Doncaster's Sky This Month

January 2012

2012-01-03T20:33:00.005Z

Moon

1st Quarter ---- 1st 11:14 – 00:23
Full ------------- 9th 16:48 – 08:02
Last Quarter -- 16th 00:42 – 10:40
New -------------23rd 07:44 – 17:14

Planets

Jupiter continues to reign supreme this month, being on scene from dusk on the 1st and setting at 2am, to setting at midnight on the 31st.
Uranus will be in the sky at dusk from the 1st, setting at 11:15pm. At the end of the month it’ll be up at dusk, but will set at 9:15pm, a tiny 3arcsec spot of mag +5.9 brightness.
Neptune will be an even tinier spot in the west, approaching the horizon at 5:30pm on the 1st, and setting soon after 8:00pm. On the 31st it will be a mag +8 point, setting as dusk descends, so not much to be seen of Neptune this month.
Back to the east. Mars will be rising on the 1st at 10:30pm. A bright disc of mag +0.2 and getting larger at 9arcsec. It’ll set at 11:15am, well after dawn. By the 31st it will be rising at 8:45pm a larger disc of 12arcsec and mag +0.5, and set at 9:30am. Getting closer and it’ll rise some 42° above the southern horizon, a good appearance.
Saturn will rise on the 1st at 2:15am, a 17 arcsec disc, of mag +0.7 brightness. It’ll set after just midday. By the end of the month it’ll be rising at 12:15am, a little less bright, and set at 10:15am. So a good long appearance though not high at only 28° above the southern horizon.
Venus will be the Evening Star, brighter than Jupiter at mag –4.0, and setting 2 hours after the Sun so clearly apparent. Even longer at the end of the month a little bigger but showing only 74% phase.
Mercury will be a morning object rising before the Sun by an hour but low in the south east at 7am on the 1st. It’ll only be visible for the first week before being overtaken by the Sun. Low, but bright at mag –0.4. Only worth the effort to be able to say you saw it. But beware of the brighter dawn twilight hiding the Sun.

Meteor Showers.

The Quadrantids, peaking on the 3rd of this month is one of the best of the year. Though the Moon is close to full, it rises later so shouldn’t be too much bother.

Comets.

None to speak of, but if you hear of one let me know, as I can download their ephemeredes onto the Vixen and find them.

For Satellites and Iridium Flares check with http://www.heavens-above.com/

December 2011

2011-12-04T15:11:00.007Z

Moon
1st Quarter ---- 2nd 12:17 – 00:00
Full ------------ 10th 15:44 – 07:59
Last Quarter -- 18th 00:10 – 11:47
New ------------ 24th 07:55 – 15:45

Colder now, but not as bad as last year at the start of the month.

On the 10th of December we have a Total Lunar Eclipse to look forward to, but don’t look to hard as it will be mostly over by the time the Moon rises about 4pm in the north east, partly covered by the Earth’s shadow.

Planets

On the 1st of December, Neptune rises at 12:45pm and sets at 10:15pm so is only available from when it is at its highest, due south to when it sets in the WSW. This has been its path for several months. At the end of December it will rise at 10:45am and set at 8:15pm, but as the sky gets dark when it’s due south we only see it for about 3 hours each night.
Uranus rises in the 1st at 1:30pm, broad daylight, and sets at 1:15am. But we see more of it than we do of Neptune as it rises later and climbs higher. As it’s closer to us and brighter, we can study it more effectively. Neptune hardly ever gets to be more than a blue/green dot in the sky. At the end of the month Uranus rises at 11:30pm, daylight, morning actually, and sets at 11:30am.
Mars, now at 7 arcsec and mag 0.7, is getting a little brighter but is still a bit small for detail on the disc. It rises on the 1st at 11:30pm, under the belly of Leo, and sets at 1pm, middle of the day. So all we see of it as from when it rises to when it gets to it’s highest in the sky, at due south, 45° up, at dawn. By month’s end it rises at 10:30pm and sets at 11:30am. During the month it will have moved from under the belly of Leo to behind its rear legs. It will also have got closer to Earth and will present a mag 0.2 and 9 arcsec disc, so will be worth a try at photography and more careful visual study. Its closest approach will be in March next year and will brighten to mag –1.2 and present a 14 arcsec disc.
Venus doesn’t have a good month in December, it rises soon after the Sun so won’t be visible in the mornings and in the evenings it’ll be too close to the Sun for the first half of the month to be worth it but will be available later in the month. But as it doesn’t get higher than 16° above the southern horizon, it’ll be very close to the horizon all the time it will be available this month. Not a good month.
Mercury flips round this side of the Sun on the 4th, so will be too close to it for safety. But from the 12th to the end of December, it’s possible to see Mercury in the mornings, before the Sun rises in the south east, but not in the evenings. After the flip in front of the Sun it will show a mag 0.8 and 9 arcsec disc of 23% phase. On the 14th it will be mag 0.3, 8 arcsec with a 32% phase. On the 16th, mag 0, with an 8 arcsec disc of 41% phase. Two days later it’ll be mag –0.2, have shrunk to 7 arcsec and show a 49% phase. And so on for the next few days. By the end of December it will be mag –0.4, have a 6 arcsec disc lit for 80% of its surface.
Saturn will rise on the 1st of December at 3:45am and at mag 0.7 with a 16 arcsec disc, easily seen. But within 3 hours dawn will have overtaken it. On the 31st it will be a bit closer to us and will rise at 2:15am and last for 5 hours before dawn hides it. Still worth the effort.
Jupiter will rise on the 1st at 2:30pm but will not be seen till dusk , about 5pm. It’ll rising to 47° high in the south, and set at 4:15 am, so will be with us all night. At the end of the month it will rise at 12:30pm and set at 2:15am, having shrunk from 47 arcsec to 43 arcsec and dropped in mag from –2.6 to –2.8. This is still a good time to study our largest planet, though it passed its closest approach in October.

Meteor Showers

The Geminids are the best this month, possibly in the whole year. They run from the 10th to the 16th and peak on the 14th, a short “season” with a high Zenith Hourly Rate of up to 120. The radiant rises in the east at dusk close to Castor, so we’ll have all night, but, the Moon is fat and rises soon after the radiant following it all night 30° behind. But it’s always best to look towards the zenith rather than at the radiant anyway.

Comets

Garradd is still with us and worth observing, predicted to be mag 8 and may be brighter, it has a tail that photographs well, so can you see it too? The exciting thing about comets is that they aren’t predictable, and may have an outburst without warning. Remember Comet Holmes a couple of years ago. So keep watching whenever you can.

For Manmade Satellites please go to http://www.heavens-above.com

And for more detailed sky charts please check with our observatory at the contact us page.

November 2011

2011-11-08T11:03:00.011Z

Moon

1st Quarter -- 2nd 13:17 – 23:04
Full ----------- 10th 15:47 – 07:04
Last Quarter - 18th 23:44 – 12:43
New ----------- 25th 08:07 – 15:59

Putting the clocks back has improved things for us, no end, but I suppose it’s really the moving of the seasons to blame. Longer nights, but paid for in lower temperatures. So wrap up well when observing.

Planets

Neptune, at mag 7.9 and Uranus at mag 5.8, still lead the pack, rising on the 1st in daylight so become available only after it has darkened enough, by about 6pm. Neptune sets at midnight and Uranus at about 3:30am. At the end of the month they rise in broad daylight so become available at dusk, about 5:15pm, and will set, Neptune at 10:15pm and Uranus at 1:30am
Jupiter will rise on the 1st about 4:30pm, dusk, and set about 6:30am, dusk again. On the 30th it will rise at 2:30pm and set at 4:15am. It’ll rise to be 47° above the southern horizon, so very suitable for observing and photography.
Mars will rise about midnight on the 1st and will be a little brighter at mag 1.1 and bigger at 6 arcsec. It’ll set in broad daylight so will be available till dusk, about 6am. On the 30th, it will rise about 11:30pm and set again after dawn so will be visible till dusk, about 6:30.
As in October Venus will be too close to the Sun for comfort at the beginning of the month but will be safer as it sets during the last week of November.
Mercury is to be avoided all month, too close to the Sun.
Saturn however, may be seen after the first week of November, as it rises in the east about 5:15am on the 8th and progressively earlier each week till at month’s end it will be up by 4am. At mag 0.7 it’ll be bright enough to gain attention.

Meteor Showers
No worthy meteor showers this month.

Comets
Comet 2009/P1 Garradd is getting to the end of its stay with us, for easy observing at least. Also getting very low in the west. The other possible was C/2010 X1 Elinin, but the nucleus disintegrated and it has all but disappeared. C/2010 G2 Hill is available but at Mag 11-ish, a difficult object. It’s running through Auriga into Taurus during November. Worth a try with a camera and if you need more data get in touch.

Lots to see this month as the winter constellations rise, Orion, Monocero Gemini etc., and the Summer ones are still with us, Cygnus Hercules Vulpecula, Lyra.

October 2011

2011-10-05T16:18:00.006+01:00

Moon

1st Quarter----- 4th 15:22 - 23:50
Full ------------ 12th 17:55 - 7:59
Last Quarter-- 20th 00:00 - 14:54
New ------------ 26th 07:26 - 17:08

Planets
As in previous months it’ll be Neptune leading them up into the sky in the east.
And on the 1st of October it’ll rise at 5:45 pm, while it’s still light so won’t be seen till after dusk has ended, after 8 pm. Uranus will be following soon after and will not be easily seen till the same time, 8 pm-ish. At the end of the month Neptune will rise at 2:45 pm followed by Uranus an hour later. Neptune will set about midnight and Uranus at 3:25 am.
Jupiter will rise on the 1st at 7:45 pm and at 48 arc sec and mag –2.9 unmissable. It’ll climb higher into the sky than in previous years so should be photographed whenever possible. It’ll be available till the skies lighten about 6 am.
On the 31st it rises at 4:45 pm and sets in the west with a disc of 50 arc sec as dawn lightens the eastern sky, so giving plenty of time for observation. This is its month of closest approach to us.
Mars is making an entrance this month after a long absence, it will rise at 1:15 am in the north east and though still tiny at 5 arc sec it is bright enough to gain your attention a mag 1.3. It’ll fade into the dawn by about 6 am. So not available for long, but more is promised.
During this night it’ll pass through M44 the Beehive Cluster, so every few moments will produce a different view. It will have passed through by the 2nd. At month’s end it will rise at midnight and will be hidden by twilight before it culminates.
Venus will be too close to the Sun for much this month, setting 20 mins after it on the 1st and 30 mins on the 31st. As it rises after the Sun it won’t be seen in the mornings. So this month Jupiter is our Morning Star.
Mercury will similarly be difficult, so not worth the danger, avoid it.
Saturn too is too close to the Sun for any valued and safe observation.

Meteor Showers
The Orionids will peak on the 21st of the month but aren’t a really major shower. The
half Moon will follow the radiant up into the sky but is more than 90° away so shouldn’t affect observing much.

Comets
Only the comet of the moment 2009 P1 Garradd will be worth the effort and it should
be observed whenever possible. It’s in the bottom end of Hercules and slowing down
too to make photography easier. For more details give me a call.

September 2011

2011-09-01T16:46:00.008+01:00

Moon

1st Quarter -----4th 15:02 to 22:39
Full ------------- 12th 18:57 to 06:43
Last Quarter --- 20th 23:01 to 15:12
New ------------- 27th 07:03 to 18:19

Planets.
Neptune rises on the 1st in bright twilight at 7:45pm in the ESE, setting at 5am, again in brightening dawn twilight, so we have it all night exactly. At month’s end it rises at 6:45pm and sets at
Uranus also rises on the 30th, at 6:45pm in darkening dusk and sets at 6:30am in brightening dawn twilight. Available all night.
Jupiter is up at 9:45pm on the 1st, in a darker sky, now that we’re past the very short nights of summer. It reaches culmination at 5am having risen to 49° high in the south as dawn breaks. It rises about 8pm on the 30th, as evening twilight darkens, good timing there. Dawn breaks before it sets so we’ll be able to see it all night. Much longer nights now too.
Mars gets up at 1:30am on the 1st, within 7° of slightly brighter Pollux to it’s left. But we only have 3 hours or so before dawn overtakes it and brightens the sky too much to see it. Still tiny at 5arcsec, it rises at the same time at the end of the month, but only a little bit brighter. Dawn twilight overtakes it again at about 6am.
Venus isn’t a good target this month at all, as it’s too close to the Sun for reasonable safety. Give it a miss this month.
Mercury will rise an hour and a half before the Sun on the 1st, at 4:45am in the east. At mag 0.2 and 8 arcsec with a 36% phase, it’s worth the effort of getting up early. It gets closer and closer to the Sun as the month advances, but it gets brighter and fuller too. Don’t seek it after the middle of the month as it’s too close to the Sun and in brighter dawn twilight.

Meteor Showers.
None to speak of with enthusiasm, other than the Sporadics.

Comets.
C 2009/P1 Garradd is visible in Sagitta going towards Hercules, and visible in small instruments, but not naked eye. It’s slowing down, so easier to photograph.

August 2011

2011-08-03T12:49:00.013+01:00

Moon

1st Quarter --- 6th 14:46 to 23:10
Full ------------ 13th 20:02 to 05:22
Last Quarter -- 21st 22:38 to 14:35
New ------------ 29th 06:41 to 19:37

Planets.
Neptune continues its rise in the east, getting above the horizon on the 1st of August at 10pm and being visible for the rest of the short night. At the end of the month it’ll rise at 8pm as dusk is falling.
Uranus will rise in the east at 10:45pm on the 1st, and will be available for the rest of the night. At month’s end it will rise at 8:45 pm as dusk descends.
Jupiter will rise on the 1st at 11:45pm, a bit brighter and larger, now at 41 arcsec, and will be with us for the rest of the night. It’ll only get to 31° above the horizon before twilight spoils things about 4 or 5am, but that’s high enough for some good observing. A good performance this year. At the end of the month it’ll rise at 9:45pm and be available for the rest of the night, a little larger still, at 45arcsec, and a little brighter at mag –2.7. A photographic target.
Next up is Mars, at 2am on the 1st, still small and at mag 1.4, no brighter. Again spoiled by the short nights of summer. By the end of the month it’ll rise at 1:30am, a little bigger but no brighter.
Venus is too close to the Sun for observation.
Mercury will not be available till the 26th, when it may be seen as it rises in the east north east at 5:15am, almost an hour before the Sun. It will be at mag +2.8 and present a 7° phase! See if you can catch it. Be quick as the phase will be 17° on the 27th and mag +1.4, then 24° and mag +0.9 on the 29th, and on the 31st, it’ll be at mag +0.4 and 32° phase, a continued improvement from the 26th to the end of the month as it gets further from the Sun, from our angle of sight.
Saturn will set by 11pm on the 1st, in bright twilight, so this is the end for Saturn for a few months. But the rings will be wider next time.

Meteor Showers.
7 showers peaking in August, but none of consequence, except the Perseids. The peak is on the 12th, but as it falls at 3am perhaps it’s better to count it as the 11th this year. There will be a Perseid watch on the 11th so get down to Austerfield that night. And as the 12th is a Friday we’ll be open again then.

Comets.
Again none of visual brightness, though C/2009 P1 Garradd may be getting brighter, mag 9 at the moment.

July 2011

2011-06-30T21:46:00.008+01:00

Moon

New ------------ 1st 04:09 to 21:20
1st Quarter ---- 9th 13:39 to 01:00
Full ------------- 15th 21:28 to 04:00
Last Quarter -- 23rd 11:20 to 13:27

Planets
The first up this month is Neptune just as the month starts, at midnight! Or as the Military Forces will have it, 00:01hrs, as midnight doesn’t exist for them, it’s either 23:59 or 00:01. It’s not going to be easy to see it in the darkish twilight, but should be just possible with binoculars at mag 8. At the end of the month it’ll be up by 10pm.
Next is Uranus at 1am. At mag 5.8 it should be easier, but will still need binoculars. On the 31st it’ll be up by 11pm.
Jupiter next and at mag –2.3 it should be easy without optical aid, even though it’s only 37arcsec in size. It’ll be up by midnight at month’s end. It will be worth serious observation by the 31st, as it’ll be 28° up by dawn’s twilight, promising much for later months.
Then Mars at 3am, at mag 1.4, though very small it should be seen easily in the lightening day. It rises at 2am on the 31st.
Venus is next to rise, at 4am, and at a bright mag –3.9 it should be easy to see though only 10arcsec and only 40 mins before the Sun breaks the horizon. However, that’s as much as you’re likely to be able to see of Venus till after September when it starts to get clear of the Sun.
Mercury can be seen in the west on the 1st, after sunset, it’ll be available for nearly an hour then. It’ll be available all month though getting lower and closer to the Sun’s level by the end of July, though 24° away from it.
Saturn will have set on the 1st, by 1am and by 11pm on the 31st, so make the most of it, as it’s nearly gone, and won’t be back till November mornings.

Meteor Showers. Several showers peak in July but none of significance other than the southern Delta Aquarids with a ZH Rate of 20. Though the radiant doesn’t get more than 20° above the southern horizon. You’ll get a few hours before the ¾ Moon rises in the east on the date of the peak. It will be far enough away not to interrupt.

