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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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Astronomy is contagious!

April 29, 2013

by yaska77

The great thing about astronomy is that anyone with a sky over their heads can get involved. You don’t need a truckload of expensive gear, just an interest and a modicum of patience will get you a long way!

Soon after I got my camera and started posting images on this blog, Mick Judd (a talented photographer who I happen to work with) also began skywatching, and he has captured some great shots with limited “astro-specific” equipment.

After we recently discussed the upcoming penumbral eclipse on 25th April (see our images here) Mick went home and over the course of a few evenings has produced the following short video, which we hope you enjoy.

We think it’s great, and just the sort of thing we hope will help others catch the astronomy bug! But how did he do it?  I’ll let him explain that himself!

“To capture the images I used two different eyepieces on a D=60mm F=700mm telescope; an H20 to fit the whole of the moon in the frame and an HF6 for the close-ups of the lunar surface and for Saturn. To attach the camera (a Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S mobile phone) I drilled a hole in the middle of a plastic lid from a can of hair mousse, and glued it around the lens hole on the phone’s protective case.

Slotting the plastic lid over the eyepiece housing on the telescope and pushing it into place, it’s then a bit of hit and miss with lining up what I can see in the finder scope with what I can see on the phone’s display. The Xperia Arc S has a lot of camera settings so it’s just a matter of adjusting EV levels and using a bit of digital zoom to fill the frame to avoid seeing the round edge of the eyepiece.

To try and make sure that I capture something that is sharp I slightly tweak the scope’s focus every now and then between shots. The Sunspots were viewed through an additionally fitted Solar filter.  All the footage in the video was captured between 15th and 27th April 2013.”

Top work Judd bloke, and an ingenious set up!

You can see more of Mick’s photos on his Flickr page here

Now everyone get outdoors and enjoy the night sky! :)

Posted in Astronomy, Blog gallery, Eclipse, Moon, Saturn, Sun, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Penumbral eclipse, full moon, no clouds!?

April 25, 2013

by yaska77

It’s been a very slow couple of months of late. The British weather is infamous the world over, and not only have we just experienced the first real warmth of spring, but an abundance of evening clouds have kept many a garden astro indoors.

The signs were good this evening however, there was a penumbral eclipse on the April Full Moon (as noted in our April Astro Guide), and not a cloud in the sky! What madness was this!?

Penumbral Eclipse 25042013 21.07 BST Sky-Watching.co.uk

Taken with a Canon Eos 550D and a 250mm lens mounted to a fixed tripod, the penumbral eclipse is visible over the top left edge of the full Moon (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Some time ago the spotter scope on my telescope was knocked out of alignment, so combined with the clouds it’s been a shamefully long time since I used it.

Looking on this evening as a chance to at least re-align the spotter scope (even if the Moon would not rise high enough to see any of the partial eclipse), I set up and found my fence was just low enough for the scope to catch it before the shadow passed!

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

Now mounted to my Sky-Watcher 200P Telescope, the partial eclipse is still a visible shadow over the northern edge of the Full Moon (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

So finally we’ve had an astronomical event that the clouds missed. But not by much I can tell you, an hour after these photos were taken the Moon was enveloped behind a blanket of cloud.

So we do get a break once in a while after all :)

Posted in Astronomy, Blog gallery, Eclipse, Moon, Night sky, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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Astronomy Events – November 2012

October 31, 2012

by yaska77

Dark early evening skies are back with us now British Summer Time has ended, and winter is fast approaching.  We’ve had little to no opportunity for much observing or photography in recent months, something we’re hoping desperately to rectify as soon as possible!

Listed below are some upcoming astronomical events with something to interest everyone, so we hope you can get out there and get stargazing.

Clear skies all…

Thursday 1st November - Today the Moon is at Apogee (the furthest point of its orbit away from the Earth) at a distance of 406,050 km (252,308 miles)

If you have clear skies and a good pair of binoculars (or a small telescope), Uranus will be visible due south at 21:30 UTC at an altitude of 40°. See below for a guide to locating this often elusive planet!

The planet Uranus will be due south at 21:30 UTC on 1st November (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Sunday 4th November – If you’re up late on Saturday evening, the Great Red Spot of Jupiter will be central in its band at 01:45 UTC on Sunday morning

Up fairly high above the bow of the constellation Orion and close to bright star Aldebaran in Taurus, good binoculars should help you see its moons with Ganymede closest to the gas giant (see below)

The Great Red Spot of Jupiter will be central in its band at 01:45 UTC on 4th November (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

Wednesday 7th November - Today is a last Quarter Moon

Friday 9th November – Io, one of the moons of Jupiter, will transit the disc of the gas giant this evening beginning at around 21:40 UTC. A great target for astrophotographers, Io will cast a dark shadow on Jupiter which looks great if you can capture it in an image

Catch it early enough in the transit too and you should also get the Great Red Spot in the same shot!

Sunday 11th November – Bright planet Venus will appear very close to the waning crescent Moon before Sunrise this morning, visible around 05:15 UTC to the east and a great target for a photo or two!

