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Oxford
Astrophysics
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What's up in the
sky this week |
Marlborough College
Blackett Observatory
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Week of 6th February- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.59 UT at the start of the week and 19.10 UT at the end. Day length is perceptibly increasing
- The Moon is Full (Snow Moon) on Tuesday and then wanes to Last Quarter at the start of next week
- The Sun has 2 sunspot regions, though large, 1410 is mature and neither spot poses a threat of activity
- There are no Tiangong 1 or ISS passes this week (ISS returns next week)
- There ar no bright evening Iridium flares this week
Week of 30th January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.48 UT at the start of the week and 18.57 UT at the end
- The Moon is First Quarter on Tuesday and then waxes to Full at the start of next week
- The Sun having unleashed major flares this week and caused southerly lattitude aurorae has now calmed down. The most active regions have rotated around the western limb. There are still 2 sunspot regions but as yet neither of these show particular activity
- There are no Tiangong 1 or ISS passes this week
- There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Friday at 19.07.39 at 40 degrees in NNE
Week of 23rd January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.38 UT at the start of the week and 18.48 UT at the end
- The Moon is New on Monday and then waxes to First Quarter at the start of next week at the start of next week
- Mars is now rising bright red in the East at 9.30pm and will double in apparent diameter as it reaches Opposition in early March
- The Sun has 4 active sunspot regions with 2 particularly active regions already producing Earth-bound CMEs. Watch out for another week of flares
- There are no Tiangong 1 or ISS passes this week
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 16th January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.28 UT at the start of the week and 18.36 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning. It will be New at the start of next week
- Major planets are now gathering in the evening sky. Venus brilliantly dominates the West in the early evening. Jupiter continues bright high in the South West and Mars is now appearing from 9.45pm on in the East, almost doubling in apparent diameter as it approaches Opposition in March
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This is Stargazing Live week with Brian Cox doing his stuff on BBC2 Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Local events are 'Bring your Own Binos' at MCBO on Monday at 8pm. A major family event at Lacock run byb the national trust and BBC on Wednesday 4.30pm till 9.30pm and in Oxford, Astrofest Oxford, run by Oxford Astrophysics, 2pm till 10pm on Saturday
- The Sun has 6 active sunspot regions with 2 particularly active regions emerging over the eastern limb. Watch out for a week of flares
- There are no Tiangong 1 or ISS passes this week
- There is one superbright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 18.25.05 at 51 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 9th January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.19 UT at the start of the week and 18.27 UT at the end
- The Moon is Full on Monday night and then wanes to Last Quarter at the start of next week
- The Sun has 5 active sunspot regions with 1393 expanding rapidly
- There are a number of low Tiangong 1 passes this week: On Monday at 17.52.51 SSW to SE reaching 14 degrees. Tuesday 16.46.52 S to SE to 12 degrees and 18.21.36 SW to SSE to 15 degrees. Wednsday at 17.14.59 SW to SE to 15 degrees and 18.50.51 SW to SSW to 13 degrees. Thursday 17.43.47 SW to SE to 15 degrees. Friday 16.36.57 SW to SE to 16 degrees and 18.13.10 SW to SSE to 12 degrees. Saturday 17.05.47 SW to SSE to 14 degrees and Sunday at 17.35.36 SW to S to 10 degrees. None of these are brighter than magnitude 2.3
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There are no bright evening Iridium flare this week
Week of 2nd January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.12 UT at the start of the week and 18.18 UT at the end
- At midnight on Thursday the Earth is at perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full at the start of next week
- The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks (sharply) in the early morning of 4th. The Radiant is in Bootes (defunct Quadrans Muralis - the Mural Quadrant). This is usually a reliable shower with an expected maximum rate of some 80 per hour
- The Sun has 3 active sunspot regions
- There are a number of low Tiangong 1 passes starting next Sunday at 18.30.22 SSW to S reaching 13 degrees at magnitude 2.4
- The ISS makes its last passes for a while at the start of the week; on Monday at 16.57.10 W to SE reaching 45 degrees and 18.34.33 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees. Tuesday 17.37.05 W to SSE to 20 degrees. Wednesday at 16.40.09 W to SE to 31 degrees. Thursday at 17.20.36 WSW to S to 13 degrees and the last on Friday at 16.23.09 W to SSE to 21 degrees
- There are no superbright Iridium flares
Week of 26th December- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.07 UT at the start of the week and 18.12 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing from a very slender crescent on Boxing Day to the north of Venus just after sunset to First Quarter on New Year's Day
- The Sun is covered in small inactive sunspots with 5 succinct groups
- There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
- This is a week of super ISS passes with 7 almost directly overhead; on Monday at 17.08.05 from WSW to E reaching 82 degrees and 18.44.19 SW to W to 34 degrees. Tuesday at 16.11.47 WSW to E to 66 degrees, 17.47.58 W to E reaching 88 degrees and 19.24.14 W to W to 13 degrees. Wednesday 16.51.37 W to E to 90 degrees and 18.27.52 W to SW to 55 degrees. Thursday 17.31.32 W to ESE to 79 degrees and 19.07.54 W to WSW to 20 degrees. Friday 16.35.12 W to E to 89 degrees and 18.11.28 W to SSE to 43 degrees. New Year's Eve at 17.15.07 W to ESE to 62 degrees and 18.51.46 W to SSW to 19 degrees and New Year's Day 16.18.47 W to ESE to 80 degrees and at 17.55.09 W to SE reaching 30 degrees
- There are no bright Iridium flares this week
Week of 19th December- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.03 UT at the start of the week and 18.06 UT at the end. The Winter Solstice occurs on Thursday at 05.30 UT and the Sun will rise and set at its extreme southerly position on the horizon. By 25th there should be a noticeable movement north in these points and daylight hours will increase
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday and visible aa a very slender crescent on Boxing Day to the north of Venus just after sunset
- The Sun is covered in small inactive sunspots with 5 succinct groups
- There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
- The ISS returns on Monday at 17.19.11 from S to ESE reaching 14 degrees and 18.53.30 SW to SW to 20 degrees. Tuesday at 17.57.37 SW to SE reaching 34 degrees. Wednesday 17.01.58 SSW to E to 22 degrees and 18.37.12 WSW to WSW to 36 degrees. Thursday 17.41.05 SW to E to 49 degrees and 19.17.08 W to W to 15 degrees. Friday 16.45.07 SW to E to 33 degrees and 18.20.51 W to WSW to 65 degrees. Christmas Eve at 17.24.34 WSW to E to 67 degrees and 19.00.45 W to W to 22 degrees and Christmas Day 16.28.22 SW to E to 48 degrees and the best at 18.04.23 W to ENE reaching 89 degrees
Week of 12th December- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.03 UT at the end, changing very little as we approach Winter Solstice
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter next week-end
- The Geminid meteor shower, perhaps the most reliable high rate shower peaks on Wednesday at 14.00 UT (predicted up to 140 per hour). Unfortunately the Moon is only just off Full, however it is worth watching out on from Tuesday till Thursday
- The Sun is covered in sunspots with 7 sucucinct groups
- There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
- The ISS returns next week and makes the first evening pass on Sunday at 18.17.36 from SSW to S reaching 20 degrees
- There are two bright early evening Iridium flares: Tuesday at 17.39.01 14 degrees altitude WNW and Wednesday at 17.09.04 21 degrees altitude in WNW
Week of 5th December- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.02 UT at the end, unchanging as we approach Winter Solstice
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Saturday
- The Sun is growing again in activiy. It has 6 spot groups with 1365 growing
- There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
- There are no evening ISS passes
- There is one bright early evening Iridium flare on Friday at 17.59.08 at 50 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 28th November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.05 UT at the start of the week and 18.03 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday. Till then it presents a beutiful crescent in the west after sunset
- Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd is now visible in binoculars at magnitude 7 and is in Hercules (http://www.britastro.org/misc/2009p1_finder.jpg) Closest approach is next March when it will be in Ursa Minor, however it is not expected to brighten significantly. Best views should be in the dark skies in late December
- After a long absence, Venus appears as 'hespera - the evening star' low in the west after sunset, setting around 16.30 UT. Care, do not search with optical aids due to proximity to the Sun
- The Sun is still active. It has 6 spot groups. A CME will reach Earth on 28th at 17.21 UT and could result in a minor geomagnetic storm with HF radio interference at high latitudes(see spaceweather.com for further details)
- There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
- There are no evening ISS passes
- There are no bright early evening Iridium flares
Week of 21st November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.09 UT at the start of the week and 18.05 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday
- The Sun is active. It has 6 spot groups and a new group just emerging on the eastern limb
- There are several chances to see Tiangong 1 as it makes evening passes this week but it will be dim at 2nd to 3rd magnitude: Monday 17.42.23 from SW to SE reaching 16 degrees. Tuesday 16.39.13 SW to SE to 16 degrees and 18.15.22 SW to S to 13 degrees. Wednesday 17.11.45 SW to SE to 15 degrees. Thursday 17.45.01 SW to S to 11 degrees and Friday 16.40.56 SW to SSE to 14 degrees
- There are no evening ISS passes
- There are 3 bright early evening Iridium flares: Tuesday at 17.18.48, 16 degrees altitude in WNW and Friday 17.35.56 at 34 degrees altitude in S.
Week of 14th November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.16 UT at the start of the week and 18.10 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
- The Sun is still very active. It has 8 spot groups and spot 1339, though decaying is still active
- At last there is a chance to see Tiangong 1 as it makes evening passes this week and at 2nd magnitude will be similar brightness to Polaris though it will be low altitude: Monday 17.35.05 from S to SSE reaching 11 degrees. Tuesday 17.52.30 SSW to SSE to 14 degrees. Wednesday 16.36.34 S to SSE to 11 degrees and 18.10.27 SW to S to 15 degrees. Thursday 16.53.41 SSW to SE and 18.28.40 SW to SSW to 13 degrees
- There are no evening ISS passes
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 7th November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.25 UT at the start of the week and 18.17 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Thursday
- The Sun is seriously active. It has 6 spot groups and spot 1339 is the largest and most active this cycle. It has released one X-class flare and loads of M-class flares and as it crosses tothe centre of the Sun's disc, there is a chance of an Earth directed X-class flare, watch the panel on the website; each of its main umbra are the size of the Earth and the total width of the group is some 100,000 miles
- This week sees the closest approach of a sizeable asteroid till 2028, on Tuesday 2005 YU55 a 400m rock passes just 0.8LD from Earth. It will only be visable in medium to large telescopes
- Neither the ISS nor Tiangong 1 makes evening passes this week
- There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 18.38.56, 41 degrees altitude in SE
Week of 31st October- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.35 UT at the start of the week and 18.26 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun has 4 sunspot groups, spot 1330 is large could still produce flares
- The ISS makes final passes this week: Monday at 18.06.17 W to SE reaching 51 degrees and 19.43.18 WSW to WSW to 11 degrees. Tuesday 17.09.07 W to ESE to 72 degrees and 18.45.32 W to S to 22 degrees. Wednesday 17.48.07 W to SE to 35 degrees. Thursday 16.50.48 W to ESE to 53 degrees and 18.27.41 WSW to S reaching 15 degrees. Friday 17.29.51 W to SSE reaching 24 degrees and Sunday 17.11.36 WSW to S to 16 degrees
- There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 17.36.15 41 degrees altitude in S
Week of 24th October- British Summer Time ends next Sunday 30th October and we return to Universal time (UT or GMT). Astronomical twilight ends at 19.48 BST at the start of the week and 18.37 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday
- The Sun has 8 sunspot groups, 2 of which are currently active and could produce flares
- Chinese Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) is making early morning passes but does not gt brighter than +2 magnitude
- The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday at 19.22.35 W to E reaching 88 degrees and 20.58.43 W to W to 14 degrees. Tuesday 18.25.01 WSW to E to 69 degrees and 20.01.05 W to WNW to 66 degrees. Wednesday 19.03.27 W to E to 85 degrees and 20.39.34 W to W to 21 degrees. Thursday 18.05.48 WSW to E to 85 degrees and 19.41.55 W to ESE reaching 86 degrees. Friday 18.44.15 W to E reaching 84 degrees and 20.20.22 W to W to 30 degrees. Saturday 19.22.40 W to ESE to 70 degrees and 20.59.05 W to W to 10 degrees and Sunday 18.24.58 W to E to 87 degrees and 20.01.09 W to SW to 33 degrees
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 19.18.08 48 degrees altitude N
Week of 17th October- Astronomical twilight ends at 20.01 BST at the start of the week and 19.49 BST at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun has 7 sunspot groups, none of which are currently active
- Some time next week-end another satellite will re-enter the atmosphere at the end of its life. Launched in 1990, bits of ROSAT X-ray observatory may survive to the surface due to heat resistant materials. The new Space Station Chinese Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) does not make passes this week
- The ISS returns on Monday at 19.44.52 S to SSE reaching 15 degrees. Tuesday 20.21.20 SW to SSW to 22 degrees. Wednesday 19.23.29 SSW to ESE to 24 degrees and 20.58.42 WSW to WSW to 13 degrees. Thursday 18.26.09 S to ESE to 15 degrees and 20.00.26 WSW to S reaching 15 degrees. Friday 19.02.19 SW to E reaching 35 degrees and 20.37.57 W to W to 25 degrees. Saturday 19.39.33 WSW to E to 71 degrees and Sunday 18.41.15 SW to E to 49 dgerees and 20.17.07 W to W to 43 degrees
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 10th October- Astronomical twilight ends at 20.16 BST at the start of the week and 20.03 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Wednesday
- The Sun has 4 sunspot groups, none of which are currently active
- The new Space Station Chinese Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) does not make passes this week
- The ISS returns next week
- There is bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 20.12.11, 51 degrees altitude in SE and Friday 20.03.12 also at 51 degrees in SE
Week of 3rd October- Astronomical twilight ends at 20.32 BST at the start of the week and 20.16 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Tuesday
- On Saturday there is the possibility of a rare flare up of the Draconid meteor shower. The Draconids are caused by dust from comet 21P-Giocobini-Zimmer a short period (6.5 year)comet. Occasionally the Earth passes through denser dust streams and on Saturday we will encounter the 1900, 1907 and 1980 streams. Draconid (or Giocobinid) metoers are faint and slow, but rates have reached 1000s an hour in the past (1933 and 1946). This year's forecast is for a couple of peaks at 8pm and 9pm, perhaps reaching 10 meteors a minute. These could however occur anytime from 4pm till 10pm local time. Sunset is at 6.30pm and the waxing Gibbous three-quarter lit Moon rises at 5pm and its light will affect the number seen. The Radiant in Draco is NW from UMa and UMi and looking North away fromm the Moon will probably be best. If the evening is not clear, you can listen to the 'ping' of incoming meteors on www.spaceweatherradio.com
- The Sun has had an active week with the most powerful aurorae this cycle. Spot 1302 still could unleash X-class flares and there are several other spot groups on the disc
- There is now a new Space Station to track as the Chinese have successfully launched Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) which will be manned over the next 2 years
- There are no ISS passes this week but Tiangong makes a pass at 18.48.00 BST on Tuesday SSW to SSW reaching 11 degrees altitude. Unlike the ISS, at magnitude +3, this will be less remarkable and will need a keen eye