Comets. None known of any promise yet.

June 2011

2011-05-29T15:59:00.015+01:00

Moon

New --------------- 1st 04:09 to 21:20
1st Quarter ----- 9th 13:39 to 01:00
Full --------------- 15th 21:28 to 04:00
Last Quarter --- 23rd 00:20 to 13:27

There will be a Partial Solar Eclipse at sunset on the 1st of June, as seen from Doncaster, just, or nearly, depending on whether your cup is half full or half empty.
First contact is at 10:15pm and the Sun sets at 10:22pm! Maximum of about 40% is at 11pm, so help from Robin Hood might be required.
There will also be a Total Lunar eclipse this month, on the 15th, as the Moon is rising in the south east. It will already be Total as it rises at about 9:30pm, with the Earth's Umbra starting to come off it from 10pm and finally leaving it at 11pm. The Penumbra will leave the Moon at midnight. It will be very low of course and very far south too, so the Moon will not rise much above 12° above the horizon that night.

Planets
Jupiter will be visible in the east just before dawn on the 1st, about 3:30am and should be easy enough because of its brightness. As the month progresses it’ll get easier, rising by the end of the month at 1:45am, a good 2 hours before the Sun, but still not really high enough for much in the way of detail will be seen, though the moons will be easy.
Uranus and Neptune will be rising before Jupiter, Neptune first, so will be better placed, but being fainter not so easy. Neptune will be up on the 1st at 2am and Uranus at 2:45am, with dawn becoming apparent. Remember, this is high summer when the sky doesn’t get dark anyway, so that, plus the twilight, will not make it easy to see these two, even late in the month when they’ll be rising in the “dark”.
Saturn will continue to be the best placed planet, rising on the 1st at 3:30 in the afternoon, and by the end of the month at 1:30 in the afternoon. It’ll set on the 1st at 2:45am in the west as dawn starts to show in the east. On the 30th it sets ¾ of an hour after midnight.
Venus is too close to the Sun almost all month, but towards the end should be visible an hour before the Sun rises, only because of its brightness of mag –3.9. On the 30th, the very thin crescent Moon will be within a degree of Venus, at about 4am, so would make a good photo if it wasn’t for the fact that it will be so low in the sky. It gets closer with time but the sky gets lighter too.
Mars too will be easier towards the end of the month, but is much fainter, so more difficult. You’re unlikely to see any detail on the disc either, as it’s no more than 4arcsec in diameter.
Mercury is too close to the Sun in the east all month, but can be seen in the west on the 28th, 29 and 30th up to an hour after the Sun has set. Make sure it has set before you use optical aids, though at mag –0.6 it’s bright enough to be seen without.

Meteor Showers
There are 8 showers with peaks in June, but only the Arietids have any substance, with a forecast 54/hour. The peak is on the 7th. Unfortunately, the Radiant is very close to where Mars is. This means that it will rise as dawn does, so watching for this shower will require a wait till the early hours. The Moon however, won’t interfere.

Comets
Several, but all too faint to be seen visually with other than the largest instruments. But we live in hope.

For man-made satellites please check with http://www.heavens-above.com
If you’d like a star chart for an event or for a particular date get in touch with the Observatory on the Contacts page on the website.

May 2011

2011-04-30T12:51:00.015+01:00

Moon

New ------------ 3rd 05:05 to 21:22
1st Quarter --- 10th 11:45 to 01:55
Full ------------ 17th 21:38 to 04:35
Last Quarter -- 24th 01:30 to 12:16

Planets
Jupiter is still out of contention all month in the west, but from the middle it should be seen in the east soon before the Sun rises. Though the bright twilight will likely remove all chance of picking up any detail.
Uranus will also be unavailable in the west but should be seen in the east from mid-month before the Sun rises. More difficult than Jupiter as it’s much less bright, but further away from the Sun.
Similarly Neptune is available from mid-month, but though even further from the Sun it’s so small that it will be very difficult to see in the brightening sky.
Saturn will rise at 5.30pm on the 1st of the month and will stay in the sky till 5am. At the end of the month it’ll rise at 3.30pm and set at 3am. So it’ll continue to be available virtually all night all month, with the rings gradually widening. Easily visible now together with up to 7 of it’s moons.
Venus will be setting all month just before the Sun so not available in the west. It doesn’t follow the pattern set by Jupiter and the outer gas planets in pulling away from the Sun, but keeps close, so is really not worth seeking all month.
Mars too keeps close to the Sun, so shouldn’t be sought all month, with optical aid. A shame really as it’s very close to Jupiter on the 1st, having run close from the 30th of April, to be within 21arcmin on the 1st of May, before pulling away on the 2nd.
Mercury is also too close to the Sun all month so don’t look for it with optical aids.

Meteor showers
Eta Aquariids is the shower for this month, with up to 60/hour at the zenith. However, the problem with this shower is that the Radiant is in Aquarius, of course, which rises above the horizon with the dawn twilight, so you must wait for this shower till the early hours and watch in the east. The thin crescent Moon will rise soon after the radiant and the Sun. So, a shower for the more dedicated.
Comets
None that is know of to be within binocular sight, but I’ll advise if a worthwhile one is spotted.

For manmade satellites please check with http://www.heavens-above.com as the list may be too long for this page.
However, if you’d like a sky chart for an event or a particular date or part of the sky please contact me at the observatory through the website.

Summer observing starts now, with Arcturus leading the way for the Summer Triangle of Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquila, to rise fully by 11:45pm on the 1st (9:30pm by the month’s end). The galaxy season is ending and being replaced by Open Clusters, Globular Clusters Nebulae and all sorts of things. The centre of the Milky Way is becoming available deep in the south with all the many wonders in Sagittarius, Scutum, Ophiuchus, Serpens, Aquila and Cygnus. So much to see, but unfortunately made difficult by the shorter hours of darkness that are not really dark. So for many items you’re looking for something light grey in a slightly darker shade of grey background.

April 2011

2011-03-27T17:21:00.020+01:00

Moon

New -------------- 3rd 06:01 to 20:05
1st Quarter ---- 11th 11:18 to 02:57
Full --------------- 18th 21:23 to 05:36
Last Quarter -- 25th 02:48 to 12:09

Planets
Jupiter will not be available all month as it’s behind the Sun and too close to it for safe observing. It will not be visible till June, as the Morning Star.
Uranus will also be unavailable this month and will be next seen on early May mornings. They’ve been keeping pace with each other for many months now and are beginning to separate.
Saturn, rising about 8pm on the 1st, it’ll be 19 arcsec and mag 0.4, not big, but the rings will finally be opening, so will look like the Saturn we all know and love. We’ll be able to see the Cassini division at last. Unfortunately, it’ll not get very high in the sky on this apparition, no more than about 34° above the horizon in the south. But don’t quibble, get your cameras out and take its portrait. At the end of the month it’ll rise before 6pm, before the Sun has set, and will be in the sky all night.
Venus will rise some 40mins before the Sun, and its brightness will make it a easy to see in the bright morning twilight, but only to say that you’ve been able to see it. By the end of the month its position relative to the Sun will not have changed so won’t be more easily seen, but it will be earlier, at 5am.
Neptune leads the rising group of planets each morning in the east all this month, but none of them really will be easy to see, though Neptune being the leader will be furthest from the Sun so should be, but it’s so small that it won’t be easy at all, unless you use a telescope with goto facilities. But even then the twilight will make it difficult. The others, Uranus, Venus, Mars and Jupiter will be too close to the Sun in the east for safety, so don’t be tempted.
In the west the only one possible will be Mercury on the 1st, but only for the first two days, before it gets too close to the Sun for safety. Worth a try on the 1st though, as it sets 50 mins after the Sun and presents a 10% phase, which is worth trying for with a telescope when the Sun has fallen below the horizon.

Meteor Showers
Several showers this month but only the Lyrids show promise, and that of only 15/hour at the most. The peak is on the 22nd, but you may see some from the 15th to the 28th. They radiate from the constellation of Lyra. Unfortunately, this will be on the northern horizon this month, but the ¾ Moon won’t be in the way till after 2am, and then it’ll be more than 60° away. Again, don’t look for them at the northern horizon, at the Radiant, but higher up in the sky, between the Radiant and the Zenith.

Comets
None that will be at naked eye visibility.
But, should you note the promised appearance of a comet in the news media, you can look up it’s ephemerides at http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ephemerides/comets This will get you to a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemerides will be screened. Look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth, if you have it on your machine, and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and mag etc.
You may be able to use this tactic for any comet you hear of, and if you note one worth looking for, let me know.

For manmade satellites, the ISS and Iridium flares etc., you’ll have to check http://www.heavens-above.com. For any sky charts of planets or stars or other objects, contact me at the observatory at http://donastro.org.uk.

Doncaster's Sky in March 2011

2011-02-28T13:13:00.006Z

The Moon

New -------------- 4th up from 06:11 to 17:49
First Quarter -- 12th up from 09:12 to 01:44
Full --------------- 19th up from 18:28 to 05:31
Last Quarter -- 26th up from 02:14 to 09:50

It’s March and things are stirring outside, flowers and all sorts of things are coming to life. But the weather will likely bite them in the bum with a sharp frost when least expected.
Looking at sunrise times we see that during March this changes from 06:53 to 06:41 a loss of 12 minutes of darkness. But at the other end of the day, sunset changes from 17:41 to 19:37, a loss of an hour and 56 mins of darkness, the hour coming from changing to British Summer Time.

Planets in March.
Jupiter will be virtually at the end of its tenure by the 1st of March, being only 15° high at dusk when the Sun is out of the way. It will also have shrunk to 34arcsec and mag –2.1. By the end of March it will be 4.5° from the Sun, which means it will be on the opposite side of the Sun from us making this the furthest, and therefore the smallest, it normally gets from us.
Uranus too is pretty much as far as it can get from us, presenting a 3arcsec spot at mag 5.9, but as it’s so far out anyway, the circuit the Earth makes round the sun hardly makes much difference, so it’s not much smaller or dimmer than it was in August, when it was 4arcsec and mag 5.7. by the end of March it will have passed the Sun and begun to be a morning object. It will actually pass closest to the Sun on the 21st, whereas Jupiter will do so on the 6th of April.
Neptune is now a morning object, but too close to the Sun to observe till about the 22nd when it’ll rise half an hour before the Sun. Still not a good prospect except for real Neptuneophiles, new word? Because it’s so small and will take some finding. By the 26th it will be within a degree of bright Venus, and on a level with it too, which will make a good pointer for it. Without this guide, avoid it. By the end of the month it will have passed Venus and be up 50 mins before the Sun, but still in morning twilight well lit by the rising sun.
Venus is now the Morning Star, rising 90 mins before the Sun, and bright enough at mag –4.1, not to be mistaken for anything else. It will be showing a 70% phase, which you should see in a telescope. On the 1st, it will have a thin crescent Moon within a degree and a half of it. At the month’s end, Venus will be a little dimmer and smaller and will make a good photo opportunity again with the Moon’s equally thin crescent. Neptune will also be there to make a triangle, but won’t be easily visible with the other two in the picture. However, on the 27th, 50 mins before sunrise, Venus and Neptune will be within 15’ of each other as they rise into the morning sky. Their respective residents will be able to wave to each other. Well, perhaps not.
Saturn will rise on the 1st of March at 9pm, and be available all night for study. On the 31st it will rise in twilight at 7:45pm, and set in the west at 7am, as the Sun is rising on the other side of the sky.
Mars is too close to the Sun so won’t be available all month, again. Not a good month for Mars, but it will get better later in the year.
From about the 8th of March, Mercury will be available for observation, with care. Always with care, for Mercury. But it will set in the west nearly an hour after the Sun, and at mag –1.3 it should be quite easy to see. Try after 6pm. With binoculars you should also see Neptune in the same field, 2° above. The next night at the same time, they will be within half a degree of each other, and on the next, mercurial Mercury will be 2° above Neptune. It will continue its rise away from the Sun till the 25th, when it’ll start to return to the fold. So a good apparition for Mercury this month, available from the 8th to the end of the month.

While I was working out the planets’ timings and noting that Saturn and Jupiter were on opposite sides of our skies, I wondered to myself as to when they’d be on the same side. It turns out that on the 21st of December 2020, they will be. Not only on the same side, but within 6arcmins of each other! So you could get them both, and all their visible moons, in the eyepiece of a telescope! Even at fairly high power.

Meteor Showers in March. No meteor showers of note this month.

Comets. Again none forecast to reach naked eye visibility, But if one does come up, I’ll report it on this blog if I can take it’s picture.
Should you note the promised appearance of a comet in the news media, you can look up it’s ephemerides at http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ephemerides/comets This will get you to a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemerides will be screened. Look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth, if you have it on your machine, and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and mag etc.
You may be able to use this tactic for any comet you hear of, and if you note one worth looking for, let me know.

For manmade satellites, the ISS and Iridium flares etc., you’ll have to check http://www.heavens-above.com , and for any sky charts of planets or stars or other objects, contact me at the observatory at http://donastro.org.uk.

Doncaster's Sky in February 2011

2011-01-30T15:38:00.013Z

The Moon

New ------------- 3rd up from 07:33 to 17:41
First Quarter -- 11th up from 09:52 to 01:47
Full ------------- 18th up from 18:05 to 06:51
Last Quarter -- 24th up from 01:21 to 09:13

It’s still winter, and continues to be harder than we’re used to. Low temperatures for long periods. The winter constellations are up and moving towards spring, hopefully with speed.

Planets in February.
On the 1st of February, Neptune will set 90 mins after the Sun at 6pm, but will be unavailable for observation after the first week, being too close to it. In fact, on the 17th it will be within half a degree.
Jupiter, at that time will be 27° up in the south west, with Uranus 4° ahead. Jupiter will set at 9:15pm and Uranus some 20 mins earlier. At the end of February at 6pm, Jupiter will be 18° up, with Uranus now 8° ahead. They’ll set, Jupiter at 8:10pm and Uranus about 50 mins earlier.
Jupiter has, for the last few months, been missing its South Equatorial Belt, but it’s coming back, and I have a webcam photograph of it half back, that is, seen half way round the disc, as though someone with a very big paint brush has started to paint it in from some point and is continuing round the disc. It was taken mid January.
Mars will be too close to the Sun for observation for all February.
Mercury will start the month rising only 30 mins before the Sun, and not safe for observation. It will continue for the rest of the month too close to the Sun. This puts Neptune Mars and Mercury out of bounds.
Saturn on the other hand, will continue to blossom, rising on the 1st of February at 11pm, and at 9pm on the 28th. It will be at mag 0.5 and now 19 arcsec, beginning to make its presence felt. By midnight it’ll be 23° up. It’ll only get up to 34° this year when at it’s highest, not really a good height, but better than nothing, particularly as the rings should be widening. When up it will be available for the rest of the night.
Venus will be rising soon after 5am on the 1st of the month, very bright at mag -4.3, with a 61% phase. By the end of the month it'll rise half an hour later, when it'll begin to be overtaken by dawn. It'll be of similar brightness but have a 70% phase.

Meteor Showers in February.
There are a few meteor showers this month but none of any consequence.

Comets.
There aren’t any naked eye comets that I know of, but the nearest to it are C103P Hartley, yes, that Hartley, now about mag 13, so not visible without a large telescope. Possible to photograph though. It’s in the eastern end of Monoceros. Another in the same part of the sky is C/2009 K5 McNaught, in the northern part of Taurus at mag 16. So not visible again, but possible to picture with a well driven large telescope and CCD camera. Both are likely to present a tiny fuzz for your troubles, but there’s no denying the elation when blessed with success.
You can look up their and other comets’ ephemerides at http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ephemerides/comets This will get you to a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemerides will be screened. Look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and mag etc.
You may be able to use this tactic for any comet you hear of in the news media, and if you note one worth looking for, let us all know.

For manmade satellites, the ISS and Iridium flares etc., you’ll have to check http://www.heavens-above.com , and for any sky charts of planets or stars or other objects, contact me at the observatory at http://donastro.org.uk

Doncaster's Sky in January 2011

2010-12-29T00:05:00.014Z

The Moon

New ------------ 4th up from 08:18 to 16:18
First Quarter - 12th up from 10:38 to 00:32
Full ------------ 19th up from 16:12 to 07:39
Last Quarter -- 26th up from 00:55 to 10:06

Not only will the Moon be New on the 4th of January, but it’ll be coming up with the Sun behind it to produce a Partial Solar Eclipse. It will have started at 7:03am, maximum will be at 8:15am, about the same time as it rises above the horizon, and it will end at 9:30am. It’ll cover some 70% of the Sun’s face. So a darker than normal morning for folk up at that ungodly hour.

Planets
Jupiter is coming to the end of its reign over the night skies, and on the 1st of January can be found in the south at dusk. So make time during your revelling to wave farewell. It will be setting that night about 10:30pm. If you look closely you’ll note Uranus in close attendance, within half a degree in fact, and it will remain so for the next few nights as Uranus moves past. By the end of the month they’ll have moved 3° apart, and will be 30° up in the south west as dusk descends and will set soon after 9pm.
Leading Jupiter will be Neptune, about 30° ahead. This tiny body, 2arcsec and mag 8, can be seen, in telescopes, in the south west at dusk on the 1st of January. It sets at 8pm that night and at the end of the month it’ll be setting at dusk, 6pm.

