of the night glare free for the peak of the Orionid Meteor Shower

The most prolific Meteor Shower associated with Halley’s Comet, its radiant is to the top left of Orion so meteors will appear to be streaking away from this famous constellation, blazing their way across the sky

This Perseid meteor we snapped in August has given us a taste for more meteor photography, so we’re hopeful for a good Orionid show! (click to enlarge) Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Thursday 25th October - The planet Saturn is in superior conjuction with the Sun, so will be unobservable from northern latitudes throughout October

Friday 26th October - Mercury is at Greatest Eastern Elongation so will be visible (if your western horizon is flat enough) just after sunset; best in equitorial or southern latitudes

Sunday 28th October – British Summer Time ends in the UK, and the clocks go back 1 hour to GMT/UTC at 02:00 BST

Monday 29th October – The Full Moon this evening is also known as the Hunter’s Moon or Blood Moon

Planets visible this month:

Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Uranus
Neptune

Remember, it can take your eyes up to 20 minutes to become properly dark adapted, and anything up to an hour for a telescope to reach ambient temperature outside (to ensure the best image), so give yourself plenty of time to get set up!

To make it easier to find this list of astronomical happenings you can also locate it in the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right. Handy! :)

Guide images created with Stellarium

Archive:
Astronomy Events – September 2012
Astronomy Events – August 2012
Astronomy Events – July 2012

or click on Monthly Guide for the full archive

Posted in Astronomy, Jupiter, Mars, Meteor, Moon, Night sky, Planets, Resources, Space, Stars, Venus, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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