- There is one superbright Iridium flare on Friday at 18.57.23, 54 degrees altitude in S
Week of 26th September- The Autumnal Equinox has now passed (Friday) and the Sun is now rising and setting further south each day as nights grow longer than day
- Astronomical twilight ends at 20.49 BST at the start of the week and 20.37 BST at the end
- The Moon is New on Tuesday and will be a slender crescent by the end of the week
- The Sun has 3 sunspot groups. Spot 1302 is enormous at 100,000km total width and has already produced X-class flares. The week should see some strong storm activity. Keep an eye on the Geomagnetic Field Status bar
- There are no ISS passes this week and no bright Iridium flares
Week of 19th September- Astronomical twilight ends at 21.08 BST at the start of the week and 20.49 BST at the end
- The Moon is Last Quarter on Tuesday and will then wane to New at the start of next week
- Jupiter is rising at 8.30pm and will give good observing opportunities this autumn as it is higher altitude than in the last couple of years
- The Sun has 6 sunspot groups. Spot 1295 is currently active and could give rise to Earthbound class-C flares
- Bright orange Arcturus is now setting in the west in the early evening, a sure sign of Autumn
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There is one superbright bright Iridium flare on Saturday at 19.57.31, 62 degrees altitude in SE
Week of 12th September- Astronomical twilight ends at 21.03 BST at the start of the week and 20.42 BST at the end
- The Moon is Full on Monday and will then wane
- The Sun has 4 sunspot groups. Spot 1283 is currently active and more activity is likely during the week, though none are currently active
- The Type 1a supernova 2011fe which has hit the news is in Messier M101 a nearby galaxy a mere 21 million light years away. The galaxy is just visible in good binoculars or small telescope at magnitude 7.7just a couple of fingers width (at arms length) north of the handle of the saucepan (Plough) between Alkaid and Mizar, but you need a larger telescope to make out the supernova especially by eye
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 5th September- Astronomical twilight ends at 21.47 BST at the start of the week and 21.29 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full next Monday
- The Sun has 5 sunspot groups, though none are currently active, 1283 may develop
- Jupiter is beginning to dominate the SE sky in the late evening, its moons changing positions visibly in Biblios night by night
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 21.31.49 at 49 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 29th August- Astronomical twilight ends at 22.07 BST at the start of the week and 21.50 BST at the end
- The Moon is New on Monday and will be visible as a slender crescent mid-week. It will be First Quarter on Sunday
- The Sun has a number of small sunspot groups, though none are currently activ
- .The ISS makes 5 last evening visits this week: Monday 20.25.37 W to SE reachiing 48 degrees and 22.02.48 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees. Tuesday 21.03.45 W to SSE to 21 degrees. Wednesday 20.05.14 W to SE to 33 degrees and Thursday 20.43.47 WSW to S to 14 degrees
- There is on super bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 21.57.30 at 45 degrees altitude in ENE
Week of 22nd August- Astronomical twilight ends at 22.29 BST at the start of the week and 22.07 BST at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
- The Sun has a number of active regions, the largest number 1271 is Jupiter sized and likely to give rise to M-class flares
- The ISS makes more evening visits this week with some super bright near Zenith passes: Tuesday 21.26.29 W to E to 487 degrees and 23.02.37W to W to 24 degrees. Wednesday 20.28.20 W to E to 84 degrees and 22.04.26 W to SSE to 60 degrees. Thursday 21.06.16 W to ESE to 82 degrees and 22.42.30 W to WSW to 23 degrees. Friday 21.44.12 S to SSE to 43 degrees. Saturday 20.45.59 W to ESE to 65 degrees and 22.22.29 W to SW to 18 degrees and Sunday 21.23.58 W to SSE to 30 degrees
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 15th August- Astronomical twilight ends at 22.52 BST at the start of the week and 22.33 BST at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Sunday
- The Sun is currently blank but a new spot is emerging on the Eastern limb
- The ISS makes numerous evening visits this week with some super bright Zenith passes: Monday at 21.11.54 SSW to E reaching 19 degrees and 22.46.49 WSW to S reaching 66 degrees. Tuesday 21.48.58 SW to E to 45 degrees and 23.24.50 W to W to 33 degrees. Wednesday 20.51.19 SSW to E to 28 degrees and 22.26.47 WSW to E to 83 degrees. Thursday 20.28.48 WSW to E to 62 degrees and 23.04.50 W to WNW to 60 degrees. Friday 20.30.58 SW to E to 41 degrees and 22.06.45 W to E to 87 degrees and 22.42.52 W to W to 18 degrees. Saturday 21.08.42 WSW to E to 79 degrees and 22.44.48 W to W to 85 degrees and Sunday 21.46.42 W to E to 83 degrees and 23.22.48 W to W to 22 degrees
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare; On Friday at 22.39.07 at 33 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 8th August- Astronomical twilight ends at 23.17 BST at the start of the week and 22.56 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Saturday
- The Perseid meteor shower peaks at 5am on Saturday but will be greatly affected by the moonlight
- The Sun has active sunspot groups, which could give rise to X-Class flares. Spot number 1263 has a 50,000km active region
- The ISS returns this week with evening passes: Tuesday at 22.25.28 SSW to SSW reaching 48 degrees. Wednesday 21.28.14 S to ENE to 21 degrees and 23.06.24 WNW to NW to 10 degrees. Thursday 22.05.48 WSW to N to 32 degrees. Friday 21.47.08 W to NNW to 13 degrees
- There are two superbright evening Iridium flares; On Wednesday at 22.10.17 at 54 degrees altitude in SE and Thursday 22.04.11 at 56 degrees in SE
Week of 1st August- Astronomical twilight ends at 23.45 BST at the start of the week and 23.25 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
- The Sun has 3 active sunspot groups, which could give rise to X-Class flares. One spot number 1263 covers an area 65,000km wide
- There are no ISS evening passes this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flares; On Saturday at 23.27.46 at 13 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 25th July- Astronomical twilight ends at 00.18BST. By the end of the week it will be 23.49BST
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
- The Sun has 3 sunspot groups, none of which is currently active
- Saturn is now setting in the West by 22.00BST. No other planets are visible till Uranus rises due E at 23.00BST
- There are no ISS evening passes this week
- There are three super bright evening Iridium flares; On Tuesday at 21.16.42 at 67 degrees altitude in ENE, Wednesday at 21.11.33 at 69 degrees altitude in ENE and Friday 22.42.45 at 38 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 18th July- True Astronomical darkness returns on Friday as twilight ends at 00.49UT. By the end of the week it will be 00.25UT
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
- The Sun has 4 sunspot groups and a new one emerging
- There are no ISS evening passes this week
- There are two super bright evening Iridium flare; On Tuesday at 21.49.44 at 58 degrees altitude in NE and on Wednesday at 21.44.35 at 59 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 11th July- The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Friday
- The Sun has 4 sunspot groups, one of which is active with C-Class flares. A CME was realeed on Saturday towards Earth and is due to hit on Monday or Tuesday. Though not severe there may be some magnetic storm effects
- There are no ISS evening passes this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare; On Thursday at 23.47.05 at 16 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 4th July- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday
- .On Monday and Tuesday the first UK Space Conference takes place in Warwick University and will address Space in education via ESERO-UK (part of the STEM initiative)and the recently launched UK Space Agency (UKSA)
- There are no ISS evening passes this week.
- There is one bright evening Iridium flares; On Thursday at 22.05.43 at 23 degrees altitude in N
Week of 27th June- The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday
- On Monday at 14.30 BST the Earth will experience a once in 6 year close approach by an asteroid 2011MD. The roughly 10m sized rock will pass less than an Earth diameter (12,000km) away and will have its orbit significantly altered by Earth's gravity. The Sun has several inactive sunspot groups
- There are no ISS evening passes this week
- There are four bright evening Iridium flares; On Monday at 23.24.26 at 23 degrees altitude in NNE and Thursday at 21.48.37 19 degrees altitude in NNW and on Friday at 21.48.37 at 19 degrees altitude in NNW and 22.59.47 12 degrees altitude in WNW
Week of 20th June- The Moon is waning and will beLast Quarter on Thursday
- The Solstice occurs on Tuesday when the Sun reaches its furthest North rising and setting points. From the end of the week the Sun will rise progressively further south and day length will reduce slowly
- The Sun has several inactive sunspot groups
- The ISS makes evening passes this week: Saturday 22.03.31 WSW to E reaching 66 degrees and Sunday 22.33.28 W to E reaching 87 degrees. Times for later in the week are currently unavlaible
- There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Thursday at 22.39.57 at 42 degrees altitude in NE and again at 23.09.38 34 degrees altitude in W and on Friday at 22.32.05 43 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 13th June- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Solstice Moon) on Wednesday
- As heralded by the partial solar eclipse viisble from arctic latitubes 2 weeks ago, the Earth, Moon and Sun will again be exactly aligned and the Moon will move through he Earth's shadow. The eclipse will be the deepest for 11 years with Totality lasting 100 minutes. The Moon will rise totally eclipsed at 21.20 BST, with maximum eclipse at 21.13 BST before it rises. Total eclipse ends at 22.04 BST (the Moon will only be 5.5 degrees above the SE horizon however) and then the Moon will be partially eclipsed till 23.04 BST and the Full Moon will be visible at normal brightness at 00.03 BST
- The Sun two small inactive sunspot groups but prominence activity is currently high
- The ISS makes evening passes this week: Thursday 22.38.40 WSW to E reaching 58 degrees. Friday 23.08.54 W to E reaching 89 degrees. Saturday 22.03.31 WSW to E reaching 66 degrees and Sunday 22.33.28 W to E reaching 87 degrees
- There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Thursday at 22.39.57 at 42 degrees altitude in NE and again at 23.09.38 34 degrees altitude in W and on Friday at 22.32.05 43 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 6th June- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
- Notilucent clouds appeared at the end of last week for the first time this year and for the next couple of months over the Summer Solstice, these 80km high electric blue whispy clouds may be seen after sunset when the Sun is around 6 to 16 degrees below the horizon, though the brightest displays may be viewed just as the Sun sets
- The Sun has five sunspot groups but activity is currently low
- The ISS returns making a couple of late evening passes this week: Saturday 23.26.55 ESE to E reaching 13 degrees and Sunday 23.46.32 SW to E reaching 39 degrees. It will be visible each night next week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare; On Tuesday at 22.47.47 at 15 degrees altitude in WNW
Week of 30th May- The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday and visible as a slender crescent at the end of the week
- The Sun is waking up and a new spot 1226 is already producing C-class flares
- Before sunrise Jupiter continues to herald the rising of Mercury, Venus and Mars in a close triangle to be followed by the glow of the rising Sun
- There are no evening ISS passes this week
- There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Monday at 00.15.32 48 degrees altitude in SW. Tuesday at 22.52.33 25 degrees in W and Thursday 23.33.26 18 degrees in NNE
Week of 23rd May- The nights are now no longer truly dark and the Sun never dips more than 18 degrees below the horizon
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Tuesday
- The Sun is still relatively quiet, though large prominences are still being seen
- Before sunrise Jupiter continues to herald the rising of Mercury, Venus and Mars in a close triangle to be followed by the glow of the rising Sun
- There are no evening ISS passes this week are at the start of this week
- There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Tuesday at 23.10.48 32 degres altitude in W. Wednesday at 23.10.07 32 degrees in W and 00.36.37 50 degrees in SW
Week of 16th May- Astronomical twilight ends at 23.59 BST at the start of the week and 00.45 BST on Sunday after which astronomical twilight does not end till 21st July
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Flower Moon) on Tuesday
- The Sun is relatively quiet, though a new spot is emerging in the centre of the disc
- Mercury, Venus and Venus are now forming an impressive triangle in the pre-dawn sky
- There are no evening ISS passes this week are at the start of this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare; on Friday at 21.12.57 at 26 degrees altitude in NNW
Week of 9th May- Astronomical twilight ends at 23.27 BST at the start of the week and 23.49 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and is will be First Quarter on Tuesday
- The Sun is relatively quiet, though a new spot is emerging on the Eastern limb
- There are no evening ISS passes this week are at the start of this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare; on Friday at 23.54.57 at 40 degrees altitude in WSW
Week of 2nd May- Astronomical twilight ends at 22.36 BST at the start of the week and 22.45 BST at the end
- The Moon is waning and is will be New on Tuesday and visible as a slender crescent by the end of the week
- The Sun has several sunspots, though none are yet active
- The last few ISS passes are at the start of this week. On Monday at 21.09.44 W to SSE reaching 26 degrees. Tuesday 21.34.50 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees and Thursady 20.47.58 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees
- There are two bright evening Iridium flares; on Tuesday at 23.19.37 at 24 degrees altitude in W and on Friday at 23.10.50, 22 degrees altitude in W
Week of 25th April- Astronomical twilight ends at 22.23 BST at the start of the week and 22.36 BST at the end
- The Moon is waning and is Last Quarter on Monday
- The Sun has several active regions and spot 1195 may give rise to flares
- The ISS continues to make excellent passes (times BST): Monday 21.28.37 W to E reaching 83 degrees and 23.03.51 W to W to 30 degrees. Tuesday 21.53.19 W to ESE reaching 84 degrees and 23.28.40 W to W to 13 degrees. Wednesday 20.42.44 W to E to 83 degrees and 22.17.58 W to SSE to 53 degrees. Thursday 21.07.20 W to ESE to 83 degrees and 22.42.42 W to SW to 26 degrees. Friday 21.31.52 W to SE to 51 degrees and 23.07.59 WSW to WSW reaching 11 degrees. Saturday 21.56.31 W to S to 26 degrees and Sunday 20.45.36 W to SE to 50 degrees and 22.22.46 WSW to SSW to 13 degrees
- There are no bright Iridium flares this week
Week of 11th April- Astronomical twilight ends at 22.01 BST at the start of the week and 22.17 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full at the start of next week (Pascal Moon) on Sunday
- The Sun has 5 small spot groups and 1176, though on the far side is still very active
- There are no ISS evening passesthis week> The ISS returns next Monday
- There are no bright Iridium flares this week
Week of 28th March- Astronomical twilight ends at 21.29 BST at the start of the week and 21.45 BST at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Sunday
- The Sun has several spot groups and 1176 may release M-class flares over the week-end
- One bright Iridium flare occurs on Monday at 22.42.56 BST, 15 degrees altitude in N
Week of 21st March- Astronomical twilight ends at 20.15 UT at the start of the week and 20.27 UT at the end and the days are now lengtheneing at their fastest rate
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
- The Sun has quietened slightly though one of the largest prominences seen for ages erupted on Saturday (not Earth directed) Cycle 24 is warming up
- Saturn is now rising at 7.30pm and on Monday will be only a few degrees from the large waning Gibbous Full Moon. Over the next weeks Saturn will become a prominent yellow evening 'star' in the SE, slightly lower and to the South of the brighter 'Spring marker' orange giant Arcturus
- There are no ISS passes this week
- One bright Iridium flare occurs on Tuesday at 18.54.26, 49 degrees altitude in N
Week of 14th March- Astronomical twilight ends at 20.01 UT at the start of the week and 20.13 UT at the end
- Next Sunday 20th is the Vernal Equinox. One of only 2 days in the year when the Sun rises due East and sets due West. Time to check alignments. From Monday the hours of daylight will exceed those of dark and each day the Sun will moves North along the Horizon at rising and setting
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Equinox Moon) on Saturday
- Tuesday and Wednesday are excellent for spotting Mercury in the twilight. Just after sunset Jupiter and Mercury are in Conjunction and only 2 degrees appart