Moving over to the east we have the new contender to replace Jupiter, Saturn, rising in Virgo, at 1am on the 1st of January. Mag 0.8 and 17arcsec, easy to miss but yellow, and that will help it stand out. It should make a good wide triangle with equally bright, white Spica below, and brighter, orange Arcturus to the left, as they rise together. By the month’s end, Saturn will be rising at 11pm, a little bigger and brighter, at least brighter than Spica. It’ll be up for the rest of the night. So, have the rings widened? Look at the Solar System simulation that NASA has posted at http://space.jpl.nasa.gov . Enter the data you want and it will draw you a picture. Looks promising!

Venus will rise on the 1st, at 4:30am (5:15am on the 31st), very bright at mag –4.5 and 27arcsec, so you can’t miss it, the sky will still be dark, dawn won’t lighten it till 6-ish. If you’re able to follow Venus all month at a particular time, you’ll notice that it sits in almost the same place all month, getting a little lower in fact, while all the stars rise past it, so that it starts the month in Libra, passes through Scorpius and into Ophiuchus. It’ll also become less bright, and a bit smaller, though you’ll hardly notice. What you will notice, if you use a telescope is the change in phase, from 46% to 61% over the month. It’ll also change in size from 27arcsec to 20.
All this month Mars will be too close to the Sun to be seen with advantage.
Mercury does much the same as Venus, by getting closer to the Sun through the month and letting the stars pass it by, but unlike Venus it will be too close to the Sun for safe observation after the first week of the month, so beware. Mercury’s phase will change through the month from 42% to 90%, and it’s size from 8arcsec to 5.

Meteors Showers.
There are 7 showers with peaks in January but only the Quadrantids report more than 4/hour. It should be a good shower peaking on the 3rd, with up to 120/hour. But it’s a sharp peak that usually lasts hours rather than days, so must be caught at the right time, which this year is at 6am on the 4th. The radiant is in Bootes and though it won’t be above the horizon till 11pm it should give something worth getting dressed up warm for, as the best place to look for meteors is between the zenith and the radiant, and not directly at the radiant, where you’ll see only the ones coming straight at you and they'll produce very short trails. The Moon will be New too and that will help, so get outside and watch the display, and not just at 6pm, but for as long as you can. Take a flask of hot tea with you rather than keep coming inside which will destroy your dark adaption.

Comets.
After that damp squib of a comet, Hartley, there doesn’t seem to be any others daring to be seen naked eye. A hopefully promising one was C/2010 V1 Ikeya-Murakami, but it’s reported to be fading. You can look up it’s ephemerides at http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ephemerides/comets This will get you to a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemerides will be screened. Look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth, if you have it on your machine, and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and mag etc.
You may be able to use this tactic for any comet you hear of in the news media.

For manmade satellites, the ISS and Iridium flares etc., you’ll have to check http://www.heavens-above.com, and for any sky charts of planets or stars or other objects, contact me at the observatory, http://www.donastro.org.uk

2010-11-28T15:56:00.013Z

December 2010

The Moon

New ------------- 5th up from 07:59 to 15:19
First Quarter - 13th up from 11:48 to 00:30
Full ------------- 21st up from 15:59 to 08:26
Last Quarter -- 28th up from 00:20 to 11:17

On the 21st, there will be a Total Lunar Eclipse, visible from Doncaster, if you get up at 6:35am to see it start. It’ll be full at 7:45am, but will have set by 8:30am, on a clear horizon. It’ll be in the northwest as the Moon goes down. The Sun will be rising in the southeast and casting the Earth’s shadow onto it.

Planets in December.
Saturn will rise in the east on the 1st of December at 3am; followed by bright Venus at 4:30am, in Virgo at the start, but moving into Libra on the 12th. They’ll set on the 1st at 2pm for Saturn and 20mins later for Venus. They’ll start the month 16° apart, but spread to 36° by the end of the month, Venus having to return for a closer circuit of the Sun.
On the 31st, Saturn will rise at 1am so will have gained 2 hours, while Venus will rise at 4:30am. Saturn will then set at midday and Venus at 1:30pm.
Mars will be unavailable all month, being too close to the Sun. Mercury will become available from the 23rd, with care, as always with Mercury. It’ll rise about an hour before the Sun, so will be low and in bright twilight, not a good prospect, but it’ll get better, till by the 31st, it’ll be rising 100 mins before the Sun, and though half the size of Saturn will be twice as bright, lower down though. Bright Venus will be between them in the last week of the year. On the last day, a crescent Moon will rise close to Venus, to add to the picture. The scene on morning of the 2nd will be even better as Saturn will also be there, with bright Spica between them.
Neptune will rise on the 1st of December at 12:30pm, broad daylight, followed by the pairing of Jupiter, at mag –2.6 and 43arcsec, and Uranus at 1:30pm. They’ll set on the 1st, at 10pm for tiny Neptune, mag 8 and 2arcsec, and at 12:30am for Jupiter and Uranus. At the end of the month Neptune will rise at 10:30am. Jupiter and Uranus, at mag 5.8 and 4arcsec, will join it at 11:30am. Neptune will set at 9:30pm and Jupiter and Uranus at 11pm.

Comets.
There aren’t any comets currently worth seeking, the only ones available will need big telescopes or long exposure photographs to be seen. Though if you use the internet to go to http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ephemerides/comets, you will find there a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemerides will be screened. Ephemerides? Predicted position of heavenly bodies, they tell you where they’ll be on certain dates. You’ll also find tons more data than you can shout at, but look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth, if you have that on your machine, and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and all sorts of other data. Nicely done, Mr. Google.

Meteors Showers.
The Geminids, peaking on the 14th of December with 120/hour at the zenith, is the one to go out for. Get very warmly dressed, find a dark place, soon after dark, lay down on a garden lounger with a blanket over you and watch. Look mostly directly upwards, but face towards the east, as the radiant, in Gemini, will be rising there. No, don’t look directly at the radiant, as you’ll see only those coming directly at you. These meteors are debris from the asteroid Phaethon, and are slow and frequently big and bright. The best shower of the year, if permitted by cloud and Moon, which will be at first quarter but nearer the west, so less of a problem.
The Ursids will also be there, peaking on the 22nd, but 10/hour at most is less of a draw. It’s radiant is near Kochab, the lead star in Ursa Minor, quite close to the Pole. The Moon will be a good way to the west and should be less of a problem, but it will be near Full.

If you should need any detailed sky charts, please get in touch at www.donastro.org.uk .
This also applies to passages of the ISS and Iridium Flares, but you’ll find it easier to get them from www.heavens-above.com.

Doncaster's Sky in November 2010

2010-10-31T12:52:00.023Z

The Moon

New -------------- 6th - up from 07:49 to 16:11
First Quarter -- 13th - up from 13:01 to 23:20
Full --------------- 21st - up from 15:27 to 07:37
Last Quarter --- 28th - up from 23:45 to 12:18

This is the supposed start of the observing season, though there really isn’t one, but the nights are now longer and darker too, so objects are easier to see and can be seen for longer. Easy to develop a hate complex for clouds at this time of year, as Orion, Monoceros, Gemini, Taurus and cohorts are with us, and who can resist the glow of the Orion Nebula. Add an Ultra High Contrast filter to the eyepiece to bring out more of the nebulosity. It works on most nebulous items, planetary nebulae too, like the Ring and the Dumbbell, which are still with us this month, though considered summer items, so is a good investment.
You could also come down to our observatory on a clear Friday night, and look through ours in our large telescopes.

Planets
On the 1st, the Sun will set with Mercury and Mars, so neither will be visible, Venus will have set before it so will also not be visible.
In the east, on the 1st, Saturn will rise at 4:30am, a good hour before dawn. It’ll be followed by Venus rising in twilight at 7am, at the same time as the Sun so won’t be available. But if you could see it, it would show a 9% phase, a thin crescent, and be 54arcsec in diameter. Mercury and Mars will also be rising in daylight, so still not to be seen. By the 10th, Venus will rise about an hour and a half before the Sun so it should be possible to see it safely. Saturn will be 17° high by then and Venus will be on the horizon, but even bigger and a thinner crescent, 4.5%. From the 12th, it’ll be getting smaller and the crescent will fatten, but it’ll be further from the Sun and at mag –4.5, and be settled into its role as the Morning Star. Saturn will be higher, but at mag +0.9 and less than a third of the size will be easily mistaken for a star except for its yellow colour. By the end of November, Venus will have moved further away from the Sun and will be rising 4 hours before it at 4.30am, Saturn will have risen an hour and a half before that.
Later in the east, Neptune will rise at 2:30pm on the 1st, and on the 30th it’ll be about midday. Jupiter and Uranus will be up on the 1st, at 3:30pm, just before twilight starts to darken the sky, and by the end of November that’ll be at 1:30pm.
Neptune will be setting in the west on the 1st, at midnight, and on the 30th by 10pm. Jupiter and Uranus will follow on the 1st, at 2:30am and by the end of the month half an hour after midnight.

Comets.
Comet 10P/Tempel will be sat in Cetus, a few degrees below and to the left of Jupiter, but will be mag 13, will be difficult to see, particularly as that forecast is based on a point source and a comet is a spread out patch of light, so much dimmer.
The comet of the moment is C103/P Hartley, but like so many, the forecast was for a many times brighter object than actually appeared. It was difficult in binoculars and will continue to be so as it passes through Gemini on its journey away from Earth, getting fainter daily.
Other than those, there aren’t any easily seen comets at the moment, or in prospect, but if you’re really interested, then http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ephemerides/comets will get you to a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemerides will be screened. Ephemerides? Predicted position of heavenly bodies, they tell you where they’ll be on certain dates. You’ll also find tons more data than you can shout at, but look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and all sorts of other data. Well done, Mr. Google.

Meteors Showers. Not much to look forward to in November. There are about 6 recognised showers, but none with more than 5/hour rates at the clearest part of the sky, which is less than the sporadic ones seen any night.

Satellites Taken from www.heavens-above.com from where much more data can be obtained of all sorts of things “up there”.

ISS

1 Nov -1.8 at 17:16:30 10° up in SSW up to 21° in E
1 Nov -1.9 at 18:50:53 10° up in WSW up to 31° in SW
2 Nov -2.7 at 17:42:20 10° up in SW up to 36° in SSE
2 Nov -0.7 at 19:17:17 10° up in W up to 17° in WSW
3 Nov -1.8 at 16:34:04 10° up in SSW up to 22° in SSE
3 Nov -3.3 at 18:08:33 10° up in WSW up to 54° in S
4 Nov -2.6 at 16:59:53 10° up in SW up to 17° in SSE
4 Nov -2.8 at 18:34:53 10° up in W up to 49 in SW
5 Nov -3.2 at 17:26:03 10° up in WSW up to 55° in S
5 Nov -1.2 at 19:01:15 10° up in W up to 23° in WSW
6 Nov -3.3 at 17:52:20 10° up in W up to 60° in S
6 Nov -0.1 at 19:27:40 10° up in W up to 12° in W
7 Nov -3.1 at 16:43:25 10° up in WSW up to 57° in S
7 Nov -2.9 at 18:18:38 10° up in W up to 47° in SSW
8 Nov -3.2 at 17:09:38 10° up in W up to 59° in S
8 Nov -1.6 at 18:44:59 10° up in W up to 26° in SW
9 Nov -2.7 at 17:35:52 10° up in W up to 45° in SSW
10 Nov -1.8 at 18:02:10 10° up in W up to 27° in SSW
11 Nov -2.5 at 16:52:57 10° up in W up to 43° in SSW
12 Nov -1.5 at 17:19:11 10° up in W up to 26° in SSW
14 Nov -1.2 at 16:36:04 10° up in W up to 24° in SSW
28 Nov -1.3 at 06:44:51 10° up in SSW up to 25° in SSE
29 Nov -2.4 at 07:09:50 10° up in WSW up to 42° in SSE

Iridium Flares

D -- Time
1 05:37:43 mag -0, 28° up in SSE
1 18:53:35 mag -2, 45° up in SE
2 18:47:35 mag -5, 43° up in SE
3 18:41:35 mag -1, 42° up in SE
4 05:28:35 mag -4, 30° up in SSE
6 18:32:36 mag -2, 44° up in SE
7 05:19:30 mag -3, 31° up in S
7 18:26:38 mag -8, 43° up in SSE
8 05:13:28 mag -3, 31° up in S
8 17:38:40 mag -0, 58° up in NNE
8 18:20:36 mag -1, 42° up in SSE
9 17:32:33 mag -2, 59° up in NNE
10 17:26:25 mag -4, 60° up in NE
11 05:04:25 mag -4, 31° up in S
11 17:20:11 mag -4, 62° up in NE
11 18:11:37 mag -1, 42° up in SSE
12 04:58:21 mag -1, 31° up in S
12 07:04:50 mag -3, 69° up in NNW
12 17:14:10 mag -4, 62° up in NE
12 18:05:38 mag -4, 41° up in SSE
13 17:08:02 mag -5, 63° up in NE
13 17:59:37 mag -0, 40° up in SSE
16 17:50:43 mag -2, 39° up in S
17 17:44:41 mag -7, 38° up in S
21 17:29:48 mag -7, 35° up in S
23 06:07:52 mag -2, 51° up in NNW
25 17:14:54 mag -7, 31° up in S
26 05:50:01 mag -3, 46° up in N
26 15:57:36 mag -0, 75° up in E
27 05:43:56 mag -1, 44° up in N
27 07:46:18 mag -1, 78° up in NW

Doncaster's Sky in October 2010

2010-10-01T12:28:00.017+01:00

The Moon

Last Quarter -- 1st up from 23:37 to 15:35
New ------------- 7th up from 06:56 to 17:45
First Quarter - 14th up from 14:55 to 23:03
Full ------------- 23rd up from 17:27 to 08:26

We’re in Autumn now, gone are the warm nights of Summer or Indian Summer, longer darker nights, good, but colder, not so good. And some government department puts the clocks back to UT. Dark by 8.30 in October giving us 8 hours for observing, if we can stand the cold.

Planets in October
You will be able to see tiny Mercury in the east on the 1st as it will rise an hour before the Sun, but only on the 1st, by the 2nd it’ll be much closer to the Sun and not safe, so don’t try it. So Mercury is out of bounds all month.
The month proper starts with 4 planets in the west, going down with the Sun at about 6pm, Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Mars, but all are too close to be observed safely. On the 8th little will have changed, but Saturn and Mercury will be within half a degree of each other, as Mercury flashes past Saturn. A week later, on the 16th, Mercury will be within a degree of the Sun, he’s a fast mover, Messenger of the Gods after all. All this is in the west, and the situation will be much the same in the east, when they all rise. However, by the 23rd, Saturn will be up 2 hours before the Sun, so should be safe to seek. It’ll be very low of course, and what you see won’t be worth the effort, being so low in dirty air and bright twilight. It’ll be a bit better than edge-on and will be much better to see, but wait till next month.
Venus is similarly unavailable for the month, as also are Mars and Mercury.
Neptune however, will be up by 6pm on the 1st, and available all night. By the end of the month it’ll be rising at 4pm. Mag 8 and 2arcsec, a tiny blue spot, and will need a telescope to see it.
Jupiter, 50arcsec and mag–2.9, and much smaller Uranus, 4arcsec and mag 5.7, will rise an hour later, and just over a degree from each other. By the end of October they’ll rise at 3:30pm with Neptune an hour earlier. At the other side of the sky, Neptune will set at 2:30am on the 1st and at 1:00am on the 31st. Jupiter and Uranus will set at 6am on the 1st in dawn twilight and at 2:30am on the 31st.

Comets
Comet 10P/Tempel will be in Cetus, a few degrees below and to the left of Jupiter, at mag 10ish. So not a good prospect except for photography. Perhaps worth a try with a big telescope like the 14” Meade at Austerfield in October, as I feel fairly confident in its position. But as it’s a fuzzy object it’ll appear dimmer than the mag 10 it’s supposed to be as that’s based on a condensed object like a star.
The better hope is 103P/Hartley 2, brighter and longer lasting, hopefully.
If you have access to the internet and use google Earth and Sky, this is what to do, and it should work for other comets too.
http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ephemerides/comets will get you to a long list of comets. Click on your choice and its ephemeredes will be screened. Ephemerides? Predicted position of heavenly bodies, they tell you where they’ll be on certain dates. You’ll also find tons more data than you can shout at, but look for the line “Download this Ephemeris as a KML file”. Click on it to download it. It should settle on your PC’s desktop or wherever you choose. When it’s arrived, click on the file, or double click if necessary, and it’ll wake up google Earth if you have it on your PC, and present you with a message suggesting you switch to google Sky. Click on Switch to Sky, and it’ll show you the track of the comet, with dates and all sorts of other data. Well done, Mr. Google.
Doing this for the one comet worth looking for this autumn, 103P/Hartley 2, tells you it’ll be close to Shedar, Alpha CAS, in Cassiopeia, on the 1st of October. It then takes a straight line to be between the legs of Gemini on the 31st. I couldn’t actually see it, even with a 10” telescope, in mid September but I did photograph it and it looked faint, but it’s forecast to get brighter, so we live in hope. It’s brightest should be on the 20th of October, after which it’ll pull away from us and get fainter.