Different Moon phase but similar effect, our image of Venus and the waxing crescent Moon from January this year came with added Earthshine! (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Tuesday 13th November - Today there is a new Moon which rises and sets just before the Sun, so now is a good time (especially with longer evenings!) to view deep sky objects like galaxies and nebulae

Wednesday 14th November - There will be a total eclipse of the Sun today, with totality visible from northern Australia and the southern Pacific Ocean. The most populous city to experience totality will be Cairns, which will experience 2 minutes of totality just an hour after daybreak (06:38 AEST 14th November/20:38 UTC 13th November)

The Moon is also at Perigee (the closest point of its orbit to the Earth) at a distance of 357,360 km (222,053 miles)

Friday 16th November - The annual Leonid Meteor Shower peaks overnight this evening (actually at 09:30 UTC on 17th) but you could see between 5-15 meteors per hour as the night progresses

The Leonid Meteor Radiant shown above at 02:00 UTC on 17th November (where the meteors will appear to enamate from). Leonids are famous for appearing as fireballs with fast tails (click to enlarge) – Credit: Sky-Watching/Stellarium

While it’s not expected this year’s shower will produce the high numbers of meteors seen in previous years, they should still put on a good display for a couple of days yet

And with the Moon out of the way it could be a good show!

Saturday 17th November - Mercury is in Inferior Conjunction, and won’t be visible until the end of the month when it will rise just before the Sun

Also another good evening for Leonid spotting

Tuesday 20th November - First Quarter Moon

Wednesday 28th November - Today’s Full Moon is also sometimes called Beaver Moon, Frost Moon or Hunter’s Moon, which is also at Apogee at a distance of 406,100 km (252,339 miles)

It also sees the second of two Lunar eclipses this year, in what is known as a Penumbral eclipse. This is where the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow rather than directly behind the Earth itself (which is known as an Umbral eclipse), resulting in a partial eclipse (this time visible across the Moon’s northern region)

This image shows where on the Earth the partial eclipse will be visible (click to enlarge) – Credit: Fred Espenak (NASA GSFC)

Observers in Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, or east Asia will catch the whole event, with the US and Canada seeing it at Moonset (see above), and Europe seeing some of the partial eclipse at Moonrise

However, in the UK the Moon will rise at 15:30 UTC so with this partial eclipse only lasting just over an hour it will be very difficult to see

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 – October 2012
Astronomy Events – September 2012
Astronomy Events – August 2012

or click on Monthly Guide for the full archive

Posted in Astronomy, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Night sky, Planets, Resources, Space, Stars, Sun, Venus, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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Astronomy Events – December 2011

November 30, 2011

by yaska77

Ever get that feeling that you always suffer bad luck? The main nemesis of the amateur astronomer is clouds, and it just feels that every chance we’ve had time to get our ‘scopes out recently have coincided with clouds/rain/wind. We remain ever hopeful however that December will give us some opportunities for sky-watching and image taking! :)

Here is a list of upcoming astronomy events for December to inspire your own astronomical interests.

Friday 2nd December - First quarter Moon. This is possibly the best time to view the Moon with optical aids, as the area around the terminator (the line between the day/night sides of the Moon) is a fantastic sight full of lunar craters and mountains

Tuesday 6th December – Moon at Apogee (405,415 km), with a very bright Jupiter just beneath it. Following them across the sky you’ll see first the Pleiades cluster, the Hyades cluster and then the constellation of Orion (the Hunter)

Jupiter and the Moon are together in the sky all evening, followed by some great winter sky sights (click to enlarge) - Credit: Stellarium/Sky-Watching

Saturday 10th December – Full Moon (also known as the Snow or Christmas Moon). There is also a total lunar eclipse visible from Eastern Europe, East Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific

Unfortunately from the UK the Moon will have already started leaving the umbra before moonrise (about 16:00 UTC/GMT), and the Earth’s shadow will only partially cover the Moon for another 15 minutes or so

Tuesday 13th December – Jupiter’s moon Ganymede will cast a shadow across the southern part of the giant planet this evening. It should start just before 18:00 UTC/GMT and will continue for around 2 hours

Wednesday 14th December – The annual Geminid meteor shower will peak this evening (see below for radiant guide) but as with the Leonid shower in November the Moon will be very close to the radiant.  Don’t let this discourage you though, as meteors can appear far from the radiant so you should still see some (the ZHR is expected to be anything up to 100 per hour)

Geminid Meteors are named for the constellation closest to their radiant (click to enlarge) - Credit: Stellarium/Sky-Watching

Sunday 18th December – Last quarter Moon

Wednesday 21st December – Winter Solstice is tonight (this actually happens at 05:30 UTC/GMT on 22nd). The Sun reaches its lowest point in the sky (as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere) so we get the shortest day and the longest night

Friday 23rd December – Mercury is at it’s greatest western elongation today, meaning it is visible as an early morning object until the end of the year, appearing above the southeast horizon just before 06:30 UTC/GMT with the Moon directly below it

We got this image of M31 - Andromeda in early October (click to enlarge) - Credit: Sky-Watching/A.Welbourn

Saturday 24th December – New Moon. Over the coming evenings with the Moon out of the way it’s a great time to have a look at some deep sky objects, such as nebulae and galaxies.  During December the constellation Cassiopeia is virtually overhead (as seen from Northern Europe and North America) and is an easily recognisable “W” pattern, with our closest neighbour galaxy Andromeda (see above) a beautiful object to view. See if you can find it!

Tuesday 27th December -  The waxing crescent Moon will make a nice pairing with Venus in the evening twilight sky. Visible to the south west from nightfall it could provide a good target for those with a DSLR camera (see below)

Venus is a planet we've yet to have a good look at! Image shows sky at 17:00 UTC/GMT (click to enlarge) Credit: Stellarium/Sky-Watching

Planets visible this month:

Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus

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!

We’ve also added the “Monthly Guide” section in the menu bar to the right (where this guide will appear), so next time you visit you can find it again easily!

Guide images created with Stellarium

Archive:
Astronomy Events – November 2011
Astronomy Events – October 2011
Astronomy Events – September 2011

Posted in Astronomy, Galaxy, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Meteor, Moon, Nebula, Night sky, Resources, Venus, yaska77 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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