- The Sun has quietened slightly and the active regions of this last week are rotating out of sight
- There are no ISS passes this week nor any bright Iridium flares
Week of 7th March- Astronomical twilight ends at 19.48 UT at the start of the week and 20.01 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
- The Sun has two massive sunspot groups 1164 and 1166 (easily visible in projection boxes and indeed through Solar goggles (DO NOT try to look directly wwithout proper protection) There is a good chance that we will see powerful X-Class flares over the next few days
- The ISS makes its last passes at the start of the week: Monday 19.22.27 W to SSE reaching 19 degrees. Tuesday 18.13.11 W to SE to 36 degrees and Wednesday 18.39.56 W to S to 17 degrees
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 28th February- Astronomical twilight ends at 19.36 UT at the start of the week and 19.48 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday and visible as a slender crescent at the start of next week
- The Sun has the potential for further actvity and flares as new sunspot groups emerge over the Eastern limb
- The ISS will be bigger and brighter this week as it is joined by Space Shuttle Discovery on its last visit: Monday 17.53.06 WSW to E reaching 62 degrees and 19.28.23 W to ENE to 83 degrees. Tuesday 18.19.18 W to E to 89 degrees and 19.54.38 W to W reaching 48 degrees. Wednesday 18.45.35 W to E to 84 degrees and 20.20.56 W to W reaching 22 degreess. Thursday 19.11.52 W to ESE to 75 degrees and 20.47.27 W to W to 11 degrees. Friday 18.02.50 W to E reaching 85 degrees and 19.38.11 W to S reaching 42 degrees. Saturday 18.29.07 W to ESE reaching 71 degrees and 20.04.46 W to SW to 20 degrees and Sunday 18.55.28 W to SE to 39 degrees
- There are two bright evening Iridium flares: Tuesday 18.41.15 54 degrees altitude in SSE and Friday 18.26.48 54 degrees altitud in S
Week of 21st February- Astronomical twilight ends at 19.24 UT at the start of the week and 19.36 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
- The Sun has growing activity again and after the X2 class flare last week from 1158, 2 new spot groups 1161 and 1162 are now active and giving M-class flares and there is the potential for another X-class flare during the week. Increased sunspot activity is now expected as the new Cycle at last seems to be well under way
- The ISS returns this week: Monday 19.36.50 SSW to SSW to 16 degrees. Tuesday 18.28.53 S to ESE to 13 degrees and 20.02.20 WSW to SW reaching 16 degrees. Wednesday 18.53.29 SSW to ESE to 28 degrees and 20.28.12 WSW to WSW reaching 11 degreess. Thursday 19.18.58 WSW to SE to 55 degrees . Friday 18.10.00 SW to E reaching 30 degrees and 19.44.46 W to WSW reaching 51 degrees. Saturday 18.35.26 WSW to E reaching 58 degrees and 20.10.39 W to W to 25 degrees and the best on Sunday 19.01.10 W to E to 85 degrees and 20.36.29 W to W to 14 degrees
- There is one superbright Iridium flare on Tuesday 19.09.12 50 degrees altitude in SSE
Week of 14th February- Astronomical twilight ends at 19.12 UT at the start of the week and 19.24 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Sap Moon) on Friday
- The Sun has 5 sunspot regions. One, number 1158 is growing in activity, so far no eruption has been in our direction
- The ISS returns next week
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 7th February- Astronomical twilight ends at 19.01 UT at the start of the week and 19.10 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
- The Sun has one fading sunspot
- Close approach of an asteroid: A 1 meter asteroid 2011 CQ1, discovered on 4th February, passed only 5480km (less than 1 Earth radius) over the Pacific late on Saturday. The object was part of the Apollo class of asteroids, but Earth's gravity deflected it 60 degrees into an orbit similar to an Aten class object
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Tuesday at 18.30.57, 44 degrees altitude in SSE
Week of 31st January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.50 UT at the start of the week and 19.01 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday and should be visible as a crescent at the week-end
- The Sun has a couple of inactive sunspot regions
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Friday at 17.19.49, 29 degrees altitude in SSW
Week of 24th January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.39 UT at the start of the week and 18.48 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun has one active sunspot region 1149, which is giving C-class flares
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 17.43.48, 34 degrees altitude in S
Week of 17th January- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.30 UT at the start of the week and 18.39 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Snow Moon) on Wednesday
- The Sun has one sunspot region rotating into view which has the potential for storms over the next few days
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There are a number of bright evening Iridium flares. On Thursday at 17.47.56, 16 degrees altitude in WNW and 18.15.25, 36 degrees in S. Also on Friday at 17.16.06, 22 degrees in WNW and 17.32.56, 19 degrees in WNW
Week of 3rd January 2011.- The new year starts with a flurry of astronomical events. On Monday night the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks. The Quadrantids are one of the least well known showers and yet now the second best in the year. The shower is named after the radiant in the now redistributed old constellation of Quadrans Muralis (the mural quadrant) and now is placed in Bootes, just above the end of the handle of the Saucepan (Plough). The shower is caused by object 2003 EH1 an asteroidal (or dead comet) body with a 5.5 year orbit. Quadrantids are slow meteors and often coloured and bright. The peak is narrow (one hour only) and is forecast around 00.00hrs. With no Moon this is very favourable and over 120 per hour are forecast. It is worth looking out for early meteors from Sunday. If cloud prevents visual sightiongs, you can hear the Quadrantids as they enter the atmosphre via their RADAR signal (you hear a 'ping' on www.spaceweatherradio.com.
- The Sun rises on Tuesday morning in partial eclipse. From here it should be visible about 67% eclipsed at 8.13am (sunrise) and the final contact at the end of the eclipse occuring at 09.36 UT. ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD YOU LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITH OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS OR EVEN BY EYE ALONE (ONLY OFFICIAL SOLAR GOGGLES OR SOLAR FILTERS ARE SAFE). It is possible with care to project the eclipsed Sun through a hole (a couple of mm in a piece of cardboard) onto a piece or cardboard. But always face away from the Sun.
- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.13 UT at the start of the week and 18.20 UT at the end.
- The Moon is waxing from New on Tuesday and will be First Quarter on 12th.
- The Sun has five new active regions.
- The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday at 16.31.39 WSW to E reaching 55 degrees and 18.06.53 W to ENE to 83 degrees. Tuesday 16.57.47 W to E to 86 degrees and 18.33.07 W to W to 46 degrees. Wednesday 17.23.59 W to E to 83 degrees and 18.59.19 W to W to 22 degrees. Thursday 17.50.09 W to ESE to 81 degrees and 19.25.38 W to W to 12 degrees. Friday 16.40.57 W to E to 83 degrees and 18.16.18 W to SSE to 48 degrees. Saturday 17.07.03 W to ESE to 79 degrees and 18.42.34 W to SSW to 24 degrees and Sunday 17.33.07 W to SE to 45 degrees and 19.09.46 WSW to SW to 11 degrees.
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 27th December.- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.08 UT at the start of the week and 18.12 UT at the end.
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on 28th.
- The Sun is currently still blank, though a sunspot is emerging.
- The ISS returns on Monday at 18.13.50 SSW to S reaching 20 degrees altitude. Tuesday at 17.6.56 SSE to SE reaching 11 degrees and 18.39.36 SW to SW to 24 degrees. Wednesday 17.31.18 SSW to ESE to 24 degrees and 19.05.52 WSW to WSW to 16 degrees. Thursday 16.23.59 SSE to ESE to 12 degrees and 17.57.07 SW to SE to 48 degrees. Friday 16.48.43 SSW to E to 26 degrees and 18.23.21 WSW to WSW to 58 degrees. Saturday 17.14.32 WSW to E to 51 degrees and 18.49.45 W to W to 26 degrees and Sunday 17.40.46 WSW to E to 84 degrees and 19.16.06 W to W to 13 degrees.
- There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares on Tuesday at 18.03.03, 12 degrees altitude in WNW. Thursday at 17.33.12, 18 degrees altitude in WNW and Friday 17.18.10, 20 degrees altitude in WNW
Week of 20th December- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.04 UT at the start of the week and 18.07 UT at the end. The Winter Solstice occurs on Tuesday, when the Sun rises and sets at its southernmost extremes and traces the shortest arc across the sky. There is then little perceptable change in sunrise/set position till the northwood journey starts on 25th
- The Moon is waxing and is Full (Solsicial Moon) on 21st when it is totally eclipsed (it is rare for the eclipse to coincide with the Solstice in fact it was last seen in 1638 AD and will next occur in 2094 AD. The umbral phase starts at 07.40UT and maximum eclipse is at 08.17UT. From here the Moon will be setting low in the West as the Sun rises. This will provide an unusual double act for Solstice observers
- The Sun is currently blank
- The ISS returns at the start of next week and there are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 13th December- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.04 UT at the end. There is very little change as we approach the Winter Solstice
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full at the start of next week
- The Geminid meteor shower peaks next Tuesday at 08.00 UT. However, rates are already building to 10 per hour and are expected to peak at 120 per hour. It is worth watching out over the next few nights, especially on 13th after the Moon has set (00.00UT). The Geminids are unusual in that they are asteroidal (3200 Phaethon) in origin, perhaps due to thermal heating causing shattering of the surface. The shower can produce fireballs. Ideally observe in groups and look especailly NE and SE. The radiant is just above Castor (the uppermost 'twin')
- The Sun has quietened with 2 mature sunspots producing little activity
- There are no ISS passes or bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 6th December- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.02 UT at the end. There is very little change as we approach the Winter Solstice
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on 13th
- The Sun has a growing sunspot 1131 and another emerging
- There are no ISS passes but there are 5 bright evening Iridium flares: on Monday at 16.55.41, 16 degrees altitude in SSW. Wednesday 17.42.40, 14 degrees in WNW. Thursday 17.27.43, 17 degrees in WNW and Friday 17.12.43 at 20 degrees in WNW
Week of 29th November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.38 UT at the start of the week and 18.27 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Sunday
- For early risers, especially in these cold clear dawns, Venus is a spectacular sight
- The Sun has a fading sunspot region, but active regions on the far side
,br> - There are no ISS passes but there is one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 17.09.55, 27 degrees altitude in SSW
Week of 22nd November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.08 UT at the start of the week and 18.04 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Sunday
- Orion is now a good evening sight with red Betelgeuse at the top left 'shoulder'
- The Sun has a couple of sunspot regions
- There are no ISS passes or bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 15th November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.15 UT at the start of the week and 18.09 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Frosty Moon) on Sunday
- The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Wednesday night at midnight next week but is not expeted to produce more than 20 per hour
- The Winter Sky is now a mid-evening sight, with the Pleiades at mid altitude and superb in Binoculars and Gemini, Canis Minor and Orion all appearing in the East by 9pm
The Sun has several active regions. Watch the Storm warnings on the right hand panel
- The ISS makes 1 more pass: Monday 17.00.55, W to SSE reaching 19 degrees
- There is one super bright Iridium flare on Tuesday at 16.58.11,68 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 8th November- Astronomical twilight ends at 18.23 UT at the start of the week and 18.16 UT at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
- The Leonid meteor shower peaks next week, but early meteors may be seen from next week-end
- The Sun has an new active region 1121
- The ISS makes good passes as follows: Monday 17.08.59, W to E reaching 84 degrees and 18.44.20 W to WSW to 39 degrees. Tuesday 17.35.10 W to ESE to 77 degrees and 19.10.42 W to WSW to 17 degrees. Wednesday 18.01.19 W to SE to 44 degrees. Thursday 16.52.01 W to ESE to 74 degrees and 18.27.36 W to S to 22 degrees. Friday 17.18.04 W to SE to 42 degrees. Saturday 17.44.20 W to SSE to 20 degrees and Sunday 16.34.39 W to SE to 39 degrees
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 1st November- We are now back on Universal Time (UT/GMT). Astronomical twilight ends at 18.33 UT at the start of the week and 18.25 UT at the end
- The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
- The Taurid meteor shower peaks on Thursday, but this normally only produces a few slow meteors and hour
- The Sun has one old active region 1117 and a new region emerging over the eastern limb
- The ISS makes good asses as follows: Monday 17.15.46, SSW to E reaching 26 degrees and 18.50.27 WSW to WSW to 46 degrees. Tuesday 17.41.46 WSW to E to 52 degrees and 19.16.59 W to W to 21 degrees. Wednesday 18.08.08 WSW to E to 85 degrees and 19.43.30 W to W to 10 degrees. Thursday 16.59.21 WSW to E to 56 degrees and 18.34.36 W to WSW to 72 degrees. Friday 17.25.40 W to E to 87 degrees and 19.01.01 W to W to 29 degrees. Saturday 17.52.04 W to E to 83 degrees and 19.27.25 W to W to 14 degrees. Sunday 16.43.03 W to E to 89 degrees and 18.18.24 W to SE to 80 degrees
- There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Tuesday at 18.57.22, 43 degrees altitude in SE
Week of 25th October- British Sunmmer Time ends next Saturday night so from Sunday 31st we return to Universal Time (UT) so, Astronomical twilight ends at 19.45 BST at the start of the week and 18.37 UT at the end
- The Sun has 3 active regions and solar storms are expected, watch the right hand panel
- The ISS returns with passes as follows: Thursday at 19.39.47 SSW to S reaching 18 degrees altitude. Friday 18.32.50 SSE to ESE to 11 degrees and 20.05.35 SW to SW to 21 degrees. Saturday 18.57.16 SSW to ESE to 24 degrees and 20.31.49 WSW to WSW to 14 degrees and Sunday 18.23.04 SW to SE to 48 degrees
- There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Saturday at 19.33.23, 44 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 18th October- Astronomical twilight ends at 19.59 BST at the start of the week and 19.47 BST at the end
- The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Saturday (Hunter's Moon)
- Comet 103P/Hartley 2 is currently just north of Capella and is just visible to the naked eye, but clear in binos, making its closest approach to Earth (11 million km) on Wednesday when it will be brightest and within a couple of degrees of the bright star
- The Sun has 3 active regions and a strong M3 class solar flare errupted on 16th
- There are no ISS passes this week but there is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 18.23.22, 67 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 11th October
Week of 15th January- Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught is now visible in daylight, a few degrees to East of the Sun, but it will go behind the Sun and will soon be too far South of the Celestial Equator for viewing from here. The comet is magnitude -5 and the brightest since Ikeya-Seki in 1965
- The Moon will be New on Friday
- The Sun is quiet again
- Saturn will be well viewed this week with no Moon and Venus is now a bright evening object at magnitude -3.9
- There are no evening ISS passes this week but one very bright Iridium flare on Saturday at 18.59.31, 39 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 8th January- The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
- The Sun is quiet though has two large spots 930 and 933 crossing the disc
- There is currently a naked eye comet 2006 P1 McNaught (Oort cloud origin) visible just before sunrise (currently around 8.05am) in ESE or sunset in WNW, a clear view of the horizon is needed and it rises after both Jupiter and Mars and a little further North. Care must be taken as it is getting closer to the Sun. Viewing from the UK will be impossible after next week-end and probably best at the start of the week but it might be visible in daylight on 14th
- There are no evening ISS passes and just one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 17.06.52, 15 degrees altitude in SW
Week of 1st January 2007- The Moon will be Full on Wednesday (Cold Moon) and will sadly obliterate all but the brightest of the slow moving Quadrantid meteors, the shower peaks also on Wednesday. The Radiant is in the no longer used constellation of Quadrans Muralis which lies between Bootes and Ursa Major.