Meteors Showers.
Not much to look forward to this month. Only the Orionids, which peak on the 21st of October and promise a max of 20/hour at the zenith, though they run all month and into November.

International Space Station

28 Oct -1.0 18:37 10° up in SSW getting 13° up in the S
29 Oct -0.9 19:02 10° up in SW getting 15° up in the SW
30 Oct -1.7 17:54 10° up in SSW getting 18° up in the SE
30 Oct -0.3 19:28 10° up in WSW getting 11° up in the WSW

There are many more, earlier in the month, but all are between 3am and 5am. You’ll have to check their timing on www.heavens-above.com yourself.

Iridium Flares

These are their timings during October, taken from Chris Peat's site www.heavens-above.com, where you can get much more data.

-Date -- Time - Mag Alt Direction
01 Oct 19:17:51 -3 -- 34° 5° (N )
02 Oct 04:40:17 -2 -- 50° 196° (SSW)
02 Oct 06:07:50 -4 -- 35° 140° (SE )
02 Oct 19:11:38 -1 -- 36° 5° (N )
03 Oct 04:34:10 -3 -- 51° 195° (SSW)
03 Oct 19:05:27 -1 -- 38° 5° (N )
04 Oct 18:59:16 -2 -- 39° 6° (N )
05 Oct 05:58:44 -2 -- 38° 149° (SSE)
05 Oct 18:53:06 -2 -- 41° 7° (N )
06 Oct 05:52:43 -2 -- 37° 149° (SSE)
06 Oct 18:46:56 -3 -- 43° 8° (N )
07 Oct 04:19:06 -3 -- 48° 208° (SSW)
07 Oct 18:40:45 -1 -- 45° 7° (N )
08 Oct 18:34:37 -5 -- 46° 9° (N )
09 Oct 05:43:39 -3 -- 40° 157° (SSE)
09 Oct 18:28:26 -2 -- 48° 9° (N )
10 Oct 05:37:36 -3 -- 39° 158° (SSE)
10 Oct 18:22:18 -3 -- 50° 10° (N )
11 Oct 04:03:59 -2 -- 44° 218° (SW )
12 Oct 03:56:07 -0 -- 46° 216° (SW )
12 Oct 03:57:54 -3 -- 45° 217° (SW )
12 Oct 18:10:01 -7 -- 53° 14° (NNE)
13 Oct 05:28:33 -1 -- 41° 168° (SSE)
13 Oct 05:28:34 -1 -- 42° 169° (SSE)
13 Oct 06:16:36 -3 -- 23° 71° (ENE)
13 Oct 18:03:52 -8 -- 54° 14° (NNE)
14 Oct 05:22:30 -4 -- 41° 167° (SSE)
14 Oct 06:01:08 -2 -- 20° 67° (ENE)
14 Oct 17:57:45 -5 -- 56° 16° (NNE)
15 Oct 05:45:40 -1 -- 17° 63° (ENE)
15 Oct 05:54:58 -1 -- 20° 65° (ENE)
15 Oct 06:26:01 -0 -- 17° 124° (ESE)
15 Oct 17:51:37 -2 -- 57° 18° (NNE)
16 Oct 05:39:29 -5 -- 17° 62° (ENE)
16 Oct 06:20:04 -3 -- 16° 125° (SE )
16 Oct 17:45:29 -1 -- 58° 20° (NNE)
17 Oct 05:14:28 -1 -- 12° 55° (NE )
17 Oct 05:24:18 -6 -- 15° 58° (ENE)
17 Oct 06:23:02 -1 -- 19° 128° (SE )
17 Oct 17:39:23 -1 -- 60° 22° (NNE)
18 Oct 04:58:54 -5 -- 10° 51° (NE )
18 Oct 05:07:23 -8 -- 41° 177° (S )
18 Oct 05:08:19 -2 -- 12° 54° (NE )
18 Oct 06:17:04 -2 -- 18° 129° (SE )
18 Oct 17:33:13 -1 -- 61° 23° (NNE)
18 Oct 19:40:17 -4 -- 18° 9° (N )
19 Oct 05:01:19 -1 -- 41° 178° (S )
19 Oct 06:19:57 -1 -- 22° 133° (SE )
19 Oct 19:33:24 -3 -- 21° 10° (N )
20 Oct 17:20:58 -0 -- 64° 28° (NNE)
20 Oct 19:27:02 -7 -- 24° 10° (N )
21 Oct 04:52:47 -1 -- 41° 182° (S )
21 Oct 19:20:45 -7 -- 26° 11° (NNE)
22 Oct 04:52:17 -2 -- 40° 189° (S )
22 Oct 06:10:56 -6 -- 23° 138° (SE )
22 Oct 19:14:29 -7 -- 28° 12° (NNE)
23 Oct 04:46:13 -3 -- 40° 188° (S )
23 Oct 19:08:10 -5 -- 30° 14° (NNE)
24 Oct 19:01:53 -7 -- 32° 14° (NNE)
25 Oct 06:02:34 -6 -- 26° 145° (SE )
25 Oct 18:55:41 -2 -- 33° 16° (NNE)
26 Oct 04:37:15 -2 -- 39° 197° (SSW)
26 Oct 18:49:30 -3 -- 35° 17° (NNE)
27 Oct 04:31:08 -5 -- 39° 198° (SSW)
28 Oct 05:52:39 -5 -- 27° 151° (SSE)
29 Oct 18:32:00 -1 -- 40° 20° (NNE)
31 Oct 05:43:37 -4 -- 29° 158° (SSE)

For sky charts for any subject call the observatory at www.donastro.org.uk

September 2010

2010-08-29T14:20:00.009+01:00

The Moon

Last Quarter ----- 1st up from 22:31 to 15:10
New --------------- 8th up from 06:32 to 19:09
First Quarter ---- 15th up from 15:46 to 23:03
Full ---------------- 23rd up from 18:31 to 07:06

This month will be about the last when you can look into the deep reaches of the southern sky. Well, as far south as we can from so far north.
The nights are speedily drawing in and we can spend more time on observing and taking pictures, and it’s still not unreasonably cold.

The Planets in September

Saturn will slip below the horizon on the 1st of September at 8.45pm, 40mins after the Sun so will be in bright twilight. So look for it before sunset, but it’ll be only to say that you’ve seen it.
Venus is similarly positioned. It’ll set 40mins after the Sun on the 1st, in the company of bright Spica, a degree away, and by the 30th, will have pulled well away southwards from Spica, to set 10mins after the Sun. However, it’ll go down fighting, being a little brighter than before and bigger too, mag -4.6 and 44arcsec. It’ll also present a 20% phase, a good crescent, so catch it if you can. The Sun 35° away shouldn’t pose a threat.
Mars starts the month close to Venus and Spica and follows a similar line to Venus, but a bit slower so will be available all month though very low in the west south west, setting on the 1st, at 8:45pm, 50mins after the Sun, and at 7:30pm, 30mins after the Sun on the 30th. Mars will be only 4arcsec and mag 1.5 all month so quite tiny to seek so low in the brightness of twilight.
This is virtually the last of these three as evening planets.

In the east we see Neptune rising at 7:45pm on the 1st of September, and at 5:45pm on the 30th, followed by Uranus hand in hand with Jupiter at 8:40pm. These three are taking over the night sky from Saturn, Mars and Venus. They’ll all be up all night getting better and better as the nights get darker. Neptune won’t get higher than 24° up in the south this month, but Jupiter and Uranus will get to 35° high, much better than last September’s maximum of 20°.
Mercury can be sought, in the east, from about the 9th, it’s too close to the Sun before that. It’ll rise some 30mins before the Sun then, so will not be easy in twilight at mag 2.7. It’ll keep pulling away from the Sun to rise at 5:20am on the 23rd, about an hour and a half before the Sun, then will start to fall back towards it but will still be available till the end of the month, rising an hour before the Sun. A good apparition.

Comets.
In the southeast, Comet 10P/Tempel can be found on the horizon at 11.30pm on the 1st . It should be at mag 8-ish so just visible, use binoculars. That's the theory, but I couldn't see it with a 260mm telescope, so it's fainter than forecast. It’s in Cetus and will stay there for the month without moving much. It’ll not get much above 16° above the horizon though, and that in the early part of September.

Comet 103P/Hartley should also be visible in binoculars in Lacerta’s bottom left corner, then move up to Andromeda’s bottom centre by the 27th, near Zeta Cass. Steadily brightening, we hope.

Meteors Showers. There are 5 showers with peaks in September but none with projected rates more than 7/hour at the Zenith, hardly different to those from Sporadica.

Satellites. ISS.
Lots of ISS passes over Doncaster from the 1st to the 11th. Almost all start low in the west and pass between the west and south to descend into the east and south. They’re of a good brightness, mag –1 to mag –3, and are timed as follows.
1st 19:24
1st 20:59
2nd 19:51
2nd 21:26
3rd 20:18
3rd 21:53
4th 19:10
4th 20:45
5th 19:37
5th 21:12
6th 20:04
7th 18:56
7th 20:32
8th 19:23
9th 19:50
10th 18:42
11th 19:09

Iridium Flares
Lots of them too.

01 Sep 02:02:43 mag-4 32°up in the WNW
01 Sep 03:30:57 mag-0 61° up in the WSW
02 Sep 02:05:37 mag-0 27° up in the WNW
02 Sep 05:10:42 mag-1 63° up in the S
03 Sep 01:59:31 mag-7 28° up in the WNW
03 Sep 05:04:35 mag-6 63° up in the S
04 Sep 01:53:24 mag-1 28° up in the WNW
04 Sep 03:21:53 mag-8 55° up in the WSW
04 Sep 19:58:32 mag-3 28° up in the N
05 Sep 01:56:16 mag-7 24° up in the WNW
05 Sep 03:15:49 mag-3 54° up in the WSW
05 Sep 19:52:17 mag-7 29° up in the N
06 Sep 01:50:12 mag-1 24° up in the WNW
06 Sep 19:46:08 mag-2 31° up in the N
07 Sep 01:52:57 mag-7 20° up in the WNW
07 Sep 04:49:31 mag-0 62° up in the SSW
07 Sep 19:39:59 mag-2 33° up in the N
08 Sep 01:46:49 mag-0 20° up in the WNW
08 Sep 01:55:44 mag-1 17° up in the NW
08 Sep 04:43:26 mag-8 62° up in the SSW
09 Sep 01:49:41 mag-4 18° up in the NW
09 Sep 03:00:37 mag-3 49° up in the W
09 Sep 04:37:23 mag-1 62° up in the SSW
10 Sep 01:52:17 mag-6 14° up in the NW
10 Sep 02:54:31 mag-0 49° up in the W
11 Sep 01:46:08 mag-0 14° up in the NW
11 Sep 01:54:56 mag-2 12° up in the NW
11 Sep 04:28:12 mag-3 62° up in the SSW
12 Sep 01:48:54 mag-2 12° up in the NW
12 Sep 04:28:18 mag-1 59° up in the SSW
13 Sep 04:22:15 mag-7 60° up in the SSW
14 Sep 04:16:11 mag-2 60° up in the SSW
17 Sep 04:07:09 mag-0 55° up in the SW
18 Sep 04:01:03 mag-6 56° up in the SW
18 Sep 05:37:44 mag-8 50° up in the SSE
18 Sep 05:39:16 mag-1 51° up in the SSE
19 Sep 05:31:41 mag-2 50° up in the SSE
20 Sep 05:37:42 mag-2 11° up in the ENE
20 Sep 21:22:50 mag-1 11° up in the NNE
21 Sep 03:45:10 mag-6 53° up in the SW
21 Sep 05:31:34 mag-0 12° up in the ENE
21 Sep 20:34:45 mag-1 10° up in the N
21 Sep 21:16:51 mag-6 12° up in the NNE
22 Sep 03:45:54 mag-3 51° up in the SW
22 Sep 05:22:39 mag-0 52° up in the S
22 Sep 20:23:44 mag-6 14° up in the N
22 Sep 21:11:00 mag-2 12° up in the NNE
23 Sep 03:39:50 mag-8 51° up in the SW
23 Sep 05:16:33 mag-7 52° up in the S
23 Sep 20:17:27 mag-2 15° up in the N
23 Sep 21:14:42 mag-2 15° up in the NE
24 Sep 03:33:47 mag-0 52° up in the SW
24 Sep 05:10:28 mag-0 52° up in the SSE
24 Sep 21:08:46 mag-6 15° up in the NE

Further data may be obtained from Chris Peat's website heavens-above
If you’d like star charts of any areas please contact the Observatory on the front page of this site.

August 2010

2010-08-02T10:47:00.008+01:00

The Moon

Last Quarter ---- 3rd up from 23:11 to 15:04
New --------------- 10th up from 06:03 to 20:29
First Quarter --- 16th up from 14:24 to 22:34
Full ---------------- 24th up from 29:42 to 05:48

We’re well past the longest day now and nights are getting longer and darker and we’ll soon be past the likelihood of seeing Noctilucent Clouds. The Summer Triangle is well up and all the southern sights towards the middle of the galaxy that latitude allows us to see are available, if the horizon haze permits. So make the most of them, M. Messier did.

The Planets

The scene depicted in July, continues, with Mercury getting too close to the Sun by the 15th to be safe to seek with binoculars. It’ll be presenting a 27% phase then, having reduced from 56% on the 1st. Comet 2P/Enke will be 6° away at mag 7, but very close to the horizon in bright twilight, so almost impossible. Saturn holds station all month, in Virgo, close to the star Zaniah, but Mars and Venus move southwards, till by the end of August, they’ll have put 16° between them and Saturn, though all three set at the same time, 40 mins after the Sun. It will be only the brightness of Venus, at mag –4.4, that shines through the twilight to be seen naked eye. The others, Mars at mag 1.5 and Saturn at mag 1.0, will have to be sought with binoculars, when the sun has set, some 25° further north. The phase of Venus will change from 58% on the 1st, to 42% on the 31st. Mercury will have moved over to the other side of the Sun and have set before it, so is out of contention.

On the other side of the sky, Neptune rises at 9:40pm, on the 1st of August, and will be there for the rest of the night, having slipped over the border into Aquarius. It’ll rise at 7:40pm, by the 31st, promising better observing opportunities. Similarly, Jupiter and Uranus will be up together soon after, at 10:40pm on the 1st, and at 8:40pm on the 31st, so they should be worth photographing, with a webcam, particularly Jupiter, after midnight this month. Jupiter will be taking Saturn’s place as the planet to study for the next few months. Keep your webcams ready.

Meteors. This is August so it must be the Perseids, 90 ZHR, on the 12th. The peak is at 10ish that night and the Moon will be co-operating by setting by 9pm, so tonight's the night. Get your garden loungers out, dress up warmly and hope the clouds give you a clear sky. Record what you see or take pictures, by laying your camera on something solid, pointing directly up and take a series of 30sec exposures, automatically if your camera can, whenever the sky is clear. focused on infinity, ISO 1600. Use a wide angle lens, shorter than 50mm if you can. And hope.

Satellites

For sightings of the ISS at a reasonable hour you’ll have to wait till the 25th as all sightings till then are after 1am, and then they’ll be low in the south. But take a look at Chris Peat’s site http://www.heavens-above.com for details of late night passes.

26th From 21:13 in the SW up to 17° high in the SW. Mag –1.5
27th From 20:15 in the SSW up to 24° high in the SSE. Mag –2.3
28th From 20:41 in the SW up to 41° high in the SSE. Mag -3.1
29th From 21:08 in the WSW up to 52° high in the SSW. Mag –3.3
30th From 19:59 in the WSW up to 43° high in the SSW. Mag –3.1
30th From 21:34 in the W up to 28° high in the WSW. Mag –1.9

There are lots and lots of Iridium Flares this month, so some examples.

3rd at 21:29:25 10° up in the north. Mag –1
3rd at 22:10:14 18° up in the WNW. Mag –5
4th at 21:32:39 10° up in the north. Mag 0
4th at 21:50:05 19° up in the west. Mag –2
4th at 22:13:28 16° up in the WNW. Mag –6.0

Go to http://www.heavens-above.com for more Iridium Flares and ISS passages, and lots of other satellite passages.

As always, if you need sky charts for things up there, ask the Observatory at http://www.donastro.org.uk

Doncaster's Sky this month

2010-06-30T21:59:00.011+01:00

Moon
Last Quarter -- 4th up from 00:00 to 13:41
New -- 12th up from 04:12 to 21:16
First Quarter -- 19th up from 14:22 to 23:38
Full -- 26th up from 21:06 to 05:38

The Sun barely gets below the northern horizon during high summer, so twilight doesn’t really end. You can watch it as it passes from west through north to east through the night.
This is the season to delve into the southern reaches of the sky, towards the centre of the galaxy, where many of the Messier objects reside. A beautiful area if we could only see it all year. A slight benefit is that the sky is darkest in the south.
This is also the season for those Noctilucent Clouds in the northern skies soon after Sunset, certainly worth the effort with a DSLR or a P&S camera, so do it, and send pictures for the blog.
Not easy to keep an eye on the north and the south, but those with widely set eyes may hold an advantage.