- The Sun is currently blank but spot 930 is expected to return during the week
- Saturn rises around 8pm in Leo and by mid month will be at its best, especially as the Moon wanes. Venus is noticeable now in the West for an hour after sunset and is brightening and moving Eastwards.
- An unusual transit occurs on the night of 6th to 7th. Saturn's moon Iapetus will transit the planet's disc from 10.45pm and should be visible all night, travelling slowly as one of the outermost moons. Whereas Jupiter transits are fairly common, this will be worth watching if clear
- The ISS makes a couple more evening passes: On New Year's Day at 17.00.04 from W to ESE anfd on Tuesday at 17.22.23 from W to SE
- There are two bright evening Iridium flares both on Thursday: At 17.12.32, 20 degrees altitude in SSW and at 18.23.09 at 47 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 25th December- The Moon will be First Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun is currently blank but a large sunspot on the far side of the Sun is liekly to appear mid-week and should cause increased activity
- The ISS is visible (fog permitting) in the early evening throughout the week, the best passes are as follows: On Christmas Day at 17.33.41 from WSW to E, Boxing Day at 17.56.05 from W to E, Wednesday at 16.43.26 WSW to E, Thursday at 17.05.43 W to E, Friday at 17.28.00 W to E and Saturday at 17.50.13 W to SE
- There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares: On Christmas Day at 16.33.20, 28 degrees altitude in WNW and on Boxing Day at 28 degrees altitude in S
Week of 18th December- The Moon will be New on Wednesday
- The Winter Solstice is on Friday when the Sun follows its shortest path in the sky from its southernmost rising point on the Eastern horizon to its southernmost setting point in the West
- The Sun is highly active with spot 930 giving rise to X-ray flares. Auroral activity is high and may increase during the week
- The ISS is back with evening passes on Friday at 17.59.59 from SW to SSE and Sunday at 17.09.38 from SW to E
- There are two evening Iridium flares: On Tuesday at 17.45.23, 14 degrees altitude in WNW and on Thursday at 17.15.26, 20 degrees altitude in WNW
Week of 11th December- The Geminid meteor shower peaks on Thursday morning 18th at 8.20 UT. It is worth looking out for fast moving meteors on Wednesday and Thursday nights
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on tuesday
- The Sun has and active spot 930
- There is a beutiful association of planets in the pre-dawn sky, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars
- There are no evening ISS passes or bright Iridium flares this week
Week of 4th December- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Frosty Moon) on Tuesday
- The Sun is now active with sunspot 930 having produced 2 high energy X-ray flares. Activity is likely to continue over the next few days
- Saturn is now returning (though the Ring system will be less favourable than last year, due to decreasing tilt) to the evening sky in Leo and rises at 22.00hrs preceded by the Beehive Open cluster M44 and the eskimo planetary nebula (though these are badly effected by the Moon next week)
- There are no evening ISS passes
- There is one bright evening iridium flare on Monday at 16.27.55, 27 degrees altitude in WNW
Week of 27th November- The Moon is First Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun is quiet and devoid of spots again
- The ISS is making early morning passes at present, for those who are up early the best is onMonday at 06.35.27 from W to E reaching 86 degrees altitude ie almost directly overhead
- There is one bright early evening Iridium flare on Monday at 16.46.44, 17 degrees altitude in SSW
Week of 20th November- The Moon is New at the start of the week and will be waxing to First Quarter by the start of next week
- The Sun is quiet as the large spot 923 disappears
- The November meteor showers appear to be producing some very bright meteors, it is worth watching out if the nights are clear and indeed for any late Leonids
- The are no evening passes of the ISS this week
- There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares: Both on Monday at 17.00.59, 28 degrees altitude in SSW and at 18.27.23, 38 degrees altitude in SSE
Week of 13th November- The Moon is waning till New at the start of next week, so is ideally dark for the Leonids
- The Leonid meteor shower peaks on Friday at 19.11. This year there is just a chance of increased activity due to the 1933 debris stream, predicted at 4.45am on Sunday morning. Though the radiant in Leo does not rise in the East till 22.00, it will be worth watching into the night over the week-end, especially as Leo climbs towards the Zenith
- The Sun has a large but quiet spot 923
- There are no evening ISS passes this week and no bright Iridium flares
Week of 6th November- This is the week for the second in the pair of Mercury transits (the last so beutifully viewed in 2003). Sadly none of this transit will be visible from the UK (next will be in 2049 on 7th May and 2052 on November 9th). However, the transit can be seen on various websites including the SOHO site (see Links). The transit begins at 19.11 GMT and ends at 00.15 GMT on 9th. Note: The next visible transit will be the much rarer transit of Venus (seen in total in 2004) on 6th June 2012, but this will only be seen at the end for the 1st hour of daylight from 5 till 6 am local time
- TThe Moon will wane during the week to Last Quarter next week-end. Whilst these clear and misty nights are common, look out fro Lunar Halos and other rainbow effects caused by water and ice particles at high altitude
- The Sun still has a large sunspot group (921) which could cause magnetic activity
- There are no more bright evening ISS passes this week
- There is one super bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 17.45.37 at 40 degrees altitude in S
Week of 30th October- The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Hunter's Moon)on Sunday
- Tuesday sees the feast of Halloween or All Hallows, this is believed to have developed out of the more ancient feast for the Pleiades (M45), one of the most cross-culturally significant calendar fixing and cosmologically significant celestial 'objects'
- The Sun is again active with a fast growing sunspot group (921)
- The ISS makes a couple more passes: On Friday at 17.15.12 from W to ESE reaching 53 degrees and on Saturday at 17.36.32 from W to SE reaching 29 degrees
Week of 23rd October- The Moon will now wax till First Quarter next Sunday
- The Sun remians quiet
- Comet Swan continues a good object in Binoculars heading up through Corona Borealis. This week-end it is near the bright star Alkalurops (the left hand of Bootes)
- The ISS is back for evening passes: The best are on Tuesday at 19.25.59 from WSW to ESE, on Wednesday at 19.47.35 from W to WSW, on Thursday at 18.34.19 from WSW to E, on Friday at 18.55.51 from W to E and Saturady at 19.17.27 from W to E
- There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 16th October- The Orionid meteor shower peaks on Saturday afternoon, though it is worth watching on Friday and Saturday nights. With no Moon this could be a good year, though rarely getting above 25 meteors per hour. The debris stream is that left behind by Halley's comet (last pass 1986)
- The Moon continues to wane and will be New at the start of next week
- The Sun is again blank
- Comet Swan (with a greenish tinge) is still well placed to find with binoculars by following the handle of the Plough
- The ISS returns to the evening sky on Saturday at 19.56.23 reaching 25 degrees altitude
- There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares on Tuesday at 18.45.55 at 49 degrees altitude in S and the brightest at 20.21.32 at 47 degrees altitude in ESE
Week of 9th October- Comet Swan is now visible in Binoculars and reasonably easy to locate half way between the handle of the Plough (saucepan) to orange Arcturus. The fuzzy round head is not visible to the unaided eye at magnitude 6)
- The Moon will now wane to Last Quarter next Saturday. With a bright Moon and plenty of moisture in the atmosphere it is a good time to see Lunar halos (circular rainbows around the Moon) or Lunar Aureole (straw coloured circles around the Moon)
- The Sun has few spots and little activity, though a dark 250,000 km filament is currently visible
- The are no ISS evening passes this week
- There is a medium bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 19.12.54, 54 degrees altitude in SSE
Week of 2nd October- The Moon is waxing and will be Full next Saturday (Harvest Moon) Though the October Moon is usually the Hunter or Blood Moon, the Full Moon nearest the Autumnal Equinox is known as the Harvest Moon. We are ending the Major Lunar Standstill season, with the lowest First Quarter Moon on 30th September (Which barely reaches 10 degrees above the horizon). We will have to wait till 2015 for another standstill season (Minor) and till 2024 for the next Major (extremes of Lunar altitude.
- The Sun has several potentilaly active and growing spots after some time of inactivity
- The planet Uranus is currently easy to find being less than 0.5 degrees form 4th magnitude lambda Aquarius
- ISS pases this week are all just before dawn
- There is one very bright Iridium flare on Thursday 5th at 19.39.52, 57 degrees altitude in SSE
Week of 25th September- The Moon will now wax to First Quarter next Saturday. For many the New Moon this week-end signifies the start of Ramadan
- The Sun remains quiet with just one small sunspot
- This is a poor time for planet watchers, only Uranus is well placed and visble in small telescopes
- There are no evening ISS passes this week
- There is one reasonably bright iridium flare on Friday at 20.06.55, 58 degrees altitude in SE
Week of 18th September-
The Moon is waning and will be New next Friday when it will eclipse the Sun. The Moon is at Apogee (furthest from the Earth) in its orbit so will only cause at best an annular eclipse but none of the eclipse will be visible from the UK
- Spot 904 is about to depart over the Sun's western limb for the second time and is still a site of active prominences
- Next Saturday 23rd is the Autummnal Equinox. The Sun will rise due East and set due West before heading into the Southern hemisphere of the Celestial Sphere and our days will become shorter than the nights
- There are no evening ISS passes this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Friday at 20.39.57 at 57 degrees altitude in ENE
Week of 11th September- The Moon though still very large and bright is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
- The Sun has two large groupos of spots which may lead to magnetic activity
- Bright Arcturus is beginning to set late evening in the West and Taurus is rising before midnight signalling the start of Autumn
- There are no ISS passes this week and no bright Iridium flares
Week of 4th September- The Moon will be Full (Corn Moon) on Thursday and will rise at 19.40 BST in Partial Eclipse. The Eclipse is only 18% and the umbra will have left the Moon's surface by 20.40 BST with the Moon returning to normal brightness by 22.00 BST
- There are no bright ISS passes this week but there is a bright Iridium flare on Monday at 22.00.44 in ENE at 41 degrees altitude
Week of 28th August- The first week of an 8 planet Solar System since 1930
- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Tuesday
- The Sun now has a large bipolar spot (905) which is magnetically reversed, more evidence that the next Solar cycle has begun
- The ISS continues to make evening passes though these are better at the start of the week: On Monday at 21.08.58 from W to ESE reaching 72 degrees and 22.44.21 from W to WSW reaching 15 degrees. On Tuesday at 21.32.33 from W to SSE reaching 43 degrees. On Wednesday at 21.55.57 from W to SSW reaching 23 degrees. On Thursday at 20.43.57 from W to SE reaching 43 degrees. On Friday at 21.07.29 from W to SSE reaching 23 degrees and on Saturday at 21.31.55 from WSW to SSW but only reaching 11 degrees
Week of 21st August- The Moon will be New on Thursday
- The Sun may retain some activity as sunspot 904 disappears
- Thursday 24th will see the vote by the IAU as to whether we change from a 9 Planet Star (Solar) System to one of 12 (with perhaps more to follow). Friday 25th: The IAU have now voted and have agreed an 8 Planet System, so Pluto has been demoted to a Dwarf Planet with Ceres, UB 313 and potentially many more Trans Neptunian Objects. The critical definition is that a Planet must reign supreme in its neighbourhood ie 'clearing' all similar objects, Pluto fails in this respect
- Please note that contrary to articles in some areas of the Press, the planet Mars will not be unusually close and large on 27th, it is in fact at the far side of its orbit and close to the Sun in the sky. This is an Internet generated hoax
- There are evening passes of the ISS as follows: On Friday at 21.33.52 from W to E and on Saturday at 21.57.23 from W to SE. There are no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 14th August- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun has been active again and the large sunspot 904 has now broken into two. More interestingly a small spot appeared on 31st July and has now been analysed to have shown reversed polarity, that is the magnetic poles (N and S) were reversed compared to the spots seen for the last 11 years of cycle 23. This may herald the start of cycle 24 which is predicted to be more active than anything seen in the last 50 yeras (peaking around 2011)
- On 24th August the IAU will vote on a new classification for planets and other Solar System objects, this is likely to confirm the planetray status of Pluto (though as a double planet with Charon) and also to elevate the newly discovered 2003 UB313 and also Ceres to planetary status making the Solar System a 12 planet system. The eccentric and inclined orbit objects will be called Plutons, other objects will be called Small Solar System Bodies and the term Minor Planet is to be dropped
- The ISS is back and evening passes are visible as follows: On Friday 18th at 22.05.54 from SW to SSE reaching 36 degrees altitude and on Saturday at 22.27.55 from WSW to SSE reaching 62 degress altitude. Visible passes will continue through next week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare to look out for: On Thursday at 23.10.46 at 17 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 7th August- The Moon will be Full on Wednesday (Red or Corn Moon)
- The Perseid meteor shower peaks next Saturday just after midnight. Though one of the most reliable for good numbers of shooting stars and for Summer temperatures, this year moonlight will reduce visibility. If it is clear though it is worth watching out over the week-end.
- The Sun remains blank
- There are no evening ISS passes this week
- There are no unusually bright Iridium flares
Week of 31st July- The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday when it will be close to Jupiter in the sky. The Moon will also be within 1 degree of Spica on Tuesday and Antares on Friday
- The Sun remains quiet with just one small spot (901) though a Coronal hole has given rise to Auroral activity over the last couple of days
- The Delta Aquarid meteor shower peaks on 6th August, though there are not many expected per hour (15 max.)
- Thr are no evening ISS passes this week
- There is only one bright Iridium flare on Friday at 22.45.56, 43 degrees altitude in NE
Week of 24th July- The Moon continues to wane and will be New on Tuesday
- The Sun remains blank but is showing some magnetic activity
- There are no visible ISS passes this week
- There is one bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 23.20.48, 21 degrees altitude in NNE
Week of 17th July- The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Monday
- The Sun is now totally blank and quiet again
- There are no visble ISS passes this week
- There are two bright evening Iridium flares both on Monday at 22.31.48, 43 degrees altitude in NE and at 23.12.32, 30 deg. alt. in W
Week of 10th JulyThe Moon will be Full (Thunder Moon) on Tuesday
- The Sun is still active from spot 898, which is breaking up, but continues to cause Coronal Mas Ejections (CME) though not towards Earth
- There are no visible ISS passes this week
- There are two bright evening Iridium flares: On Tuesday at 23.30.24, 38 degrees altitude in WSW and on Friday at 23.21.26, 34 deg. alt. in W
Week of 3rd July-
The Shuttle launch has been delayed by cloud and is now scheduled for 6.38pm BST on 4th
- On 4th the Earth is at its furthest point from the Sun in its orbit (aphelion)
- The Moon will be First Quarter on Monday
- The Sun continues to display a beutifully symmetrical spot 898 (Neptune sized) which at present remains stable as it traverses the disc
- The Moon will be close to 3 bright objects this week; The bright blue star Spica on Tuesday, Jupiter on Thursday and the huge Red Giant star Antares on Saturday
- There are no visble ISS passes this week
- There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares: On Wednesday at 22.50.17, 18 deg. altitude in WNW. On Thursday at 22.53.36, 15 deg. alt. in WNW and the brightest on Friday at 22.45.23, 42 deg. alt. in WSW
Week of 26th June-
The Moon will now wax till First Quarter at the start of next week
- The next Shuttle (Discovery) launch is scheduled for Saturday 1st at 20.48 BST. and will be critical in deciding the fate of the Shuttle programme (and indeed NASA's manned space programme) should more problems occur
- The Sun is again devoid of sunspots
- Saturn, Mars and the New Moon will be close in the evening sky on Wednesday
- There are 5 good ISS passes to watch out for. On Monday at 22.10.13 from W to E reaching 88 degrees altitude, then again at 23.45.21 from W to SSE reaching 40 degrees alt. On Tuesday at 22.33.10 from W to ESE reaching 70 deg. On Wednesday at 22.56.08 from W to SE reaching 41 deg. and on Friday at 22.06.51 from W to SE reaching 41 deg.
-
There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares: On Friday at 22.52.29 at 26 degrees in W and on Sunday at 22.49.43 at 23 deg. in WNW
Week of 19th June- The Moon will continue to wane till New at the start of next week
- The Sun is now devoid of sunspots again and continues to rise and set further North on the E and W horizons respectively, until Wednesday 21st, the Summer Solstice, when it rises at 4.48am local time almost NE at azimuth 49 degrees (ie compass bearing 049). This is the longest day and the Sun will reach an altitude of almost 75 degrees as seen from Oxford
- Mercury reaches its greatest elongation 25 degrees E (angle from Sun) on Tuesday and may be viewed after sunset just south of Pollux in Gemini
-
This is a week for evening ISS passes, there are 8: On Monday at 22.39.53 from SW to E reaching altitude 35 degrees. On Tuesday at 23.02.36 from WSW to E reaching 62 degrees. On Wednesday at 23.25.32 from W to E reaching 86 degrees. On Thursday at 22.13.30 from WSW to E reaching 62 degrees and 23.48.32 from W to E reaching 83 degrees. On Friday at 22.36.24 from W to E reaching 86 degrees. On Saturday at 22.59.22 from W to E reaching 89 degrees and Sunday at 23.22.18 from W to ESE reaching 68 degrees.
- There is one notable evening Iridium flare on Wednesday at 22.19.05 at 37 degrees altitude in W
Week of 12th June- Ther Moon will wane during the week to Last Quarter next Sunday
- The Sun has a number of spots including an active region around spot 892 which could lead to magnetic storms
- Next Saturday Mars and Saturn will be less than a degree apart in the Western sky at sunset
- The ISS passes are mainly in the early hours though the following may be seen at the end of the week: On 16th at 23.05.30 in SE reaching a maximum of 17 degrees in altitude above the horizon at total pass of 2 minutes. On 17th at 23.24.59 in SW, max. alt. 34 degrees taking 5.5 minutes and the best on Sunday 18th at 23.47.07 in WSW reaching 60 degrees, a total time of nearly 6 minutes.
- There are two evening Iridium flares of note: The best on 13th at 23.49.03, 45 degrees altitude in WSW and also on 14th at 22.45.03, 17 degrees altitude in WNW
Week of 5th June- The Moon is waxing to Full (Rose Moon) next Sunday
- The Sun remains blank
- The Moon this week provides a helpful locator to Jupiter (within 5 degrees on Thuirsday) and to two of the brightest and summer only stars. Spica (a giant Blue star) next to the Moon on Wednesday and Antares (an enormous red supergiant) next to the Moon on Saturday.
- There are no evening ISS passes this wekk
- There are however a couple of bright evening Iridium flares: On Monday at 22.33.18, 17 degrees altitude in WNW and on Friday at 22.47.10, 25 deg. alt. in W
Week of 29th May- The Moon will be First Quarter on 4th June
- The Sun has few spots but some activity on the Eastern limb suggests an active area over the next few days
- Jupiter is now very obvious in the South as the sky darkens and is the first object to appear
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Wednesday at 23.13.38, 35 degrees altitude in W
Week of 22nd May- The Moon wanes during the week and will be New next week-end
- The Sun remains quiet
There are no visible ISS passes this week
- There are 4 bright Iridium flares to look out for: On Monday at 22.51.31, 16 deg. altitude in WNW; Tuesday at 22.54.53, 14 deg. alt. WNW;Wednesday at 21.39.10, 19 deg. alt. NNW and 21.47.42, 18 deg. alt. NNW. There are also 2 very bright middle of the night flares (for insomniacs)this Sunday 21st at 04.43.19, 71 deg. alt. in WSW and on Thursday at 01.143.24, 53 deg. alt. in SSW
Week of 15th May- The Moon is now Waning and will be Last Quarter next Saturday
- The Sun is quiet again and virtually devoid of sunspots
- The broken Comet 73P is moving rapidly across the sky and can be seen (in binos) from midnight till dawn. On Monday the two largest and brightest segments will be parallel to the two top corner stars in the square of P{egasus and between Pegasus and Cygnus
- There are no visible ISS passes this week
- There are two bright Iridium flares to watch out for: On Tuesday at 22.59.36, 23 deg. altitude in W and on Friday at 00.04.32 at 44 deg. altitude in SW
Week of 8th May- The Moon will be Full next Saturday (Flower Moon)
- The Sun is now quieter with few sunspots
- Comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 continues to break up daily, fragment B has now split in two. In total 60 fragments have now been seen. B and C are Binocular objects high in the Eastern sky just before midnight. At its closest (25 Lunar Distances or 6 million miles) at less than 0.1 AU, this will be the closest comet approach for 20 years. Just before dawn on Monday one fragment will pass right next to the Ring Nebula in Lyra
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There are two bright Iridium flares: On Monday at 00.46.36 46 deg. altitude in SSW and on Tuesday at 23.07.50 31 deg. altitude in WSW
Week of 1st May- The Moon is now waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday
- The Sun has several sunspots, olne (875) particularly active and solar flares have continued to erupt, one giving a 10 minute radio blackout in the States at the end of last week
- Jupiter is now rising early evening and at -2.5 magnitude is very bright as it approaches Opposition, the Galillean moons are also easy in small binos
- Comet 73P Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is racing across the sky with its larger segments B and C relatively easy to find in binos as fuzzy patches between Hercules and Corona Borealis at the start of the week and Lyra at the end of the week
- There are sevral bright evening passes of the ISS: On Monday at 22.06.55 W to SE, Tuesday at 22.30.02 W to SSW and Wednesday at 21.17.53 W to SSW
- There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares: On Monday at 23.41.00 at 35 degrees altitude in WSW, Wednesday at 21.23.30, 23 deg. alt. in NNW and 23.40.54 32 deg. alt. in WSW
Week of 24th April- The Moon is still waning and will be New on Friday. On Monday in the pre dawn sky the old Moon will be very close to Venus.
- The Sun has few spots but is still producing large flares on its limb
- Jupiter is approaching Opposition next week
- There are several evening passes of the ISS: On Monday at 22.35.21 WSW to SW, Tuesday at 21.23.35 SW to E, Wednesday at 21.46.30 WSW to E, Thursday at 22.09.33 W to E, Friday at 20.57.32 WSW to E and 22.32.37 W to ESE, Saturday at 21.20.32 W to E and 22.55.40 W to WSW and the best on Sunday at 21.43.33 W to E
- There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Tuesday at 23.30.45 at 11 degrees altitude in W
Week of 17th April- The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter next Friday
- The Sun remains magnetically active despite having few spots
- Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 which has broken into 20 pieces is now brightening and the brighter segments will be visible in the 10 inch from the end of April into May. At its brightest (May 1st) it should be an easy binocular object reaching perhaps magnitude 3. On 8th May it will pass very close to the Ring Nebula in Lyra
- The ISS will be visible in the evening next week and for the first time next Sunday at 22.11.38 from SW to SSWThere are 4 bright evening Iridium flares: On Monday at 23.41.31, 17 deg. alt. in WSW, Wednesday at 23.38.46, 15 deg. alt in W, on Thursday at 23.32.51, 16 deg. alt. in W and Saturday at 23.30.08, 14 deg. alt. in W
Week of 10th April- The Moon will be Full (Paschal Moon) on Thursday and is thus followed by Easter Day (the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox)
- The Sun has only a few spots but remians active with several large prominences over the last few days
- The latest ESA probe Venus Express has now gone into orbit around the planet (for its 500 day mission) and hopes to send back first images on Thursday
There are no ISS passes visible in the evenings this week
- There are 3 bright Iridium flares this week: On 13th at 22.56.07, 17 degrees altitude WSW, on 14th at 22.50.13 at 18 degrees altitude WSW and on 17th at 22.41.31 at 17 deg. altitude in WSW
Week of 3rd April- The Moon is waxing to First
Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun is active at present and is
producing both large prominences and the largest spot no.865 this
year
- Venus is bright in the morning sky before
dawn
- There is currently no information regardingt he ISS and Iridium flares
Week of 27th
March-
The Moon wanes until it is directly between the
Earth and the Sun on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday it is at Perigee
(closest to Earth) thus the eclipse on Wednesday is Total and of long
duration (over 4 minutes) as seen from Central Africa and Turkey. From
the UK it will be a Partial eclipse of at most 25%. This will not be
noticeable and is especially dangerous to attempt to view it unless
using professional solar filters with the CE mark. Permanent eye-sight
damage can otherwise result. The Moon's edge will start to be seen on
the Solar disc from around 9.45am and will be at 25% at 10.30am and
will have gone by 11.30am.
- The Sun remains quiet and so at
Totality viewers should expect to see a symmetrical and unstructured
Corona
- There are no evening ISS passes this week and no
bright Iridium flares
Week of 20th March- Monday is the Vernal Equinox, the start of the Astronomical year and the origin of the celestial coordinate system. Only at the 2 Equinoxes does the Sun rise due East and set due West, hence spending equal times above and below the horizon
- The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun has one active sunspot region which is causing some geomagnetic activity
- There are no ISS passes this week
- There is one superbrtight (-8th magnitude) evening Iridium flare on Wednesday at 19.20.04, 63 degrees altitude in SE
Week of 13th March- The Moon will be Full on Tuesday (Lenten Moon, last of the Winter. As we might expect with a Solar eclipse approaching on 29th March, there will be a Lunar eclipse on 14th. This will only be penumbral ie the Moon will not enter the dark central shadow of the Earth and will only appear dimmed as it passes through the outer shadow. This will occur from 21.25 GMT for 1st contact, 23.28 GMT 2nd contact, 00.08 GMT 3rd contact and the Moon should be at full brightness again at 02.10 GMT
- The Sun is blank with no sunspots again, though there has been some auroral activity at high latitudes
- Jupiter is now rising at 23.15 GMT
- There are no bright ISS passes this week
- There is only one notable Iridium flare on 17th at 19.41.34, 57 deg. altitude ESE
Week of 6th March-
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday. It will be near Mars on Monday and Saturn on Friday
- The Sun remains blank but there are still active prominences
- There are 4 good ISS evening passes: On Monday at 18.52.42 from W to E, Tuesday at 19.17.20 from W to ESE, Wednesday at 19.41.58 W to S and Thursday at 18.31.19 W to ESE
-
There is one super bright Iridium flare at mag.-8 on Wednesday at 18.42.09 at 57 deg. altitude in SSE
Week of 27th February-
Comet Pojmanski is visble in the early morning as a small blue smudge and will be just east of Venus on Monday (Binoculars will show a small tail)
- Mercury is at its greatest elongation, ie most visible, and can be seen in the pink twighlight in Pisces (just below the square of Pegasus) just after sunset at the start of the week
- The Moon continues to wane and will be New mid-week, the dark skies will be good for viewing fainter objects
- The Sun remains blank
- The ISS returns and will give several bright passes: On Tuesday at 19.34.50 WSW to S. Thursday at 18.49.15 WSW to E. Friday at 19.13.56 W to E. Saturday at 19.38.41 W to E and Sunday at 18.28.13 W to E
- One more super bright Iridium flare at magnitude -8 can be seen on Friday at 19.03.20 at 55 deg. altitude in SSE, a direct beam from Iridium 54
Week of 20th February- The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Tuesday
- The Sun is basically devoid of sunspots though there has been some large prominence activity at the limb
- Jupiter is now making its way into the late evening sky and will be within 5 degrees of the Moon on Monday
- The ISS will be returning next week-end.