Planets

Saturn will be gone by midnight on the 1st, but is bright enough to be seen while it’s still quite light, so seize this, your last chance; by the end of the month it’ll set by 10:30pm.
Mars continues to shrink; it’ll set at midnight on the 1st, and at 10:30pm on the 31st, with Saturn a degree and a half away. They’ll be within a couple of degrees of each other for about 4 nights, so may be worth catching with a camera.
Venus continues to shine like a searchlight in the west at mag –4, setting on the 1st at 11:30pm and on the 31st at 10:15pm. But it’s also moving backwards and approaching Mars and Saturn, and at the end of July it’ll be within 8° of Mars. Another photo opportunity. Venus’s phase will also change from 70% at the start of July to 58% at the end.
Mercury will be too close to the Sun till about the 7th when it’ll set 30mins after it, but very low in very bright twilight, so not easy to find, though it’ll be mag –1. It’ll be visible, though difficult, all the rest of the month, setting about the same time after the Sun, but drawing further away from it, so safer to observe. It continues to move retrograde, approaching to within 18° of Venus by the 31st.

On the other side of the sky, tiny blue Neptune rises at 9:45pm, in twilight of course, so will be difficult to see at mag 7.8 and 2arcsec. But will be there for the rest of the night in Capricornus.
On the 1st of July, Uranus, equally blue, will rise about 12:45am, and at mag 5.8, theoretically naked eye, but it will be difficult being so low. The Moon will also spoil things both ends of the month.
Rising 2° from Uranus will be bright yellow Jupiter’s mag –2.6 and 42arcsec disc. Too low yet for detail to be seen, but things will improve as it rises, and will continue to improve through the following months.

Meteors. None worth lying on your back outside to watch for, though that’s worth doing in summer if the sky is clear anyway.

Comets. Comet C/2009 R1 McNaught, was circum-polar in June but is out of contention now, July.
Out in the east, Comet 10P/Tempel starts the month the 1st of June, within 7° of Uranus and Jupiter as they rise together about 1:00am. It continues to keep pace with them but falls back to 15° below them by the 31st. It can be seen below the planets at mag 8-ish. It will need binoculars to be seen at least but a camera would be a better prospect.
Not much else to be seen even with binoculars. Their visibility is reported in magnitude, and this is all very well for stars, but these will be fuzzy, so the mag number will be spread over a large area of sky so they will be much more difficult to see than a star of the same magnitude. And there are no comets brighter than mag 7 or so.

Satellites

ISS
2nd at 21:28 Hrs from W up to 60° high in S - Mag –3.6
2nd at 23:03 Hrs from W up to 31° high in SSW - mag –2.7
3rd at 21:54 Hrs from W up to 47° high in SSW – mag –3.3
4th at 22:21 Hrs from W up to 29° high in SSW – mag –2.6

Iridium Flares
1st at 23:46:54 -- 57° up in the SSW at mag –9. V Bright
1st at 23:48:49 – 57° up in the SSW at mag –1
2nd at 03:01:52 – 38° up in the E at mag –3
3rd at 02:55:45 – 38° up in the E at mag -5
3rd at 22:10:12 – 38° up in the W at mag 0
5th at 22:07:19 – 33° up in the SSE at mag –7

More details of satellites can be obtained from www.heavens-above.com

Similarly sky charts can be had by contacting the observatory at www.donastro.org.uk

Brian

2010-05-30T15:56:00.004+01:00

The Moon

Last Quarter --- on the 4th, up from 01:06 to 12:24
New --- on the 12th, up from 04:09 to 21:59
First Quarter --- on the 19th, up from 13:48 to 00:34
Full --- on the 26th, up from 21:50 to 04:17

The Sun barely gets below the northern horizon during high summer, so twilight doesn’t really end. You can watch it as it passes from west through north to east through the night.
There is a Partial Lunar Eclipse on the 26th, but as it’s our daytime in Doncaster, we’ll not see it.
However, this is when we can start to see Noctilucent clouds in the north, beautiful silvery clouds soon after sundown. Very photogenic.

Planets

Saturn is still the best placed to observe, rings very edge-on but moons more easily seen in good seeing. It has crossed the border from Leo into Virgo. By the end of the month it’ll be setting soon after midnight, so look for it while you can.
Mars is also well placed, getting smaller but still worth a look. Much smaller than Saturn but just as bright, located under the rear end of Leo. It’ll set at midnight on the 30th so get to your telescope early, though it’ll be easily seen in twilight, as will Saturn, and moon Titan too, the others will need a darker sky.
Venus is the most easily seen of the planets though, a very bright mag –4, white beacon in the west, unmistakable, easily seen throughout twilight to midnight at the start of the month and 11pm at the end. It has a 79° phase, which you may be able to discern in binoculars.
Out in the east we’ll see the other planets. First is Neptune, rising soon after 2am on the 1st and two hours earlier by the 30th, but still only a small blue disc that’ll need binoculars at the least. A tiny mag 7.9, 2arcsec blue disc, and at both ends of the month it’ll have to compete with a bright Moon close by, less of a problem at other times.
Next up will be blue Uranus at mag 5.9 and 3arcsec and yellow Jupiter at mag –2.4 and 39arcsec, within a degree of each other on the 1st, and parting slightly to 2° by the 30th, but they’ll change places during the month and on the 9th will be half a degree apart. They’ll rise at 2.40am on the 1st, and at 12.45an on the 30th, so will soon be worth detailed observing. The moons of both planets will be of interest, but those of Uranus will need a reasonably sized telescope whereas those of Jupiter can be seen with good binoculars.
Mercury rises at 4.15am on the 1st, half an hour before the Sun. Bright, at mag 0.2, but in brightening twilight so look carefully with binoculars. It can be seen each morning, edging closer to the Sun till the 11th at the latest, still up 30mins before the Sun, but too close to search with binoculars. On that morning the very thin crescent Moon will be within 4° and so will the Pleiades. That’s worth a photograph, but watch for the Sun.

Comets. C/2009 R1 McNaught is binocular bright, circum-polar, and can be seen skirting the northern horizon when the sky is darkest. Tail ? Photograph it and send it to me please.

Meteors. Several showers this month but none with an expected Zenith Hourly Rate of more that 6 or 7, except the Arietids, with a ZHR of 50+, but the radiant, in Aries, rises just before the Sun, so will be swamped by direct sunlight, or at best in bright twilight. Unfortunately, the Moon will also be in the way, boxing the radiant between it and the Sun. So, all in all, not a good month for meteor showers.

If you'd like detailed sky charts of any of the above see us at www.donastro.org.uk

Satellites

ISS
23rd -- mag -2.4 at 23:52 Hrs starts in SW to 26° up in E
25th -- mag –2.4 at 23:03 Hrs starts in SW to 26° up in E
26th -- mag –3.0 at 23:26 Hrs starts in WSW to 42° up in E
27th -- mag –2.3 at 22:15 Hrs starts in SW to 26° up in E
27th -- mag –3.4 at 23:49 Hrs starts in WSW to 57° up in E
28th -- mag –3.0 at 22:38 Hrs starts in WSW to 42° up in E

Iridium Flares

2nd -- mag -8 at 23:46:46 Hrs 45° up in WSW
3rd -- mag -1 at 23:40:47 Hrs 43° up in WSW
6th -- mag -7 at 23:31:50 Hrs 41° up in WSW
10th -- mag -7 at 23:16:53 Hrs 37° up in W
11th -- mag -1 at 23:10:53 Hrs 38° up in W
13th -- mag -6 at 23:07:59 Hrs 34° up in W

Check www.heavens-above.com for more.

Doncaster's Sky in May 2010

2010-05-03T15:31:00.005+01:00

The Moon

Last Quarter -- 6th - up from 01:33 to 11:20
New -- 14th - up from 03:46 to 21:09
First Quarter -- 21st - up from 12:11 to 00:58
Full -- 28th - up from 21:26 to 03:35

We lose a bit more night observing time this month, the 16 hours in winter reduced now to about 8, and much of that is twilight and not really dark, but we must make the best of it.

Planets

Jupiter is beginning to show his face again, rising in the east on the 1st at 4.30am in dawn twilight. By the end of the month, it’ll be 2.45am, still in twilight, but dark enough to note the moons’ positions. It will also be accompanied by Uranus, just a degree away.

Venus is the very bright Evening Star in the west, easily visible all month till it sets on the 1st at 11pm at mag –3.9, and an hour later on the 31st at mag –4.0.

Mars is still high enough to study but getting past its prime at 7arcsec and mag 0.7. It’ll set on the first by 3am so time to stare at it’s ruddy disc. It’ll be there all month but getting progressively lower, dimmer and smaller each night.

Saturn will be available all night all month, and at mag 0.8 and 19arcsec, certainly worth watching. It’ll be high enough to seek out the moons and with good seeing you should be able to see up to 7 of them, with suitable optical aid. If you haven’t your own “suitable optical aid” come down to the dome and look through ours. It’s also worth photographing, with a webcam possibly. The rings are gradually widening, but still quite close to edge-on, so look for the Cassini division in good seeing, it should be just visible.

Neptune leads the circuit of the planets, rising before Jupiter and Uranus and the Sun. It rises on the first at 3.45am, but will be difficult then because of twilight. At the end of the month it’ll rise about 2am and you will more easily see it’s small and dim disc at 2arcsec, and mag 7.9, in the darker sky, but will need binoculars to do so.

Uranus accompanies Jupiter all month, being 5° behind at the start of the month and within one by the end. It rises at 4.30am on the 1st and at 2.45am on the 31st. It’ll be a naked eye challenge but binoculars will ease it for you.

Mercury will be in the east all month, but very close to the Sun at the beginning so don’t look for it till later. Even then it will rise no more than 30mins before the Sun, though at a reasonable distance from it, and at mag 0.4, within binocular capability. In all not a good month for Mercury.

Comets. C/2009 K5 McNaught is in Cepheus at mag 9.7 and 81/P Wild is in Virgo at mag 10. Neither is easy being fuzzy too so their light is spread making them more difficult than the mag number suggests. A star chart is available if you need one.

Meteors. The Eta Aquariids, peaking on the 6th of the month is the only one worthy of note. It can send in some 60/hour. It’s associated with comet Halley. The Moon will rise in dawn twilight, but as the radiant is in Aquarius and that also rises at dawn, just after the Moon does, you’ll have to look generally in the east before dawn in the hope of seeing some.

Satellites

ISS

3rd mag –3.0 at 21:46 Hrs starts in WSW to 49° up in SSE
3rd mag –2.9 at 23:21 Hrs starts in W to 49° up in SW
4th mag –3.3 at 22:11 Hrs starts in WSW to 60° up in S
5th mag –3.0 at 21:01 Hrs starts in WSW to 49° up in SSE
7th mag –3.1 at 21:51 Hrs starts in W to 54° up in S

Iridium Flares

11th mag –8 at 22:28:49 Hrs 39° up in NE
15th mag –6 at 22:13:58 Hrs 46° up in NE
16th mag –1 at 22:07:55 Hrs 46° up in NE
19th mag –1 at 21:59:01 Hrs 53° up in NE
20th mag –6 at 21:52:56 Hrs 53° up in NE

A fuller list is available from www.heavens-above.com

If you would like sky charts of any of the above, or more detail, contact the Doncaster Observatory at observatory@donastro.org.uk

2010-03-31T14:55:00.007+01:00

April 2010

The Moon

Last Quarter on the 5th - rising at 02:49 and setting at 09:55
New on the 14th at 13:30.
First Quarter on the 21st - rising at 11:06 and setting at 02:46
Full on the 28th - rising at 21:11 and setting at 04:58

The Sun. If you have access to solar observing equipment you’ll be pleased to see that this solar “season” seems to have finally started. A steady stream of sun spots has been seen over the last month and it’s likely to continue. For a quick check on what’s on the Sun’s face go to http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/boatman/photographssol.html .

Planets
Jupiter. Not visible in the first half of the month but getting easier by the middle, but only in the dawn twilight, as a bright, mag –2.1 disc, low in the east about half an hour before the Sun rises, getting easier as the month progresses. The Galilean moons will be seen but there’ll not be any detail on the disc so low in the sky.
Neptune and Uranus. Very much the same applies to these two, but they rise a little earlier than Jupiter and are of course, much fainter and more difficult to see, binoculars will likely be needed for Uranus and certainly for Neptune.

As all these three rise before the Sun they also set before it, so aren’t visible in the evenings this month, unless you have a well setup GOTO telescope that can find them in daylight.

Venus, on the other hand rises after the Sun so isn’t visible in the mornings but is in the evenings, and in fact presents quite a good sight at mag –3.9, as it descends in the company of mag –0.8 Mercury, 3° away. A good photo opportunity, each evening up to an hour and a half after sunset, from the 1st to the 14th, though they’ll be pulling apart by then to 6°. Mercury at this time will be showing a 63% phase, which should be discernable with a telescope. Then on the 15th, they’ll be joined by the 1day old Moon, a very thin crescent, 3° below. On the 16th, the Moon will be higher than the planets but still within good photographic range and will present a little thicker crescent.
The planets continue to set together but drawing rapidly further apart, Mercury running to the Sun and Venus going the other way towards the Pleiades, making another photo opportunity from the 21st to the end of the month, by which time Venus will be some 20° above the horizon at sunset and will set nearly 3 hours after the Sun.
Mercury, as just mentioned, will spend the first half of the month in the company of Venus, it’ll then continue following the Sun to the western horizon, getting closer and closer to it, to the end of the month, but it’ll be unsafe to observe it with optical aid after the 25th. So in general a good month for Mercury and for Venus, less so for Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus.
Mars will start the month near the top of the sky, still a good sight worthy of close visual study and worth taking webcam pictures too, but getting smaller and fainter through the month till by the end it will have dimmed to mag 0.7, having started the month at mag 0.2. The disc will have shrunk from 9arcsec to 7arcsec, making it more difficult to see detail on the disc. It will though, make a fine wide-angle picture with the Beehive cluster, which will be within a degree of it on the 16th, its closest point. It’ll set by 5am on the 1st and by 3:15am on the 30th, so make the most of it.
Saturn will start the month already well up in the east, and will be available all night, all month, to finally set by the end of the month at dawn. A good month for Saturn too, though it’ll not get higher than some 38° above the horizon in the south, still a good enough height to see detail on the disc, and as the rings are gradually widening, some detail there too. Good seeing should show you up to 7 of its moons.

Meteor Showers. The Lyrids are the only shower this month peaking on the 22nd. Quite a tight shower sending us streaks of fast light from the 15th to the 28th. The presence of the half Moon won’t help. Generally a good shower.

Comets. Comet C/2009 K5 McNaught will be crossing Cygnus low in the northern sky this month but at an estimated mag 9.7 it’ll be no more than a faint fuzzy ball.
81P/Wild is still in the eastern end of Virgo, and will be in the sky all night for the month, but it will need a telescope to see it’s hazy mag 9.7 blob.
C/2007 Q3 Siding Spring is in Draco, 10° below Kochab in Ursa Minor and at mag 11.5 still just a faint blob. All these are estimated magnitudes, but could be wrong in either direction.
Individual star charts can be drawn if you need them, for anything mentioned above, by asking in the comments below, or asking the observatory at http://www.donastro.org.uk
What else?
Very much the same situation applies as did for last month, in that we have a good mix of up and coming galaxies in Coma and Virgo and Leo, and the clusters of the galaxy disc constellations, chief of which is Orion, but that will soon be gone.

Satellites. For these please interrogate http://www.heavens-above.com for the ones you like to see.
Brian

2010-03-31T14:47:00.004+01:00

What’s in Doncaster’s Sky in March 2010

The Moon
Last Quarter is on the 7th in the sky from 02:15 to 09:11
New is on the 15th in the sky from 05:47 to 18:09
First Quarter is on the 23rd in the sky from 09:36 to 02:28
Full is on the 30th in the sky from 19:47 to 05:17

Planets
Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Uranus are all clustered round the Sun as it rises, so it’s not advisable to look for them in the mornings till April.

Jupiter is too close to the Sun to be observed during March, so it’s out of bounds.

Saturn. At the start of March, Saturn will be rising about 8pm and will be a reasonable size of 19 arcsec and mag 0.6. It will be in the sky all night from then. The rings are still almost edge-on so it hasn’t its usual presence, but is still worth the look and worth a try with a camera. As always, the higher it is in the sky the better, and it does get up high too.

Venus is too close to the rising Sun for all of March, so another one to avoid in the mornings, but as the month progresses it’ll be available soon after sunset, low in the west, big and very bright at mag –3.9.

Though Mars is fairly close to Earth, it’s getting further each month as Earth speeds away on an inside track round the Sun. It will rise at 1:30pm on the 1st of March and be 50° up by dusk and will get up to 60° later in March.By the end of the month Earth will have pulled away from it so it will present a 6arcsec disc and be mag 0.2, whereas at its closest approach it’s disc was 14 arcsec and mag –1.3, a shadow of it’s former self. It’ll be setting at 5am by the 31st too so make the most of it while you can, as it’s still close enough for detail to be seen on the disc.

Mercury isn’t available in the mornings but will be in the evenings from about the 20th soon after sunset, but be careful and wait till the Sun has set
Uranus rushes past the Sun in early March to approach Jupiter but will not be safely visible all

Neptune rises just before the Sun and sets well before it so isn’t available all month.

Meteor Showers.
None of note in March.

Comets. 81P/Wild is in the eastern end of Virgo, rising at 9pm-ish and will be in the sky all night for the month, but it will need a telescope to see it’s hazy mag 11 blob.
Individual star charts available if you need them, for anything mentioned above by asking in the comments below.

What else?
This is the time of year when the nights get shorter leaving us with less observing time, but it’s also when the major galaxy areas come up for observing, the areas of Virgo, Coma Berenices, Leo and Ursa Major, though that one is circum-polar. Try some galaxies, M64, M66, M65, M95, M96, M104, M87, M84, M85, M100. A nice globular M53 and close by is a good open cluster NGC5053, another globular near by is NGC4154, and M3 is a stone’s throw away, figuratively speaking. Lots of galaxies to see and take pictures of, but it doesn’t rule out the clusters and nebulae in the disc of our galaxy, as those areas are still available in Monoceros, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus and Cassiopeia. A good mixture of things to see. It’s also a bit warmer, hopefully.

Satellites. There are lots of satellites to see passing over Doncaster but I’d rather let you use www.heavens-above.com to seek out the type you’d like to see rather than me make a long list. Alternatively, I can produce a list of those you favour for you individually.
Brian

Doncaster's Sky in March 2010

2010-03-08T12:10:00.004Z

The Moon

Last Quarter is on the 7th -- up from 02:15 to 09:11
New is on the 15th -- up from 05:47 to 18:09
First Quarter is on the 23rd -- up from 09:36 to 02:28
Full is on the 30th -- up from 19:47 to 05:17

Planets - Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Uranus are all clustered round the Sun as it rises, so it’s not advisable to look for them in the mornings till April.

Jupiter is too close to the Sun to be observed during March, so it’s out of bounds.

Saturn. At the start of March, Saturn will be rising about 8pm and will be a reasonable size of 19 arcsec and mag 0.6. It will be in the sky all night from then. The rings are still almost edge-on so it hasn’t its usual presence, but is still worth the look and worth a try with a camera. As always, the higher it is in the sky the better, and it does get up high too.

Venus is too close to the rising Sun for all of March, so another one to avoid in the mornings, but as the month progresses it’ll be available soon after sunset, low in the west, big and very bright at mag –3.9.

Though Mars is fairly close to Earth, it’s getting further each month as Earth speeds away on an inside track round the Sun. It will rise at 1:30pm on the 1st of March and be 50° up by dusk and will get up to 60° later in March.By the end of the month Earth will have pulled away from it so it will present a 6arcsec disc and be mag 0.2, whereas at its closest approach it’s disc was 14 arcsec and mag –1.3, a shadow of it’s former self. It’ll be setting at 5am by the 31st too so make the most of it while you can, as it’s still close enough for detail to be seen on the disc.

Mercury isn’t available in the mornings but will be in the evenings from about the 20th soon after sunset, but be careful and wait till the Sun has set
Uranus rushes past the Sun in early March to approach Jupiter but will not be safely visible all

Neptune rises just before the Sun and sets well before it so isn’t available all month.

Meteor Showers.
None of note in March.

Comets. 81P/Wild is in the eastern end of Virgo, rising at 9pm-ish and will be in the sky all night for the month, but it will need a telescope to see it’s hazy mag 11 blob.
Individual star charts available if you need them, for anything mentioned above by asking in the comments below.

What else?
This is the time of year when the nights get shorter leaving us with less observing time, but it’s also when the major galaxy areas come up for observing, the areas of Virgo, Coma Berenices, Leo and Ursa Major, though that one is circum-polar. Try some galaxies, M64, M66, M65, M95, M96, M104, M87, M84, M85, M100. A nice globular M53 and close by is a good open cluster NGC5053, another globular near by is NGC4154, and M3 is a stone’s throw away, figuratively speaking. Lots of galaxies to see and take pictures of, but it doesn’t rule out the clusters and nebulae in the disc of our galaxy, as those areas are still available in Monoceros, Taurus, Auriga, Perseus and Cassiopeia. A good mixture of things to see. It’s also a bit warmer, hopefully.

Satellites. There are lots of satellites to see passing over Doncaster but I’d rather let you use www.heavens-above.com to seek out the type you’d like to see rather than me make a long list. Alternatively, I can produce a list of those you favour for you individually.
Brian

Doncaster's Sky in January 2010

2009-12-28T12:19:00.002Z

The Moon

Last Quarter on the 7th rising at 00:24 and setting at 10:49

New Moon on the 15th rising at 08:18 and setting at 16:39

First Quarter on the 23rd rising at 10:13 and setting at 01:00

Full on the 31st rising at 19:03 and setting at 08:07.

Planets. Jupiter will be setting by 8.45pm on the 1st and by 6.30pm at the
end of the month, so not a lot of time left to observe it, and most of that
time will be with it low in the sky, but it'll be big and bright.

Neptune will be widening the gap with Jupiter, 2° ahead on the 1st and 7° on
the 31st, but at mag 8, too faint for naked eye observation, both will be
sat right on the Ecliptic. Its setting times will be the same as Jupiter's.

Uranus next, also narrowing the gap with Jupiter, 26° behind it on the 1st
and 21° on the 31st but at mag 5.9 almost visible without optical aid.
Binoculars will be needed in Doncaster's skies though. Actually, relative to
the background stars, it's Jupiter that's moving backwards towards Uranus.

The rest of the planetary activity is in the east, where Mars will be rising
at 7.15pm on the 1st, and at mag -0.8 and 13arcsec, getting easy to see. By
the 31st it will be rising at 4pm and will be at mag -1.3. Its bright orange
will make it stand out too, sat there in the middle of Cancer by the end of
Jan having moved from Leo. Look for detail on the disc with telescopes and
take pictures with webcams, all this month. From February it starts to
recede again, becoming smaller and dimmer, so don't miss this opportunity.
It will be in the sky all night, every night.

Saturn will rise in Virgo about midnight on the 1st, and at mag 0.9 and
yellow in colour not as easy to find as Mars. By the end of the month it'll
be up by 9.45pm and be a little brighter but will still not be a good
competitor for Mars. The rings will also be difficult to see without a good
telescope.

Venus continues all month to be too close to the Sun for safe observing.

Mercury on the other hand may be observed from the 11th in the east rising
at 7.15am in the south east, 45 mins before the Sun, in dawn twilight, but
at mag 1.5, theoretically naked eye visibility, but binoculars will be
needed, but take care as the Sun isn't far behind. It will get progressively
easier to see till the end of the month, getting to its brightest at
mag -0.1 from the 25th to the 28th all in dawn twilight, but it'll be the
only thing to be seen there, in the south east near the horizon, at that
time.

Meteor Showers. There are seven recognised showers, but only the Quadrantids
are worth the effort. These peak on the 3rd, and boast a flow of up to
120/hour. They radiate from a point near the top of Bootes, which used to be
in the defunct constellation Quadrant. The Moon will be a bit of a pain,
being nearly full and rising about 8pm, and will be there close to the
Radiant, all night.

Comets. None currently brighter than mag 9 and none forecast, yet, to
brighten into naked eye visibility in the near future, but they are nothing
if not inscrutable, so keep your ear to the ground, figuratively, of course,
we have members with big feet.

What else? The Summer Triangle will have lowered into the west so will be
pretty much out of contention for the rest of the winter and spring being
low in the north with the light dome of Doncaster to contend with. Deneb and
Vega don't actually set as they are circumpolar and could be seen creeping
along the northern horizon to emerge in May.

This leaves the winter sky to Orion and his cohorts, led by the Pleiades in
Taurus, and Auiga and Perseus. Lots of fine things to look for with
binoculars and telescopes. The Hyades and Pleiades and the Auriga clusters
above them are beautiful in binoculars, the Beehive cluster rising an hour
before Mars too.

For nebulae hunters, the Orion region into Monoceros, Taurus, Gemini and
Auriga will provide fruitful regions to explore, and for galaxy aficionados
Leo will be coming up too late nights in December followed by Virgo and Coma
Berenices and of course, Ursa Major is always there, being circum-polar.

Satellites

ISS.

11th 17:40 from SW to ESE up to 29° high

12th 18:01 from WSW to SE up to 45° high

15th 17:30 from WSW to E up to 57° high

18th 16:59 from W to ESE up to 59° high

Iridium Flares

5th at 18:04:47 in the NE, 51° high. Mag -7

6th at 17:58:39 in the NE, 52° high. Mag -2

14th at 17:18:47 in the NE, 64° high. Mag -3

www.heavens-above.com has more details

Or go to www.donastro.org.uk and ask the Observatory for sky charts.

Brian

Doncaster's Sky in December 2009

2009-11-29T21:33:00.004Z

The Moon

Full on 2nd rising at 15:31 setting at 8:32

Last Quarter on 9th rising at 24:00 setting at 12:10

New on 16th rising at 08:36 setting at 15:24

First Quarter on 24th rising at 11:20 setting at 24:00

There will also be a Lunar Eclipse on the 31st. It'll be very slight and easily missed, particularly at that time of the year! It'll last from about 7pm to short of 8pm. Just the bottom edge should become dimmer.

Planets. Jupiter is fading out of contention this month, on the 1st it'll be setting at 9.20pm, but it'll be dark enough to observe by 5pm so we'll have some hours with it yet. By the end of the month it'll set at 8pm, so this is your last chance to see it for some time.

Neptune is accompanying Jupiter all month as it has done for the last several, but this month it will get to within half a degree on the 20th and 21st as they go down into the west together, Jupiter at mag -2.2 and Neptune at mag 7.9, fainter than Jupiter's moons, but it'll be blue.

Uranus is following them, but at a safe distance and will set half an hour after midnight on the 1st, and at 10.30pm on the 31st.

Out in the east, Mars is first up and can be seen all night starting from 9pm on the 1st, and from 7.10pm on the 31st. It'll start the month at 10 arcsec and mag -0.1, and by the end of the month will be more than twice as bright at mag -0.8 and about 13 arcsec, and should be showing some detail on its face, if the seeing is good enough. It'll certainly be high enough to be worth webcaming.

Saturn will be just coming into view by 1.30am on the 1st and will be well up by midnight at month's end. It'll be getting a little brighter too and the rings will be easier to see, but perhaps that's wishful thinking. As with Mars, it'll be available all night.

Mercury can be seen from about the 19th to the 26th in evening twilight when the Sun has set, but will set itself by dark. Not a good month for Mercury.

Not a good month for Venus either, as it'll be too close to the Sun to be seen all month.

On the 31st there will be a Partial Lunar Eclipse. It'll start as the Moon rises in the north east at 5.30pm and end at 9.30pm, it should be easily noticed by the general public, as the Earth's shadow will cover the top half of the Moon.

Meteor Showers.

December has two showers of interest, the Geminids and the Ursids. The Geminids shower is the more prolific getting up to 120/hour at the Zenith at their peak on the 13th, whereas the Ursids amount to 10 ZHR at their peak on the 22nd. The Moon will be almost new so will be out of the way for the Geminids so it should be a display worth sitting out for. If we have Austerfield to ourselves it may be a good plan to have a meteor watch on the weekend of the 12th and 13th. The Ursids, on the other hand will have a quarter Moon in the sky though not near the Radiant. The Geminids radiate from the constellation Gemini of course, near Castor, and the Ursids from Ursa Minor, near the Pole star.

Comets. None currently brighter than mag 9 and none forecast, yet, to brighten into naked eye visibility in the near future, but they are nothing if not inscrutable, so keep your ear to the ground, figuratively, of course, we have members with big feet.

What else? The Summer Triangle will be lowering into the west in December and will be soon out of contention being low in the north with the light dome of Doncaster to contend with. Deneb and Vega don't actually set as they are circumpolar and could be seen creeping along the northern horizon to emerge in May.

This leaves the winter sky to Orion and his cohorts, led by the Pleiades in Taurus, and Auiga and Perseus. Lots of fine things to look for with binoculars and telescopes. The Hyades and Pleiades and the Auriga clusters above them are beautiful in binoculars, the Beehive cluster rising an hour before Mars too.

For nebulae hunters, the Orion region into Monoceros, Taurus, Gemini and Auriga will provide fruitful regions to explore, and for galaxy aficionados Leo will be coming up too late nights in December followed by Virgo and Coma Berenices and of course, Ursa Major is always there, being circum-polar.

Satellites
ISS Quite a lot of passes, but all in the early hours, 5 or 6am! No sensible folk are about then so if you want timings, you'll have to look up www.heavens-above.com

Iridium Flares
9th at 18:27:10 Mag -6 42° up in the NNE

11th at 16:18:54 Mag -3 71° up in the East

12th at 18:10:39 Mag -4 45° up in the NE

14th at 16:00:33 Mag -8 70° up in the East

19th at 17:34:47 Mag -6 57° up in the NE

and a min and a half later

19th at 17:36:17 Mag -2 57° up in the NE

Again lots more at www.heavens-above.com

Brian

Doncaster's sky in November '09

2009-10-26T15:49:00.005Z

The Moon

Full 2nd 15:45 – 06:53
Last Quarter 9th 23:15 – 13:19
New 16th 07:30 – 15:18
First Quarter 24th 12:38 – 23:26

Now that we’ve reverted to GMT and forsaken Summer Time, it’s dark enough for observing by 6.30pm and it lasts till 5am, some 10.5 hours, and they’re all dark hours too, not like in summer’s permanent twilight.

Planets.
Jupiter is still the centre of attraction for the first part of the month, shining like a beacon in the south from dusk to setting at11pm. Towards the end of the month it’ll be setting at 9pm but that still leaves 3 hours each night to study the disc and watch the moons making their rounds. Make the most of it though.
Uranus will be better placed for observation, some 35° further east of Jupiter and a little higher in the sky, and will be available for longer, but is much smaller, so it’s blue disc will be more difficult to observe.
Neptune will get to within 3° of Jupiter by the end of November, so will also be setting at the same time, and being even smaller than Uranus, will be more difficult.
On the other side of the sky, in the east, on the first of the month, we have Mars first up, at 10.30pm, soon after Orion clears the horizon. At mag 0.4, 8arcsec in diameter and quite orange, it will be easily seen, and as it’s also rising in the middle of the Beehive cluster M44, in Cancer, it’ll make a good picture, but will need a telescope to do it justice. By the end of the month it’ll be rising at 9pm but will have left the Beehive cluster as it’s falling backwards towards the Sun. However at mag –0.1 and 10 arcsec, it’s bigger and brighter, so start looking for detail on the disc. It’ll be getting closer and bigger for the next two months.
Next up is Saturn, but you’ll have to wait till 3.30am on the first. Recovering from its edge-on position and presenting an increasingly more pleasant sight, at mag 1.0 and 16 arcsec, and distinctly a light yellow, it’ll be easier to pick out from the background stars than Mars, but not nearly as bright as when the rings are prominent. It’s certainly worth trying to take its picture, but a telescope will be needed, as for Mars. By the end of the month Saturn will be rising by 2am, and will be in the sky till dawn, several hours away.
Venus will rise at the start of the month at 5.30am, in dawn twilight, but will be bright enough at mag –3.9 to overcome the rising dawn for some time. At 10 arcsec it’s no bigger than Mar or Saturn, but is so much brighter due to its full cover of white clouds, giving it a much greater albedo than other planets, 0.7, whereas Mars’s is 0.15, and the Moon’s 0.12. Albedo is the reflectivity of a body, a planet with an albedo of 1.0 means it reflects all light falling on it.
Mercury is too close to the Sun to be observed this month.

Meteor Showers.
We have some showers of interest this month, particularly the Taurids and Leoids. The Taurids have southern and northern radiants, peaking on the 5th and 12th respectively, but their streams extend for the whole month. The northern come from just south of the Pleiades and the southern from 12° further south. The Leonids appear to come from the constellation Leo, just behind the Sickle, which forms the head of the Lion. The peak is on the 17th. The almost full Moon will interfere with the southern Taurids as it’ll be within a hands breath of the radiant, but the northern Taurids will be not so badly affected, the Moon will also be a waning crescent. Similarly, the Leonids will have only the new Moon to contend with.

Comets. Again, several about but none of prominence, and all will need a good telescope and sky chart to find.

What else? The darkening skies will enable us to spend more time observing, and favourite constellations like Taurus and Orion, Gemini and Leo, will be in good positions to observe the objects they hold. Top of the list is the Great Orion Nebula, coming nicely into position for observation. Visible to the naked eye and a fine object in binoculars, but infinitely better through a telescope of some size, good to photograph but difficult because of its very wide dynamic range. November is a good month of variety, still having the Milky Way and its clusters and nebulae and also the galaxies of Leo and Virgo and Coma Berenices.