- There will be 2 exceptional Iridium flares both direct beams at -8th magnitude on Sunday 26th; at 17.48.50, 45 deg. altitude in SSW (Iridium 34) and then at 19.24.30, 51 deg. altitude in SE (Iridium 56)
Week of 13th February- The Moon will be Full on Monday (Snow Moon)
- The Sun remains quiet, though there are a few spots on the far side
- There are no visible ISS passes this week
- There is only one notable Iridium flare this week on 16th at 18.31.16 at 47 deg. altitude in SSE
Week of 6th February- Contrary to original thoughts that space had proved too cold for the suit-satellite's batteries, it is apparently still transmitting, though the signal is now weaker.
- The Moon is waxing during the week and will be Full at the start of next week. Tonight (5th) It is close to both Mars and the Pleiades M45
- The Sun is totally quiet with zero sunspots
- Saturn continues to be high in the night sky and makes a good image next to the Beehive Open Cluster M44
- There are no evening passes of the ISS
- On 11th Febraury (Saturday) at 18.52.26 at 46 degrees altitude, direction SSE we are almost directly under the reflected sunlight beam from Iridium satellite Iridium 4. The resulting flare will be -8 magnitude (over 1500 x brighter than the brightest stars)
Week of 30th January- A new novel idea for a satellite is about to be launched on Friday. This consists of an old space suit which will be released from the ISS. It has transmitters 'on board' and will transmit its internal temperature as it fluctuates with solar radiation, to the ground, during its unprotected orbits
- The Moon will be waxing over the week to First Quarter next Sunday, when Mars will be within 2 degress of the Moon
- The Sun currently has no sunspots but a 200,000 mile long filament exists on the nearside, which could lead to activity
- Saturn is now at its best, though due to the inclination of the rings, the Cassini division is now harder to see than last year
- There are no visible ISS passes this week
- Information on Iridium flares is not currently available.
Week of 23rd January- After several delays the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt launched sucessfully on Friday
- The Moon will be New next Sunday and is close to Jupiter at the start of the week
- The Sun has a fast developing group of sunspots which may lead to flares and increased activity
- Saturn is approaching Opposition and is thus well placed for observation. While there is little Moon the Open Cluster M44 (Beehive) may be seen in Binoculars just above and to the West of the Planet
- There are no evening passes of the ISS this week
- There are 4 bright evening flares: On 23rd at 18.35.24, 38 Deg. altitude SSE. On 24th at 17.12.28, 21 deg. alt. SSW. On 26th at 18.18.29, 11 deg. alt. WNW. On 27th at 18.03.34, 13 deg. alt. WNW and 18.20.18 at 38 deg.alt in S. and on 28th at 17.48.36 at 16 deg. alt. WNW.
Week of 16th January- Following the safe landing of the Stardust probe, another milestone in our exploration of the Solar System gets underway on Tuesday with the launch of the several times cancelled (due to Budget) New Horizons mission (originally Pluto-Kuiper express) which will head out to the last unexplored region of our Solar System for a close encounter with Pluto and its large moon Charon (and newly discovered 2 smaller moons) and then travel on into the Kuiper Belt. Arrival at Pluto is scheduled for 2015.
- The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter next Sunday.
- The Sun is spotless at present and quiet
- The ISS makes 2 more low passes: On 16th at 17.19.48 W to SSE and 17th at 17.45.27 WSW to SSW.
- There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares: On 19th at 17.24.13, 27 deg. altitude SSW and at 18.50.30 37 deg. alt. SSE and on 20th at 18.48.50 at 38 deg. alt. SSE
Week of 9th January- The Moon continues to wax and will be full (Wolf Moon) next Saturday. Having been close to Mars last week-end it will be close to Saturn this coming Sunday
- The Sun remains quiet with almost no sun-spots
- Next Sunday just before 10am the Stardust probe returns its samples of debris from the Coma of comet Wild 2, collected on gel-like fly paper it is hoped that the dust collected may give an insight into early Solar System formation
- The week sees several passes of the ISS (the earlier passes in an evening are better): On 11th at 16.51.04 from W to E. On 12th at 17.15.51 W to ESE. and 18.51.15 W to SW. On 13th at 17.40.38 W to SE and 19.16.48 WSW to SW. On 14th at 18.05.32 W to SSE and 15th at 18.31.07 WSW to SSW.
- There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares: On 12th at 16.36.39 at 29 deg. altitude in W and 17.48.11 at 31 deg. altitude in South and the best on 15th at 17.39.14 at 29 deg. altitude in SSW
The text from Weeks of December 24th till Week of January 9th is temporarily missing. Apologies Week of 19th December- The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday; it continues to dominate the night sky on its unusually high arc. On Monday the Moon will be close to Saturn in the pre-dawn western sky.
- The Sun remains quiet
- Venus is brilliant in the early evening dominating the south western sky
- There are no visible passes of the ISS
- There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares: On Monday at 17.51.58, 30 deg. altitude in S and on Friday at 17.37.01 at 28 deg. altitude in S
Week of 12th December- The Moon will be Full (Cold Moon) on Thursday. This is a Major Lunar Standstill. Every 18.6 or 19 years the Full Moon nearest the Winter Solstice (a Week on Wednesday) reaches its maximum Declination (+ 28 degrees) This means that the Moon from here will reach a maximum height of 67 degrees above the Horizon at Culmination
- The Geminid meteor shower peaks during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday but the nearly Full Moon is likely to obscure all but the brightest meteors
- Venus is now at its brightest in the early evening, though showing a crescent phase in a telescope with Mars and the Moon again close in the East at the same time
- The Sun remains quiet
- There are no evening ISS passes and only one Iridium flare of note: Next Saturday 17th December at 16.51.48 at 67 degress altitude in ENE
Week of 5th December- The Moon is First Quarter on Thursday
- Venus and the cresent Moon are close on Sunday
- The Sun has a fast growing spot on the Earth side which could give rise to activity at the start of the week
- There are no ISS evening passes but there are two really bright Iridium flares: On Sunday 4th at 18.00.55 50 deg. altitude in NE; Monday 5th at 17.50.05, 52 deg. NE
- Orion is now high in the evening sky and M42, the Orion nebula, is easy to pick out as a fuzzy patch half way down the sword hanging from the left hand side of the belt
- If the night is clear and cold expect to see a good number of shooting stars per hour, the Geminids start from 6th and peak on 14th, but there are several minor showers active over the next couple of weeks (the Delta Arietids with a radiant in Aries) for example
Week of 28th November- The Moon is New on Wednesday
- Venus is growing brighter by the day and with no Moon this week will dominate the early evening sky
- The Sun is quiet again
- There are no visible evening ISS passes
- There are only two really bright evening Iridium flares: On Sunday at 16.40.17 at 71 deg. ENE and Monday at 16.34.10, 71 deg. altitude, ENE
Week of 21st November- The Moon is Last Quarter on Wednesday
- The Sun has an active spot which could lead to activity this week
- 3 Planets are now visible, though Venus sets soon after dark and Saturn is not yet prominent till late evening
- The very cold nights (when not foggy) give a superb view of the Milky Way across the sky. By 10pm Orion is rising, a sure sign of approaching Christmas
- The ISS has passed for the moment and there are only two bright evening Iridium flares: next Saturday at 16.46.25 70 deg. altitude NNE and Sunday at 16.40.17 71 deg. altitude ENE
Week of 14th November- The Moon will be Full (Frosty Moon) on Wednesday. Look for the bright ray craters Tycho and Copernicus
- Mars will be 3 degrees South of the Moon on Tuesday
- Venus now dominates the early evening sky in the West (twice as bright as fading Mars) setting around 6.00pm. Saturn is back in the late evening rising around 10.30pm in the East.
- The Leonids meteor shower peaks on Thursday afternoon. This year it is predicted to be weak (20 per hour) and will not be very visible due to the Full Moon. there are still some bright late Taurids being seen
- The Sun has developed a large spot 822 which may lead to some activity
- There are several ISS passes as follows: Sunday 13th 17.58.08 W to ESE, Monday 16.49.19 W to E and 18.24.42 W to SSW, Tuesday 17.15.50 WSW to SSE and 18.51.30 W to SW, Wednesday 17.42.22 W to SE, Thursday 18.09.10 W to SSE, Friday 16.59.55 W to SE, Saturday 17.26.45 W to S and Sunday 16.46.10 WSW to S
- The start of the week is good for Iridium flares as follows: The best (100 times brighter than Mars)is on Sunday 17.56.57 at 53 deg. altitude NNE then Monday 17.50.49 54 deg. alt NNE; Tuesday 17.44.51 at 54 deg. NE and Wednesday 17.38.34 55 deg. NE
Week of 7th November- Mars is at Opposition on Monday and remains dominant in the night sky, in the 10 inch it is almost too bright and requires filters to pick out surface detail
- The Moon is First Quarter on Wednesday
- There is still a chance of some bright Taurids at the start of the week
- There are daily passes of the ISS just after dark as follows: Sunday 18.12.21 WSW to ESE, Monday 18.36.22 W to W, Tuesday 17.25.18 WSW to E, Wednesday 17.49.14 W to E, Thursday 18.13.12 W to E, Friday 17.01.56 W to E Saturday 17.31.35 W to E and Sunday 17.58.08 W to ESE.
- There are 2 bright Iridium Flares on Saturday at 18.03.04 51 deg. altitude NNE and Sunday early in the morning at 06.37.02 28 deg. altitude ENE
Week of 31st October- The Taurids appear to be producing some fireballs (meteors brighter than -4)and this may be a swarm year where larger debris is being encountered. Watch out from 3rd November till mid-next week
- The Moon will be New on Wednesday. This will give good dark skies (weather permitting!) for meteor and Mars watching.
- Mars is now at its closest and will not be as close for 13 years. Features including dust storms can be made out on the disc
- The Taurids meteor shower (debris from comet Encke), which has a double radiant and a long peak over 3rd till 7th November should show moderate activity
- The ISS is back as follows: 5/11 17.48.39 SW to ESE, 6/11 18.12.29 WSW to ESE and 17.01.48 SW to E, 8/11 17.25.34 WSW to E. There are also some bright evening Iridium flares: 30/10 at 19.14.24 28 deg. altitude NNE, 31/10 19.08.08 at 30 deg. NNE, 3/11 16.53.15 at 72 deg. NE, 4/11 16.47.07 at 74 deg. NE and 5/11 16.41.00 at 74 deg. NE
- The Sun remains quiet
Week of 24th October- Wednesday sees the launch of ESA's Venus Express, our first return to the Planet for some time. Expected arrival is in early Arpil 2006 after a 153 day flight.
- The Moon will be Last Quarter on Tuesday, with Saturn 4 deg. to the South
- The Sun is spotless and little activity is expected
- There are no ISS passes and only 2 Iridium flares of any note: On Tuesday at 20.46.24, 14 deg. altitude in N and Friday at 20.26.59, 24 deg. alt NNE.
- Mars will be at its closest next Sunday (though at Opposition on 7th November)
- Our clocks revert to GMT(UT) ie 1 hour back at 1am next Sunday 30th
Week of 17th October- The Moon is full on Monday (Hunter or Blood Moon). It will be partially eclipsed as well but this is not visible from here. We are entering Major Lunar Standstill season (this was an important marker in the calendars of the ancient (especially coastal dwelling) astronomers) and in December the full Moon will reach its highest point above the local horizon here, 67 deg. Even now the Moon will appear very high in the night sky.
- The Sun is quiet with as expected very few spots
- Mars grows and brightens and is now rising around 8pm. By 9.30pm it is within reach of the 10 inch
- There are no ISS evening passes this week and only one Iridium flare of note , on Monday at 19.28.21 at 47 deg. altitude in NNE
- The Orionids meteor shower (debris from comet Halley) peaks at 9am on Friday morning. It is worth observing on Thursday and Friday nights, though the Moon will not be helpfull.
Week of 10th October- The Moon is First Quarter on Monday
- There is a chance of increased meteor activity from 8th till 10th this year. These are the Draconids (for a long time a minor shower) but they have reached storm proportions in the past and may do this year. The radiant is in Draco (to the West of Polaris and NW of Plough). These meteors are associated with the short period comet Giacobini-Zinner whose orbit is severely perturbed by regular close encounters with Jupiter
- The Sun is quiet with one small spot
- Mars is rapidly reaching its full glory as seen in 2003 and will be the best for the next 15 years by the end of the month. It has come 56 million miles closer to us since July this year. Many features are becomming visible in the 10 inch.
- There are no ISS evening passes his week, but this is a good week for Iridium flares; On Sunday (9th)at 20.17.46 33 deg. altitude in N, Monday at 20.11.33 35 deg. alt in N, Tuesday 20.05.21 37 deg. alt in N, Wednesday 19.59.11 39 deg. alt in NNE, the best is on Thursday at 19.52.59 41 deg. alt in NNE, Friday at 19.46.49 42 deg. alt in NNE and Saturday at 19.40.39 44 deg. alt in NNE.
Week of 3rd October- The Partial eclipse on Monday at the New Moon has first contact at 8.42.53.1 hrs and last contact at 11.17.04.6 hrs. The maximum 67% eclipse will occur around 10am. N.B. It is not safe to view the partially eclipsed Sun without professional filters or Solar Viewers.
- The Sun itself has no spots at all at present
- Mars continues to brighten as it rises earlier
- There are no evening ISS passes this week but there are 3 really bright Iridium flares: On Monday at 18.49.00 , altitude 63 deg. in N, Tuesday at 20.49.13 at 23 deg. altitude in N and on Wednesday at 20.42.45 at 25 deg. altitude in N.
Week of 26th September- The Sun is now quiet and little activity is expected
- The Moon continues to wane and will be New on Monday 3rd and in exact line with the Sun. The Solar Eclipse produced will not be total due to the Moon being further from the Earth in its orbit and hence it will only block the centre of the Sun's disc, producing a ring of photosphere at maximum (annular eclipse) this effect will be visible from Spain and North East Africa. From here we will see a partial eclipse (starting at 8.50am local time) where 67% (around 9.45am) of the Sun's disc will be covered, the eclipse will end at 11.20am. This is the greatest partial eclipse extent visible from here till 4th January 2011.
- The lack of Moon this week will again prove beneficial in viewing the outer planets and getting a good view of the suraface details on Mars; the southern polar ice cap is not so evident as in 2003 as its shrinks into Summer, but clouds over the growing northern cap can be made out in the 10 inch.