Satellites. ISS
11th at 18:15, from SSW to S getting 20° high in the S
12th at 18:36, from SW to SSW getting 24° high in the SSW
14th at 17:46, from SW to SE getting 36° high in the SE

Iridium Flares
4th at 17:42:21, 57° high in NNE. Bright
5th at 17:36:13, 58° high in NNE. Bright
5th at 17:43:05, 11° high in WNW. Bright
6th at 17:30:05, 60° high in NNE. Very bright

Lots in November but check on http://www.heavens-above.com

For sky charts for planets or other objects contact Observatory

Doncaster's sky in October 09

2009-09-28T23:06:00.005+01:00

The Moon

Full Moon 4th 18:04 -- 07:34
Last Quarter 11th 23:31 - 15:28
New Moon 18th 08:08 - 17:29
First Quarter 26th 15:06 - 00:00

The first half of the month is for Lunarphiles and the second half for Deep Sky observers.

Planets. Jupiter, big and bright in the south at dusk, setting at 2am at the start and by 11pm at the end of the month. Like the faithful Robin to Jupiter's Batman, Neptune follows some 5° behind.

Uranus keeps station some 35° behind Jupiter so will be available all month, setting more than 3 hours after Jupiter.

Some close encounters of the Jovian kind this month

On 3rd Io and Europa between 8.35 and 8.45pm
On 9th Europa and Ganymede - 7.15pm
On 10th Europa and Io - 10pm
On 12th Europa and Io - 5.25am and again at 9pm
On 15th Europa and Io - 6.35pm
On 15th Ganymede and Io - 9.45pm
On 16th Ganymede and Europa - 10.45pm
On 18th Europa and Io - 12.15am
On 22nd Europa and Io - 8.45pm
On 23rd at 12.45am on the left will be Ganymede very close to Io and on the other side will be Europa coming away from in front of the planet and Callisto going behind. Moon shadows should also be visible.

In the east, Mars is the first to rise, just before midnight on the 1st, close to the Eskimo Nebula NGC2392 and the comet Lulin, advancing to 10.15pm on the 31st, this time in the midst of the Beehive Cluster M44. It'll be about mag 0.5 and 8" in diameter. Getting large enough to see some detail in really good seeing.

Following some way behind is Venus, rising at 4.45am on the 1st and by 5.30am at the end of the month. Very bright at mag -3.9 and 10" in diameter.

Next up, an hour and a half before the Sun will be Mercury, bright at mag 0.4, and possible, in the best conditions, to see some detail, but very unlikely in Doncaster's skies.

Next is Saturn, half an hour later than Mercury and still an hour before the Sun. It is 16" in diameter but at mag 1.1, dimmer than Mercury and much dimmer than Venus. Dimmer, of course, because its rings are still edge-on and almost invisible. However, it is in a great hurry to get higher while Venus and Mercury are hurrying to get lower and closer to the Sun, so if you can, watch these three for the first two weeks of the month and you'll see Mercury and Saturn get within 1/3° of each other on the morning of the 8th, and then Saturn and Venus get within ½° of each other on the morning of the 13th. Then on the 16th a very thin waning Moon joins the group to make a good photo opportunity.

Mercury will be available to the 23rd but then gets too close to the Sun to seek with optical aid, but always take care, anyway, when looking at something near the Sun with telescopes or binoculars.

Meteor Showers. There are some half dozen peaking in October but only the Orionids are worth going out in the cold with your garden lounger to record. They could peak at 20/hour on the 21st, and will be coming from the Radiant, in the direction of Orion. Meteors not coming from the Radiant, are referred to as Sporadics. The Moon shouldn't interfere.

Comets. There are always lots of comets about the sky, but none is worth looking for even with reasonable binoculars, all are too faint to be seen with anything less than quite a big telescope or good CCD equipment for photography.

What else. Well, this is the month when Orion shows himself fully above the horizon, bringing all his beautiful objects to us. His neighbours, Monoceros, Gemini, Taurus and Canis Major, also contain many nebulae and star clusters for us to observe and photograph, as do Auriga and Perseus, already well up. There just isn't enough time to observe them all, even though we put the clocks back later in the month to bring forward the darkness we need. Colder nights but longer nights, and generally clearer skies, from October on. Twinkling stars however, don't mean better seeing, the twinkling is caused by shimmering air currents, making for poorer detail in the eyepiece.

For more information on any of the above visit http://donastro.blogspot.com or type "donastro" in your favourite search engine.

Satellites - International Space Station
None at sensible times during October

Iridium Flares
4th 19:26:40 58° up, to the SSE. Very bright
10th 19:05:39 54° up, to the South. Bright
11th 18:59:39 53° up, to the South Very Bright
16th 18:14:25 14° up, to the West. Bright

For more data visit www.Heavens-above.com

Brian

Doncaster's Sky in September 09

2009-08-29T14:10:00.006+01:00

The Moon

Full Moon 4th up from 19:30 to 06:41
Last Quarter 11th up from 23:18 to 14:32
New Moon 18th up from 06:48 to 18:57
First Quarter 26th up from 15:20 to 00:00

This means that she’ll be visible for study, or in the way of course, for the first half of the month and the last week, leaving the rest to deep sky observers.

Planets
Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus will continue their progress across the sky holding their current positions relative to each other. They’ll start the month with Jupiter leading, being most westward, followed quite closely by Neptune, 4° away, with Uranus, another 35° behind.
On the 1st, Jupiter will rise by 7pm, and will be well up in the south east as darkness descends. It will set about dawn so will be available all month, big and bright, in Capricornus, but not getting high enough above the horizon for really good study, though the moons and banding will be easy to see. There will also be some occultations and eclipses between the moons as well as with the planet
Neptune will be following Jupiter closely, within 4°, but you’ll need a telescope to see it, though it has been seen in binoculars from Austerfield.
Uranus will rise on the 1st about 8.30pm as it’s getting dark and set well after dawn so will also be visible all month. Easier than Neptune in binoculars but you’ll need to know where to look, but it’s in a very empty part of the sky so not easy. A star chart is available from the observatory if needed. Uranus will be higher in the sky than Jupiter so a better prospect, though smaller and further away, but its moons can be studied with a telescope, or camera. But you’ll have to remember that it rotates on its side so the moons will appear above and below the disc where Jupiter’s are on either side.
Mars will rise, in Gemini, about 1.30am on the 1st and its mag 1.0 orange disc will be easy to see, naked eye. It’ll still be rising when dawn twilight makes it more difficult to see. On the 30th it’ll rise almost an hour earlier, and will have risen to 54° as dawn twilight lightens the sky. It’ll be tiny, that means very small, 6arcsec, not anywhere as big as some wag reports on the internet. It’ll be about 1/300th the size of the Moon, so you’ll be lucky to see any detail unless the seeing is very good.
Venus will rise in the east on the 1st, in Crater, at 4am, and its 13arcsec disc will be shining at mag-4.0, so will be unmistakable as the Morning Star. Jupiter will be setting in the west at the same time, giving us a bright “star” on either side of the horizon. Rising beside Venus will be the Beehive cluster M44, but Venus will be moving quickly, retrograde, at about a 1°/day, towards the Sun, and by the month’s end will rise at 5am and be ¾ of the way across Leo.
Saturn rises after the Sun at the start of September, but by the 18th will be within 2° of it and by the 23rd will rise 30mins before it, still in twilight, but at mag 1.1, could, with care, be sought, due east, on the horizon. You’ll also be able to see Mercury, at mag 3.2, just 4° the right. Venus will be 20° higher up. From then to the end of the month Venus will be getting lower, closer to the Sun, and Saturn and Mercury will be rising higher as they move away from the Sun.
Meteor Showers.
None of any consequence this month.

What else?
This is the best time of the year in many observers’ eyes, with the Milky Way whirling overhead with Perseus well up and Auriga and Taurus leading Gemini, Monoceros and Orion onto the Autumn and Winter stage, and by the end of September, Leo with his galaxies will be joining them. The Milky Way will be much in evidence with too many objects to observe and photograph. The Messier clusters M35, M36, M37 and M38 all in a row in Gemini and Auriga would be a good place to start, with many more in Monoceros and Canis Minor. The beautiful Orion Nebula and others round his Sword and Belt will be there too, to observe, if the Cloud God permits. All these good things coming together and lengthening nights to enjoy them.
Should you need star charts or other details call at www.donastro.org.uk

Satellites

International Space Station
9th at 20:35, from S to SE, getting 17° up
10th at 20:59, from SW to SE getting 30° up
13th at 20:37, from WSW to ESE getting 48° up
and lots more about this time in September

Iridium Flares
3rd at 21:53:40 in the ENE 45° up, very bright
4th at 20:12:11 in the SE 72° up, bright
4th at 21:47:38 in the ENE 44° up, bright
5th at 20:06:10 in the SE 71° up, very bright

For other ISS passes or Iridium Flares during the month check with www.heavens-above.com

Doncaster's Sky in August '09

2009-07-29T13:11:00.003+01:00

Full Moon is on the 6th, rising at 20:48 and setting at 05:51
Last Quarter is on the 13th, rising at 22:30 and setting at 14:44
New Moon is on the 20th, rising at 05:51 and setting at 20:05
First Quarter is on the 27th, rising at 15:34 and setting at 22:22

There is a Partial Lunar Eclipse on the 6th, but you’d be hard pressed to see it. Look between 1am and 3am, the lower left should be slightly dimmer during that time.
On the same night, the Moon will be within 2.5° of Jupiter and Neptune. That’s worth a picture during the eclipse time. On the 16th it’ll be passing within 2.5° of Mars, and within 4° of Venus on the 18th.

The Moon holds the stage for the first half of the month and allows deep sky observers a look in for some of the second half. The nights are beginning to lengthen too, so more time for observing.

Planets.
Saturn will be visible all this month, but very low in the west at dusk. It’ll set an hour and a half after the Sun at the start of the month and within half an hour at the end.
Mercury, similarly, follows the Sun down in the west and spends the month being very close to it at dusk in the west. Dangerous to seek with binoculars all month, but perhaps at the start of the month would be slightly better than later, but not a good month for Mercury in all.
On the other side of the sky we have Jupiter, big and bright, risen by 10pm on the first and by 8pm at the end of August. It’ll be up all night, progressively getting better to see as it reaches its highest point of quite a low 20° above the horizon in the south. The Galilean moons will do their waltzing for you and will also occult each other from time to time, detailed times available is needed from www.donastro.org.uk. There should also be a reasonable amount of detail seen on the disc, but choose a still night.
Neptune will follow Jupiter all month, within 2° at the start and still within 5° by the end. You’ll need a telescope to find it’s tiny blue disc.
Uranus will be rising about an hour after Jupiter and hold station 30° to it’s left, through the month. Brighter than Neptune, and should be visible in binoculars, but wait till it’s well up to see its little blue disc. Both carry methane in their atmospheres, which absorbs the red component in sunlight so making them look blue. Up all night. With a telescope, look for some of its moons.
Next up is Mars, quite bright at mag +1.1, but a very small disc, only 5 seconds of arc, so little detail to be seen. It rises about 1.20am on the 1st and 12.30am on the 31st
Then comes dazzlingly bright Venus, rising at 2.30am on the 1st and an hour later by the month’s end. It’s closer to the Sun than Earth and is already tracking back towards the Sun. It shines at mag –4.0. What does that mean? Brightness is measured in Magnitude, and each whole number is brighter or dimmer than the last whole number, by 2.5 times, smaller numbers mean brighter. So Venus at mag -4 is about 100 times brighter than Mars at +1.

Meteor showers. Several in August, but none with more than 5/hour rates, other than the Perseids, which peak at a hopefully 90/hour. This will be on the Glorious 12th. Unfortunately, there will be a gibbous Moon to contend with this year, quite close to the radiant.

Comets. None within the range of small telescopes this month.

What else? The Autumn and Winter targets are beginning to show themselves in the east now. The Square of Pegasus is well up with Cassiopeia and Perseus close by, followed by Auriga and Taurus, and the top of Orion too, giving us a good mix of nebulae, clusters and galaxies to seek out and observe, and though the nebulae and galaxies will need telescopes to see, the clusters, usually the most beautiful anyway, will be available to anyone with reasonable binoculars steadily held. This includes the Milky Way stretching across the sky from Auriga, through Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Vulpecula, Sagitta and Aquila. Look for it, after rain has washed the sky, it should be visible without optical aid from a reasonably dark site, admittedly difficult in Doncaster.

Satellites. Details obtained from www.heavens-above.com
There are no ISS passes over Doncaster at sensible times this month.
Iridium Flares
3rd 22:38:55 38° up in the NE Very Bright mag -7
4th 22:32:56 39° up in the NE Bright as Jupiter in the south
7th 22:22:19 44° up in the NE even brighter mag -8

Brian

Doncaster's Sky in July 09

2009-06-25T16:30:00.004+01:00

Full Moon is on the 7th rising at 21.51 - setting at 4.25
Last Quarter is on the 15th rising at 23.40 - setting at 14.15
New Moon is on the 22nd rising at 5.18 - setting at 21.27
First Quarter is on the 28th rising at 14.05 - setting at 22.56

So she’ll be available to study almost all month with the exception of the 3rd week.

Planets. This is the last month we’ll be able to see Saturn in the evenings, as it’ll set by midnight on the 1st and at 10pm by the 31st, so make the most of it. The next time it’s available will be as a morning apparition in September, by which time the rings will be edge-on, and very difficult to see.
Jupiter will rise at midnight on the 1st, with Neptune less than half a degree away. By the end of the month it’ll be up by 10pm and will be a fine sight, and bright at –2.8mag, high enough to see some banding well by midnight. Tiny blue Neptune will still be close at hand, about 1.5° away.
Uranus will rise half an hour after midnight on the 1st, and two hours earlier by month end, so will also be worth a look, a bigger blue disc than Neptune, visible well in binoculars, if you know where to look, so if you need a star chart for it let me know, at www.donastro.org.uk.
The next one up is Mars, a tiny 1.1mag orange disc, rising soon after 2am, with very bright, white Venus, at -4.1mag, about 1.5Deg below. Binoculars will help to find Mars in the glare from Venus. By the 31st they will be 15° apart, with Mars rising just after 1am and Venus an hour later in the dawn twilight. You may not notice that Venus’s phase changes during the month from 62% to 73%, but you should note that she’s clearly gibbous.
The only chance to see Mercury this month will be on the 1st and 2nd when it rises an hour after Venus and 40mins before the Sun, after then it’s too dangerous if binoculars are used, though it’ll be bright enough to see naked eye though not easy in the dawn twilight.

Meteor showers. Always worth looking up to see meteors, but there aren’t any major showers this month.

Comets. The only comets available this month are beyond the reach of small telescopes and binoculars, but I can provide sky charts if needed for specific comets.

What else? July isn’t a good month for observing galaxies, nebulae etc. because of the lightness of the skies. Open clusters, however, are still there to be seen, many in the summer part of the Milky way which runs from Cassiopeia through Cygnus, Vulpecula, Sagitta, Aquila, Scutum, Serpens, Sagittarius and Ophiuchus. Aim for the southern parts, which make their appearance only during high summer. July is also the season for Noctilucent clouds, not strictly astronomical, but very impressive, caused by sunshine on ice crystals 80km high. A couple of pictures on the Photo Blog of our website, www.donastro.org.uk

Satellites
Some ISS passes over Doncaster before midnight. Most are in the early hours this month

6th 23:12 SSW to ESE highest point is SSE at 19°
7th 23:36 SW to E highest point is SSE at 33°
9th 22:49 SW to E highest point is SSE at 34°
There are many more passes this month, but check with www.heavens-above.com for details

Iridium Flares – caused by the Sun catching the solar panels of Iridium communication satellites.

2nd 21:48:05 59° up in the NE very bright
4th 23:18:01 28° up in the NNE bright
6th 23:06:07 30° up in the NNE bright
11th 22:45:27 38° up in the NE bright
Again, check with www.heavens-above.com for more.

Doncaster's sky in June 09

2009-05-27T15:39:00.004+01:00

The Moon

Full Moon on the 7th, rising at 10pm setting at 3.45am
Last Quarter on the 15th rising at 12.42am setting at 12.39pm
New Moon on the 22nd rising (?) at 3.34am setting at 9.53pm
First Quarter on the 29th rising at 1.41pm setting at 12.06am

This means the Moon will be with us the first half of the month leaving the second half to deep sky observers. But the nights are almost too short (7 hours between sundown and sunup, with twilights either side of an hour and a half too), to do much anyway, other than observe the Moon and clusters, fuzzies will be very difficult, though taking pictures is still possible.

Planets. Saturn is still the only planet worth a look in the evenings but it sets on the 1st by 2am-ish, and by month's end will be down by midnight, so make your observations while you can. Count its moons, you should be able to see up to 7 in transparent skies with good seeing, and a good telescope, like ours at Austerfield.

All the other planets are only visible in the east just before dawn. The first up, at 1.30am on the 1st, is very bright and eyecatching Jupiter, with tiny Neptune half a degree away. You'll need good binoculars at least, to see Jupiter's Galilean moons, and a good telescope to see blue Neptune.