- There are no ISS passes this week and no bright evening Iridium flares
Week of 19th September- Next Thursday 22nd is the Autumnal Equinox, the Sun rises due E and sets due W and after this rises progressivley further South
- The Sun has now quietened down, though spot 798 still has a few days on the near side
- The Moon will be last Quarter next Sunday
- There are no ISS passes or bright Iridium flares this week
- Mars is now rising around 9.30pm and is dominant in the eastern sky by 10pm
Week of 12th September- The Sun will remain highly active as spot 798 rotates to face the Earth. 9 large flares have now been detected since last Wednesday. The potential for disruptive magnetric storms and low-latitude auroras is very high, look out on the night of 14th and 15th if clear. A flare on 13th sent a Coronal Mass Ejection towards Earth. This has been the most active month since 1991 ! and we are nearly at Solar minimum
- The Moon will be full next Sunday, this is the Harvest Moon
- Mars continues to appear earlier and dominates the late evening eastern sky
- The ISS has another week of passes: Monday 12th at 21.09.26 W to S; Tuesday 20.00.00 W to ESE and 21.35.42 W to SW; Wednesday 20.25.58 W to SE;Thursday 20.52.14 W to S; Friday 19.42.24 W to SE and Saturday 20.08.41 WSW to S
- There is only only really bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 20.42.40, 32 deg. altitude in N
Week of 5th September- The Sun is no longer quiet ! The massive spot 798 has returned at the Eastern limb and has already unleased 3 massive x-ray flares, the largest rated X17 (the 4th largest ever recorded) !. The next few days will see the possibility of strong magnetic storms. Communications could be effected and there is the possibility of face on Coronal Mass Ejections. Watch out for Auroras over the week-end.
- The Moon will be 1st Quarter on Sunday
- There will be a good gathering in the Western sky just after sunset on Wednesday when the Moon, Jupiter, Venus and the bright star Spica are all within a couple of degrees
- This is the week for ISS passes with generally two evening sightings per night: Monday at 21.17.41 from W to E and 22.53.01 from W to E; Tuesday 20.08.32 WSW to E and 21.43.48 W to N;Wednesday 20.34.31 W to E, 22.09.51 W to W;Thursday 21.00.32 W to E, 22.35.52 W to E;Friday 21.26.29 W to SSE; Saturday 20.17.05 W to E, 21.52.25 W to WSW and Sunday 20.42.56 W to ESE and 22.18.33 W to W
- There is only one bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 21.39.22 15 deg. altitude in N
Week of 29th August- We are approaching a week of dark skies, the Moon is New next Saturday
- Jupiter and Venus are close to each other in the West just as the Sun sets and Mars is bright orange rising late evening (11pm) in the East, just South of the Pleiades and Taurus, a signal that Autumn is approaching.
- The Sun is quiet again after the activity of last week.
- The ISS returns in the evening at the end of the week as follows: Thursday 21.08.19 from SSW to ESE; Friday 21.34.04 WSW to SE; Saturday 20.25.17 SW to E and 22.00.07 W to WSW and Sunday 20.50.58 WSW to E.
- There are 3 bright evening Iridium passes, Sunday 28th at 23.56.26 altitude 10 deg. in W, Monday 23.33.59 12 deg. altitude in W and Tuesday 23.32.22, 11 deg. altitude in W
Apology: ISS times and Iridium times have been given in GMT, this was not clear and they will now be given consistently in Local time.
Week of 22nd August- The Moon will be last Quarter on Friday and the loss of Moonlight will allow better viewing of the outer planets at the end of the month
- Mercury is at greatest elongation on Tuesday and Mars is just south of the Moon on Thursday
- The Sun currently has a fast growing spot group 5 times the Earth in size and the days ahead will see some activity towards the Western limb
- There are no evening ISS passes but there are 5 Iridium flares to look out for; Monday 22.47.03 at 22 deg. WSW, Tuesday 22.50.02 at 19 deg. WSW, Thursday 22.47.08 at 17 deg. WSW and 2 on Friday at 22.30.53 at 18 deg. WSW and 22.50.12 at 14 deg. W
Week of 15th August- The Moon will be full on Friday. This is known as the Red Moon (given the effect of Summer sultry haze, if weather permits !) In some cultures it is also known as the Sturgeon Moon being the time of year when they are best caught.
- The Sun is relatively quiet at present with only one sunspot group, but magnetic activity is still likely towards the end of the week
- There are no visible ISS passes (at least at a reasonable hour)
- 4 bright Iridium flares may be seen: On Wednesday at 22.59.04, 28 deg. altitude in WSW; Thursday at 22.46.45, 29 deg. altitude WSW; Friday 20.20.35, 25 deg. altitude in N; Saturday 22.50.02, 25 deg. altitude WSW
Week of 8th August- The Space Shuttle Discovery is due to land on Tuesday morning after weather called off the Monday landing 'windows'
- The Perseid meteor shower peaks at 7.30pm on Friday. All through the week it is worth watching for the build up to 60 or 100 per hour, once the sky is dark enough.
- The Moon will be First Quarter on Saturday
- Neptune is at opposition on Monday and thus well placed for viewing later this month
- The Sun has more potentially active groups which could unleash magnetic storms over the next few days
- There are 4 bright evening Iridium flares to watch whilst waiting for Perseids: On Tuesday at 22.21.44, 17 deg. altitude looking W; Wednesday at 22.24.56, 15 deg. in W; Thursday 22.28.10, 13 deg. in W and Friday at 22.31.27, 11 deg. in WNW.
Week of 1st August- The Discovery shuttle crew are expected to be given the 'all-clear' to land next week-end having assessed the damage on take-off , though the mission has been extended by one day
- The Moon will be New next Friday
- The Sun has an active spot 792 and magnetic storms are expected during the week
- There are no ISS passes but 4 bright evening Iridium flares. On Tuesday at 22.27.12, 28 deg. altitude looking W, on Wednesday at 23.43.32 at 46 deg. altitude SW, on Thursday at 22.24.16 25 deg. altitude in W and on Saturday at 22.21.24 22 deg. in W
Week of 25th July- The postponed first launch of the Shuttle following the Columbia accident (two and a half years ago) is now scheduled for Tuesday at 3.39 BST.
- Thursday will be the last Quarter Moon
- The Sun was totally quiet at the week-end with no sunspots at all, a sure sign of approaching Solar minimum (and the week of the Solar weather summer school course !) There is now one spot 791 which may grow. However on the far side there are two active regions which have alreday caused large Coronal Mass Ejections and may cause severe activity when they rotate into view, this could happen by Friday and give magnetic storms at the week-end
- There are no ISS passes this week. 1 bright evening Iridium flare occurs on Tuesday at 20.42.50, at 21 deg. altitude in NNW.
Week of 18th July- Wednesday is the 36th anniversary of the fisrt (Apollo 11) Moon landing
- The Moon will be full on Thursday (The Thunder Moon in Moon Lore)
- For those awake early, look east before sunrise and Mars is now very prominent and red. In a small telescope the southern polar ice cap should be visible
- There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares at the start of the week on 18th at 22.04.28 at 23 deg. altitude in W, on 19th at 23.15.17, 43 deg. in SW and on 20th at 22.01.41, 20 deg. in NNW
Week of 11th July- The Moon will be 1st Quarter on Thursday
- At the start of the week the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will all be close just after sunset
- The Sun has a number of active groups again which could lead to flares
- The ISS makes a couple more passes before another absense from our skies: On Monday at 21.40.36 W to SE and Wednesday 20.59.33 W to SE
- There are 3 bright Iridium flares in the mid to late evening: On Monday at 22.19.07 33 deg. altitude in W, Thursday at 22.10.08, 29 deg. altitude in W and Friday at 23.30.27 at 48 deg. in SW
Week of 4th July- Monday 4th at 0650 BST the Deep Impact mission will send a 360 kg disc of copper into the nucleus of short period comet Tempel 1. The impact will hopefully lead to an increased knowledge of the composition and of the early Solar System. It will also demonstrate our ability to impact an approaching comet, though the change in this comet's path will be negligable. The event will not be visible from the UK. Incidently the impactor, which will be vaporised carries a CD inscribed with the names of 14 GCSE Astronomers from the College (Class of 2004)
- On Saturday the College will have access to the Dome as part of Prize Day. The Dome will be open from 10am till 5pm with an exhibition of past GCSE Moon Maps and if clear the Sun will be viewed in H alpha
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The Moon is New on Wednesday
- The Sun having been blank is now covered in fast developing spots, again unusual perhaps for the approaching Solar minimum
- The ISS is back with 10 good passes this week: 3/7 21.16.17 WSW to E and 22.51.29 W to E. 4/7 21.42.24 WSW to E. 5/7 22.08.38 W to E. 6/7 22.34.51 W to ESE. 7/7 21.25.43 W to E. 8/7 21.51.54 W to ESE. 9/7 22.18.05 W to SE. 10/7 21.08.53 W to ESE. 11/7 21.35.02 W to SE
- There are two bright eveing Iridium flares on 4/7 at 22.42.58 41 deg. altitude WSW and 8/7 at 22.27.57, 37 deg. altitude WSW
Week of 27th June-
The Moon is at last Quarter on Tuesday.
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The Planets Mercury and Venus are within 0.1 degrees on 27th with Saturn just below them. Look WNW between 10pm and 10.45pm.
- The Sun now has two rapidly growing spots and there is a chance of Auroral activity on Saturday night
- The ISS returns this week with good passes on Friday at 21.57.26 SW to E, Saturday 22.22.46 WSW to E and Sunday 21.13.07 SW to E.
- There is one really bright Iridium flare scheduled for Thursday at 22.57.59, altitude 45 deg. WSW.
Week of 20th June-
Tuesday 21st is the Summer Solstice, the longest day in the year when the Sun rises at its furthest North on the Eastern horizon and sets at its furthest North on the Western horizon
- 22nd is the Full Moon (Honey Moon) and this will be the lowest Moon path on the sky since 1987 reaching barely 10 degrees above the horizon. This gives a chance to see the optical illusion of its abnormal size as it rises just before 10pm
- There are no bright evening ISS passes and only one bright evening Iridium flare on 20th at 20.56.32, 54 deg. altitude in NE
- The Sun is relatively quiet again
- Observing is now hampered by twilight and it is only properly dark for a couple of hours in the middle of the night
- The planets Mercury, Venus and Saturn are coming up to a close conjunction in the twilight low WNW sky, by the end of the week-end they will be all within one degree of each other and should be visible shortly after sunset (10.15pm)
Week of 13th June- The Moon wil be at first Quarter on Tuesday and will make a fine pairing close to Jupiter on Wednesday
- There are no evening ISS passes his week. There are 2 bright Iridium flares on 14th at 21.23.26 at 46 deg. altitude NE and on 16th at 23.55.19, 55 deg. altitude in SSW
- Sunspots 775 and 776 have grown and could give rise to magnetic storms. 776 is visible by unaided eye at around 5 times the size of the Earth, though do not look directly at the Sun to see it !
Week of 6th June- A New Moon on Monday means that we will have a dark week for Comet Tempel 1 viewing, perhaps on Monday or Tuesday when the forecast is clear and colder
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Jupiter and the comet are close together so will make for good targets, Venus is now evident in the North West as the Sun sets and will be close to the crescent Moon on Friday
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No ISS passes and only one evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 21.44.10, 38 deg. altitude in NE. The is a chance however to see a flare in daylight on Tuesday at 20.12.08, 67 deg. altitude in NE
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The Sun has three groups of spots, one of these is growing rapidly and may give rise to magnetic storms
Week of 30th May-
The Moon is now waning and giving dark skies for the rest of the week
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Jupiter is now beginning to set in the west after midnight. Venus will get ever more noticeable in the early evening western sky.
- Comet Temple 1 (the target for Deep Impact on 4th July) is hard to discern at 11th magnitude, but is sufficiently close to Jupiter to find in the 10inch.
- The are no ISS passes this week and only one bright evening Iridium flare on 1st June at 22.13.19, 24 deg. altitude in NNE
- The Sun now has an active growing sunspot no.767 which unleased a CME which is due to hit the Earth in the next couple of days and might trigger aurorae.
Week of 23rd May-
44 years ago on Wednesday President J.F. Kennedy announced his goal of landing on the Moon (it took just 8 years for this to happen). It looks as though within the next ten years we will be back.
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The Moon will be full tomorrow, Monday. In Moon-lore this is the Flower Moon.
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Venus is now discernable in the twilight of the setting Sun and will get progressively more prominent.
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The Sun is almost spotless at present and certainly more as expected towards Solar minimum than last week-end's activity would suggest.
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No ISS passes this week and only two bright evening Iridium flares on 26th at 21.06.10, 50 deg. altitude in NE and on 28th at 22.27.30, 17 deg. altitude NNE.
Week of 16th May-
The Moon will be first Quarter on Tuesday
- The Sun unleashed a CME over the week-end and this hit Earth yesterday during the day, producing a severe geomagnetic storm. Despite Solar minimum approaching there still seems to be plenty going on.
- After a week of superb ISS passes, there are only 2 more for a while. 16th 21.59.37 low in WSW to SW, 17th 20.50.03 W to SSE.
- One bright Iridium flare on 17th 21.41.48 at 35 deg. altitude NE.
Week of 9th May-
Saturday 14th sees the 32nd anniversary of the launch of the first major space station Skylab.
- This week the Moon is new and waxing to First Quarter on 16th and so the dark skies will be ideal for viewing the last few Eta Aquarid meteors or the ISS which passes each evening.
- ISS passes are as follows: 9th at 20.24.51 WSW to E and 22.00.14 W to E. 10th at 20.51.40 W to E and 22.27.02 W to SW. 11th at 21.18.28 W to ESE, 12th at 21.45.14 W to SE, 13th 20.31.36 W to ESE and 14th 21.03.20 W to SE.
- 2 bright Iridium Flares this week occur on 10th at 22.05.01 at 24 deg. altitude in NNE and on 13th at 21.56.29, 29 deg. altitude in NE.
- Jupiter will be viewed well this week. Venus is now back as an evening planet low down in the west after sunset and close to the New Moon.
Week of 2nd May- For anyone near to Oxford, there is a Public Lecture (The Halley Lecture) on 'Massive Black Holes' given by Prof. Reinhard Genzel of the Max Planck Institute in the Sir Martin Wood theatre of Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road at 5pm on Tuesday.
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This is a week of ISS passes as follows: 4th at 21.21 SW to ESE, 5th 21.51 WSW to E, 6th 20.40 SW to E also 22.15 W to ENE, 7th 21.06 WSW to E, 8th 21.33 W to E and 9/5 20.25 WSW to E. The will be one bright evening Iridium flare on 3rd at 21.03.52 altitude 47 deg. NE.
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The Moon is waning and will be Dark next Sunday.
- The Sun has a huge mature spot 756 (5 times Earth size) visible by unaided eye (don't try to look though!)
- The end of the week will be a good time for Jupiter watching
Week of 25th April- Bright evening Iridium flares may be seen on 25th at 19.58.37, altitude 67 deg. E and 21.33.34, 35 deg altitude NE, 29th at 21.18.45, 41 deg. altitude NE.
- The Moon is now waning to first Quarter next Sunday
- The Sun is spotless at present and little activity is expected
- Jupiter will be getting better as the Moonlight fades and Neptune and Uranus are evening objects again though near the Moon this week.
Week of 18th April- Two bright iridium flares may be visible on 19th at 21.50.55, 25 deg altitude NE and on 22nd at 21.47.17, 29 deg altitude NE
- The ISS is passing early in the morning this week
- The Sun remains quiet
- The Moon will be full on 24th this is the Pink Moon in Moon lore
- The Lyrids meteor shower peaks on 22nd at 6.30am. The radient is high in the sky and typically 10 per hour may be seen. It is worth looking out from the beginning of the week
Week of 11th April-
Two bright evening Iridium flares are potentially visible on 15th at 20.40.43, 51 deg, altitude ENE and on 17th at 21.53.27, 20 deg altitude NE
- Having been active earlier in the week, the Sun is now quiet
- The Moon is waxing to first Quarter on Saturday
- Saturn will be close to the Moon on Friday and Jupiter continues to dominate the night sky with bright orange Arcturus further north in the eastern sky
Week of 4th April-
No I.S.S. passes this week and only 2 bright evening Iridium flares on 4th at 21.19.26, 34 deg, altitude ENE and Thursday 21.10.36, 39 deg. ENE.
- The Sun is not active and is showing very few spots. Solar minimum is due to occur next year 2006.
- The Moon is waning and will be new next week-end.
- Jupiter now dominates the night sky rising early evening in the East and is at its closest to Earth during the year. It is 3 times brighter than Sirius and its surface features are easily visible in a small telescope.
Week of 28th March-
There is only one bright Iridium flare this week on Friday 1st April at 21.28.14 hrs, 29 deg. altitude ENE.
- The Moon is waning to last Quarter by Saturday.
- The Sun remains quiet.
- Jupiter will be at Opposition on 3rd April. Io transits Jupiter and Europa appears from Occultation mid-evening on Monday 28th.
Week of 21st March-
The I.S.S will make its last passes for a while this week, though they will be low in the sky apart from 21/3 7.36pm W to SSW and 23/3 6.55pm W to SSW.
- There will be 3 bright Iridium flares 23/3 18.20.57 at 59 deg. N, 24/3 21.38.41 at 15 deg. NE 26/3 and 21.36.08 at 18 deg. NE
- The Moon is waxing to full on Friday ('Worm' moon) and being the first full Moon after the Vernal Equinox (20/3) heralds Easter day next Sunday.
- The Sun is still quiet though there is still prominence activity on the Eastern limb.
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Jupiter is now a beutiful object in the mid-evening in the East and accessible in the 10 inch. Saturn is now firmly in the Western hemisphere during the evening.
Week of 14th March-
Monday is the 126th anniversary of Einstein's birth. 2005 is officially Einstein year to celebrate 100 years since the publication of his Special Theory of Relativity.
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The I.S.S will be passing almost overhead each evening this week. (Data from heavensabove) The main passes are as follows. 13/3 7.05pm WSW to E, 14/3 7.33pm W to E, 15/3 8.01pm W to ENE, 16/3 6.53pm W to E, 17/3 7.21pm W to E, 18/3 7.48pm W to SE, 19/3 7.08pm W to ESE, hopefully the weather will allow viewing of one of these !
- There are 3 bright Iridium flares: 13/3 19.13.11 alt 44 deg N, 14/3 19.39.23 alt 56 deg ESE and 19/3 19.18.14 alt 61 deg SE.
- Mercury will be easy to see this week just after sunset, bright and low in West (probably orange due to the atmosphere). Saturn is almost overhead mid evening and Jupiter is now obvious and bright from about 8.30pm in East.
- The Sun remains quiet
- The Moon is waxing to first Quarter on Thursday.
Week of 7th March-
This week in 1934 Yuri Gagarin was born.
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The I.S.S. will be making passes this week. The following are bright evening events. Friday at 19.45.33 from WSW up to 56 deg altitude to SE (3 minutes) and Saturday 19.06.11 WSW to 62 deg to E (5 minutes). There are two bright Iridium flares on Wednesday 20.00.31 51 deg altitude direction 111 deg ESE and Thursday morning in daylight 08.52.50 at 78 deg direction 126 deg SE.
- The Sun is still quiet.
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The Moon is now waning and will be New on Thursday
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Saturn is now high in the evening sky so well viewed (out of the atmopheric effects and light pollution at lower altitudes) this week with no Moon. Jupiter is now rising in the East around 9.30pm and is nearly an evening object in the 10 inch again.
- Mercury is easily visible at sunset low in the West, near the crescent Moon on 11th
Week of 28th February-
This week in 1966 Venera 3(USSR) was the first probe to reach Venus and in 1972 Pioneer 10 was launched to Jupiter
- Having seen my first Iridium flare last week, I think they are worth looking out for if the sky is clear. The following are bright flares for this week (all data from heavens-above.com)on 28th at 16.13.38, 83 deg altitude and bearing 184 deg (S) on 2nd at 18.06.12, 64 deg bearing 12 deg (NNE) on 3rd at 18.00.05, 66 deg bearing 14 deg (NNE) and on 4th at 19.59.52, 27 deg bearing 8 deg (N). These are angles as from Marlborough. The flares are caused as various rotating Iridium communications satellites catch the Sun light in their orbits and due to their flat door shaped reflecting surfaces they can shine as bright as the Moon, typical flares last for 1 or 2 seconds.
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The long filament on the Sun's surface is now visible as a prominence above the western limb but the Sun remains relatively inactive.
- The Moon is waning to last Quarter on Thursday.
Week of 21st February-
This week in 1962 John Glenn became the first American Astronaut to orbit the Earth.
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There will be an Iridium Flare visible in daylight from Marlborough at 14.33.11 on Thursday 24th. Look SSW (192 deg.) and at 52 deg. altitude
- The Sun has only mature spots and is quiet. However an enormous loop of gas is suspended above the Sun's surface facing us and appears as a dark filament, it is equivalent to the Earth-Moon distance in length.
- The Moon will be full on Thursday (Snow Moon), its name may well be appropriate this week if the forecasts are correct.
- Saturn is rather washed out by the Moonlight this week and Jupiter is still a middle of the night target.
Week of 14th February-
This week marks two historic birthdays, Copernicus in 1473 and Galileo in 1564. Valentine's Day in 2001 marked the first pictures being sent back from the surface of an Asteroid (Eros)
- The Sun is relatively quiet at present and spot 720 has all but disappeared.
- The Moon in waxing to 1st Quarter on Wednesday and is presently showing clear Earth-shine on the dark hemisphere.
- Comet Machholz is now barely discernable by eye, but is still ok in Binos. It is now high in the North-Western sky half way between Cassiopeia and the Pole Star, being close to the pole it is harder to follow with the Earth's rotation.
- For those with telescopes Saturn is very close (just to the left) to the Eskimo Planetary nebula and look out (by unaided eye) for the pretty Beehive Open Cluster (M44) about 15 degrees below Saturn in Cancer.
Week of 7th Febrauary-
This week in 1999 the NASA probe Stardust was launched. It successfully collected samples from within 250km of the nucleus of Comet P/Wild 2 at the end of 2003. The samples will be returned to Earth on January 15th 2006. The hope is that there may be signs of biological molecules.
- Recently discovered 320m wide Asteroid 2004 MN4 will pass the Earth in 2029 on April 13th at a distance of only 30,000km and will be as bright as a 3rd magnitude star..something to look forward to !
- Sunspot 720 is looming on the Sun's eastern limb and may bring a significant rise in Solar activity over the next few days.
- The Moon will be New on Tuesday.
- All week will be good for Comet Machholz in Binos, if we get a clear night !.
Week of 31st January-
This week two years ago Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on reentry killing all 7 on board. In 1974 the probe Mariner 10 took the first close up images of Venus
- The Moon is now waning and will be new by the start of next week.
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The Sun is presently quiet but spot 720 may well return by the middle of the next week
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Comet Machholz though now at the limit of naked eye visability is still clear in Binos and with the lack of Moon this week and given its high altitude (next to the W of Cassiopeia) it is not badly affected by scattered light
Week of 24th January-
This week marks the 19th anniversary of 2 major astronomical events. In 1986 Voyager 2 became the first space probe to pass by Uranus and later that week the Challenger Space Shuttle blew up on take off killing all 7 crew.
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The Moon will be full on Monday night (Wolf Moon)
- The vast sunspot 720 has gone round the western limb and the Sun is now quiet, but the spot may still be in existense when the Sun has made another half rotation
Week of 17th January-
The Moon is waxing throughout the week and will be full on 25th.
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Saturn is well placed for viewing at present and showing plenty of detail in the 10 inch.
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Comet Machholz continues to head higher in the sky towards H and Chi Perseii (Double Open Cluster)and is fading in brightness.
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The Sun has released 2 Coronal Mass Ejections over the week-end and spot 720 is now bigger than Jupiter. High magnetic activity is expected with chances of Aurorae at the start of the week.
Week of 10th January-
On Thursday the NASA Deep Impact mission is launched. This is the first mission to aim to impact a comet's nucleus (Temple 1) to reveal what it is made of and to release material which will shed light on the early Solar Sustem. On Friday the ESA Huygens probe will descend into the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and hopefully reveal one of the greatest mysteries of the Solar System, the moon's composition.
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Monday 10th is a New Moon which will wax to first quarter by the end of the week. If the forecast is correct there could be some clear dark skies during the week (Tuesday and Wednesday)
- Comet Machholz is now past the Pleiades and heading up towards Perseus. It will remain a naked-eye object till next week.
- Saturn will be at opposition on Thursday and thus well placed for observation.
- The Sun has suddenly grown a very large sunspot (visble to the unaided eye, but don't look directly at the Sun !) This could give rise to increased Solar activity.
Week of 3rd January-
Monday 3rd the Quadrantids meteor shower peaks at 12.20 pm. There should be meteors visible on Monday and Tuesday nights. The radiant is between the Pole star and the tail of the Plough (The constellation Quadrans Muralis is now no longer recognised)
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Comet Machholz is now brightening to its maximum by the end of the week and will be only 2 degrees from the Pleiades Open cluster on Friday 7th. It is now distinctly green in colour (due to Carbon and CN in its coma) Its straight ion tail is now visible in the telescope and the dust tail, but this is very faint. If the night is clear, the comet and its ion tail are easy now by unaided eye.
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Saturn will be only 7 degrees from Pollux on 6th.
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The Sun has now quietened down and its disc is almost blank.
Week of 27th December-
Monday 27th the Moon is at apogee (furthest from Earth in its orbit) thus the full Moon of Boxing day was the smallest in 2004(though it is bright as the Earth approaches perihelion). The Moon will wane during the week and by next week the comet should be more visible. All 5 'ancient' planets are visible just before sunrise (5.30 till 6.30am)Mercury nearest the horizonvery close to bright Venus with fainter Mars just higher dont mistake the bright red star Antares about the same altitude as Venus. Jupiter is bright high in the South-Eastern sky and Saturn bright with Gemini in the West.
Week of 20th December-
Tuesday 21st is the Winter Solstice at 12.42pm.
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The great Winter sky of Gemini (+ Saturn)Procyon, Sirius, Orion, Hyades and Pleiades is now prominent in the mid evening sky in SE.
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The Moon will be full next Sunday and its scattered light is obscuring the fainter objects.
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The Ursids metoer shower peaks on Wednesday at 5.05am, with the Radiant in Ursa Minor (near Polaris)this shower rarely gives many meteors per hour.
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Comet Machholz is climbing higher in the sky and speeding up as it approaches the Sun. Though now brighter and visible by unaided eye, the Moon will make it hard to see till the New Year, when it will be heading into Taurus and towards the Pleiades.
Week of 13th December-
Saturn is now clear of the horizon haze by mid-evening and is a fine sight in a small telescope. If we get a clear night the 10inch will certainly target it.
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The Moon is now waxing and will be at first Quarter in time for the Tour of the Winter Sky at the end of the week.
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The Sun is a little more active again but aurorae are only likely at high latitudes (just in case your holidays are taking you North!)
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The Geminids meteor shower is due to peak on Monday at 8.45pm and given the lack of Moon could be good, except for the poor forecast.
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There is now a Comet visible to the unaided eye and good in the telescope. This is Comet Machholz and it will be getting brighter over Christmas. It is easy to find at about 4 o'clock from the bottom right foot of Orion (Rigel) (see Solar Weather link for details)
Week of 6th December
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The morning sky just before dawn is the time to see planets at the moment. On Tuesday Jupiter and its moons will be right next to the Moon (in fact from eastern USA Jupiter will be eclipsed). On Friday Mars will be just above the Moon and Venus just above Mars. Saturn continues to improve as an evening object.
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The Moon is waning and will be New again next Sunday.
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Solar activity has calmed and no storms are currently predicted.
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Next Saturday there is a chance to see a daylight Iridium flare (associated with one of the Iridium satellites) It will occur just after 8.27am, 49 degrees above the ENE horizon (bearing 73 degrees)
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Look out for early Geminid meteors as the end of the week approaches.
Week of 29th November
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Venus and Jupiter continue to separate in the early morning sky and Saturn to become ever more prominent in the Eastern evening sky. Mars will also be visible next to Venus by the end of the week, but much fainter.
- The Moon is now waning and will be at Last Quarter by next Sunday.
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Solar activity is expected to rise again and there is a chance of magnetic storms by mid-week
Week of 22nd November
- Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are all visible in the early morning sky, with Jupiter and especially Venus being visible for some time after sunrise. Saturn is now a prominent bright orange light low in the late Eastern evening sky from about 9pm.
- The Moon is now waxing and will be full on Friday
Week of 15th November
- Venus and Jupiter are obvious bright objects in the early morning sky. Saturn has returned to the night sky, rising in the east after sunset directly below Gemini (Castor and Pollux), although not at a high enough altitude for the 10" until 11pm.
- The Moon is growing to 1st quarter by the end of the week.
- Leonids Meteor shower is due to peak on Friday evening but keep watching during the week!
- Solar activity has declined, but the large Sun spot which caused last weeks Aurorae is likely to return next week.
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