Next up is Uranus at 2.20am, a telescope item this low in the sky, blue like Neptune, but larger. Then come very bright Venus, even brighter than Jupiter, rising at 3.15am, with very small Mars, 5° to the left. Finally Mercury at 4.23am, with the Sun just behind at 4.42am. They'll maintain this general relationship all month and should all be observable all month in suitable skies, with the exception of Mercury, which is too close to the Sun to use optical aids to seek. All, except Venus and Jupiter, will need a telescope or good binoculars to see. Charts available if you email me (observatory) at www.donastro.org.uk.

Meteor showers. There are several peaking in June but all have rates of about 5/hour at best, so aren't any better than sporadics except for the unreliable Aeirids. Unfortunately their radiant is very close to the Sun, which means they'll be coming from below the northern horizon during the night. A maximum of 50 can be expected but they are very variable, year to year.

Comets. Comet 22P/Kopff is forecast to get bright enough to be seen in binoculars (mag 8), and if so, can be seen 2° directly above Jupiter in the mornings of the first week of June. It tracks to the left slowly till by the 30th it is 10° away. Comet C/2009 F6 (Yi-SWAN) is a little fainter at Mag 9 and can be seen, just, in the middle of Auriga, and will be up all night.

What else? The Summer Triangle is well up now, with the Milky Way running through it, and though this area is good to see, the best part is to be seen this month and next, further south, below the Triangle. The constellations of Scutum, Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, Serpens and Scorpius, contain the centre and brightest parts of our galaxy, millions and millions of stars, thousands and thousands of lightyears away. The majority of Monsieur Messier's list of non-comets is there too, Nebulae, Open clusters and Globular clusters. Unfortunately, for us, living so far north, this area is only seen in high summer, low in the south and when the nights are shortest and lightest. We should all spend these months under the dark skies of Namibia, where, they say, the Milky Way is bright enough to read by! Perhaps an exaggeration, but photographs of it will fire your imagination.

Satellites. The International Space Station isn't easily visible from Doncaster during June.

Iridium flares

1st at 22:22:52 43° up, in the NE - Bright
2nd at 22:16:53 44° up, in the NE - Bright
4th at 01:53:10 18° up, in the NNW - Very Bright
6th at 22:02:00 53° up, in the NE - Bright
7th at 21:55:59 52° up, in the NE - Bright
8th at 23:26:14 19° up, in the NNE - Brighter

More details available on www.heavens-above.com

What's to be seen in the Doncaster sky in May '09

2009-04-26T18:18:00.002+01:00

The Moon

First Quarter on the 1st rising at 11.09 and setting at 21.46
Full Moon on the 9th rising at 21.59 and setting at 05.05
Last Quarter on the 17th rising at 02.13 and setting at 12.27
New Moon on the 24th rising at 04.07 and setting at 22.02

So the Moon will be in the sky for the first half of the month, leaving the second half mostly to the Deep Sky folk, though it does intrude later. However, the nights are so short now, and it doesn’t get dark anyway, so it hardly matters.

Planets. As last month, Saturn will have the night virtually to itself, though Mercury does get a look in during the first week as the Sun goes below the horizon in the west. It sets an hour or more after the Sun, but as it will be closing on the Sun then, take care looking for it with binoculars or telescope later than that.
Saturn is also getting lower towards the end of the month, so make the most of it while still quite high in the sky.

All the other planets are in the east rising just before the Sun. Jupiter first, about 90mins ahead on the 1st, with Neptune a couple of degrees away. They will accompany each other all month with the separation reducing to less than 25 mins of arc.
About 3am on the 17th, these two, less than a degree apart, will rise with the Last Quarter Moon, 2° away, a good photo opportunity, but it’ll need a telescope or long lens, and the planets will fade as the Sun follows them up a couple of hours later. This will of course require a clear sky and a clear eastern horizon.
All the other planets will follow Jupiter up into the sky as dawn twilight lightens the sky. Bright Venus and faint Uranus will be up 50 mins later and Mars another 20 mins after them, about 40 mins before the Sun, but only Venus is likely to be bright enough to hold her own against the brightening dawn. All these 5 planets will hold similar positions all month just ahead of the Sun, with the waning Moon joining in the parade from the 17th to the 22nd.

Meteor showers. There is just one of any significance in May, the Eta Aquarids, whose peak is on the 5th. The peak rate is in the region of 30/hour as seen at the top of the sky, but the radiant, where they appear to come from, is in Aquarius, rising after 1am. The shower is associated with the comet Halley.

What else? Spring is a bit in between-ish, between the winter of Orion and his entourage and the Summer Triangle and its associated sights. Most of them associated with the inspiring summer Milky Way, running from Cassiopeia in the north, through Cygnus, Vulpecula, Aquila, Serpens to Scutum and Ophiuchus in the south. Full of clusters of stars, nebulous gas clouds where stars are born and Planetary nebulae and Supernova remnants where stars have died. Unfortunately many require a telescope and some will also need enhancing filters, or better still photographs to bring out their shapes and beauty. Visit our website http://www.donastro.org.uk for some examples.

Satellites. The International Space Station passes near Doncaster on

12th at 23:16 from the WSW to the ESE and gets 50° up in the S
13th at 22:07 from the SW to the SSE and gets 34° up in the S
15th at 22:59 from the W to the ESE and gets 60° up in the S

and also at similar times on the next 5 days, but check http://www.heavens-above.com for details, where you can see timings of Iridium flares and other satellites.

Iridium flares can be seen at the following times exactly

5th at 22:35:21 in the NE 35° up, very bright
5th at 23:26:05 in the WSW 31° up, very bright
6th at 23:20:04 in the WSW 32° up, bright
9th at 22:20:33 in the NE 42° up, very bright

What we can see in the sky from Doncaster in April 09

2009-03-26T12:25:00.003Z

The Moon.

First Quarter on the 2nd rising at 10.26, setting at 03.31
Full on the 9th, rising at 20.22, setting at 05.44
Last Quarter on the 17th rising at 03.19, setting at 11.02
New on the 25th, rising at 05.32, setting at 21.39

So she’ll be visible at night almost all month, though the 3rd week, when close to New will be best for Lunarphobes to observe fuzzies.

Planets.
Saturn is the only planet we can see during the night, and it’ll be there all night till 6am on the 1st and till 4.30am by the end of April. Still almost edge-on so not the inspiring sight we’ve become used to, but still worth looking for, particularly now that the rings don’t obscure the disc so much, allowing us to see the banding more clearly.
Venus has moved to the other side of the Sun so is now the Morning Star, rising due east at 5.45am an hour before the Sun on the 1st, but in bright twilight, so her very thin crescent 1.5% phase, will not be easy to see. As the month progresses she’ll rise earlier, but still maintain the hour ahead of the Sun. Her phase will thicken to 23% by the end of the month, making it a little easier to find her in dawn twilight.
All the rest of the planets are in the dawn sky, with Jupiter, at mag –2, leading the field, rising just ahead of Venus, at mag –4, at about 5.30am on the 1st earlier daily, till on the 30th it’ll be up by 3.45am. They’ll all keep a low profile that doesn’t make for good observing, unfortunately.
Jupiter will have faint Neptune within 3° all month, but you’ll need a telescope to see it. The other interesting conjunction is between Mars and Uranus, binoculars should show these getting within half a degree of each other on the morning of the 15th, with Venus 7.5° to their left, but only half an hour before the Sun comes up to spoil it. From the 19th to the 23rd, the crescent Moon will be passing by these planets, as she makes her daily 13° move from right to left.
So much for the east, but in the west at sunset, we’ve lost bright Venus, but have gained tiny Mercury. It starts the month quite close to the Sun, too close to observe, but pulls away from it through the month, so that by the 10th it’ll set more than an hour after the Sun and by the 30th, 2 hours. So this is Mercury’s month and though it gets a little less bright, it’ll be easy to see. Mercury goes through the month getting bigger, though less bright till by the 30th, it’ll be 9 arcsec wide, mag 1.0 and presenting a phase of 25%, and it'll set at 10.15pm.
On the 26th it’ll be joined by a crescent Moon 1.5° away, with the Pleiades just 3° away. Later that night the Moon will occult some members of the Pleiades, just as they set together.
Meteor showers. There is one this month the Lyrids, not a bountiful shower, but after the hiatus in the last few months it’s worth looking for particularly as the Moon will not be in the way, and the radiant gets up soon after dusk. They peak on the 22nd, but can be seen from mid to end of April.

What else? Mention of the Lyrids radiant reminds me that we should be able to see the last of the Summer Triangle stars, Altair, before midnight on the 24th, meaning that summer is here? Perhaps not, but much of the sights of summer are available after midnight, Lyra, Cygnus, Hercules, Virgo, Aquila, Serpens Caput and Sagittarius which houses the centre of the Milky Way and all its sights. Though heavily dependant on the light pollution of Doncaster, a transparent sky will enable you to see more sights than you can shake a telescope at.

Satellites The ISS has been visible from Doncaster during the last half of March and the Shuttle too, docking and undocking, passing across the sky as a pair, but in April it’ll be visible only from the 23rd and in the early hours.
Iridium Flares on the other hand are plentiful, far more than space here allows, but some of the brightest are

5th 21:30:25 20° up - due north
6th 21:24:06 22° up - due north
7th 21:17:51 24° up - due north
8th 21:11:33 26° up - due north

These aren’t the same satellite though it seems so. There is a similar flash almost every night till the 16th in the north at about the same time. You must go to www.heavens-above.com for more details of all satellites. The times are very precise and the flash is short so be looking at the right place at the right time or you’ll miss it.

Brian

What we can see in the sky in March '09

2009-02-27T11:15:00.005Z

The Moon.

First Quarter on the 4th rise at 9.16, set at 2.38
Full on the 11th, rise at 19.02, set at 6.12
Last Quarter on the 18th rise at 2.34, set at 8.54
New on the 26th, rise at 5.24, set at 18.45

Available for observing during the first half of the month, leaving the sky clear for deep sky observers in the second half.

Planets.
Venus is the one to watch in the first days of March. She’ll be big, 46 arcsec, and bright, mag -4.6, on the 1st, and have a crescent phase of 18%, as she sets about 9pm. By the 15th she’ll be setting about 8pm, and be 55arcsec, mag –4.4 and 6% phase. On the 20th she’ll set at 7.30pm, a little less bright and a little bigger and presenting a 3% phase. The 24th is as far as you can go without some difficulty from the Sun; she’ll set 40mins after the Sun and though still bright at mag –4.1 and bigger at 59 arcsec, she’ll be showing less than 1.4% phase, so will be very good to look at, but difficult to see. Certainly worth a picture or two, if you can manage it. If you can’t then look at our Photoblog http://donastro.blogspot.com
The only other planet this side of the compass is Uranus and that’s set by 6.30pm in well lit skies on the 1st, and earlier thereafter, so not worth a look.
Saturn has the sky to itself all night and gets quite high, but the rings are getting closer to edge-on as the months go by, exposing the colourful banding on the disc and the possibility of occultations with some of the moons.
So where are all the others? Over on the east in the mornings, cluttered round the Sun, which will make it difficult for observing.
On the 1st of March, Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury and Mars, these two within half a degree of each other on the 2nd, will pop up 20 mins before the Sun, but it’ll all be in bright twilight making it difficult. On the 23rd, a very thin crescent Moon will rise with Jupiter 4° to the right and Neptune 4° to the left.
By the end of March, Jupiter at mag –2 and Venus at mag –4 will be up an hour and more before the Sun, so easier to see. Venus will be almost an arcmin in size but only 1.3% phase, a very thin crescent indeed.

Meteor showers.
None this month worthy of note, other than the sporadics from the constellation Sporadica. Even for these, the rules are the same, look towards the zenith rather than at a radiant point, the zenith is where they’re more easily seen, and their direction more easily judged.

Comets.
Comet Lulin is forecast to be still naked eye bright in March. It will be under the nose of Leo on the 1st of March, rising at 4.30pm and setting at 6am.
It’ll be within a couple of degrees of M44 on the 5th, and on the 7th it will be in company with the Moon and M44, 5° will cover them this time. Then on the 15th it’ll be within a quarter of a degree of the Eskimo Nebula! A photograph? Very difficult. By the 31st it’s to be mag 9.6, and small telescopes will be needed to see it, particularly as it’s a hazy grey blob against a grey background. But that applies to all fuzzies too, what sets them apart from the ordinary, is your knowledge that this hazy grey blob is a comet, a 5 mile size mountain, and other fuzzies are galaxies of millions and millions of stars.

What else?
This is the start of spring, so we find Orion moving out of the limelight stage-right, to allow all the galaxy rich constellations to enter, stage-left. Leo, Ursa Major (though that’s circum-polar it comes to prominence in spring), Coma Berenices, Virgo, Canes Venatici and Hercules too. And with that last one come the summer constellations too like Cygnus, Serpens and Ophiuchus. Lots to look for, but most of the galaxies will need telescopes of a reasonable size, to funnel enough photons into your eye, unless of course, you have a camera to record and retain those photons.
M42 and the rest of Orion will still be available during the month as will all the clusters in Monoceros and Canis Major and Minor, M41, M46, M48, M50, and M67 and M44 in Cancer, and higher up, M36, M37 and M38, in Auriga, all beautiful binocular items.

Satellites over Doncaster
The International Space Station will pass within sight but not directly overhead on
17th at 19:08 from 10° up in the S to 15° in the SE
17th at 20:42 from 10° up in the WSW to 14° in the SW
19th at 20:01 from 10° up in the WSW to 45° in the SSE
Then twice each night about this time, from the same position rising to different heights, till the end of the month. But check www.heavens-above.com for actual times.

Iridium Flares can be seen on
9th at 18:27:44 27° up in the North
9th at 20:44:37 11° up in the North
10th at 18:21:38 59° up in the North
12th at 20:25:12 18° up in the North

again www.heavens-above.com for more.

Brian

What's on in the Sky over Doncaster in February '09

2009-01-26T18:52:00.002Z

The Moon will be at first Quarter on the 2nd, rising at 9.30am and setting at 12.40am. Full moon will be on the 9th, when she’ll rise at 5.10pm and set at 7.30 next morning. Last quarter will be on the 16th, rising at 1.30am and setting at 9.30pm, and New Moon will be on the 25th.
The first half of the month is suitable for Lunaphiles and the last week or so for Deep Sky folk.
On the 9th there will be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse but it’ll be almost impossible to see as it occurs at 2.30pm!
Planets. At the start of the month Venus still commands the western sky from dusk to about 9pm with Uranus 8° below as they move towards the horizon. She holds her position and great brightness all month, only reducing her phase from 41% at the start to 19% at the end, and increasing her size from 30arcsec to 45arcsec, looking like a small half Moon at the start and a crescent Moon at the end, for which you’ll need good binoculars or a telescope. On the 27th, the Moon, also a thin crescent, will be within 4° of her as they set. Now, that’s worth a photograph.
Saturn rises at 8.30pm on the 1st, and at 6.30pm by the 28th, staying up all night and getting high enough to show good detail in the bands with the rings presenting just a thin though easily seen sliver, like a ball with a line drawn through it.
Mercury can be seen low in the east during dawn twilight, an hour before the Sun rises on the 1st, to about the 20th, when it’ll be half an hour before sunrise. Its orbit begins to take it behind the Sun from then so shouldn’t be pursued.
Almost all month Mars and Jupiter will be just behind Mercury, but rising later so will be difficult to see because of the bright dawn twilight. On the 24th of February, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to see Jupiter, Mars, tiny Mercury and the Moon, only 1 day short of New, within 4° of each other, all just 20minutes before the Sun clears the horizon, so be careful with binoculars or telescope. Fortunately it’s 20° away. They’ll all be very low so you’ll need a low and clear horizon.
Comets. There is a, hopefully bright, comet to look for this month, Comet C/2007 N3 Lulin, will rise on the 1st, at 3am, but it’s close to Earth so will move quickly and will rise by 1am on the 8th, when it’s predicted to be Mag 7, as bright as Uranus. Then by the 15th, it’ll rise at 11.30pm, and be twice as bright. A week later it’ll rise before 8pm. So watch, and hope, as it makes it’s pass under Leo. It’ll be 2.5° from Saturn on the 23rd. That’s worth a picture if you can get one. At this point in it’s passage it’s running at more than 4° a night. A star chart is available if you email me at the website http://www.donastro.org.uk
Meteors? No showers of note this month.
What else? Make the most of Orion as it’ll soon be gone till autumn. The Spring constellations are coming up, and the galaxy season is upon us. Leo, Coma Berenices, and Virgo in particular. The end of this month and next month are the best time to conduct an American inspired Messier Marathon, when visual observers with good telescopes, try to see as many of the Messier items as they can in one night. It’ll take all night.

Man made Satellites.
The International Space Station doesn’t pass close enough to Doncaster to be worth looking for.

Iridium Flares can be seen as follows
1st at 17:45:56 36° high in the south. Bright
2nd at 19:20:56 35° high in the NNE. Bright
3rd at 19:14:44 36° high in the NNE. Very bright
8th at 17:21:54 32° high in the SSW. Very bright
10th at 18:40:39 50° high in the NNE. Very Bright

Check www.heavens-above.com for more passes and more details.

What's in the Sky in Doncaster January '09

2008-12-27T23:44:00.003Z

The Moon will be at First Quarter on the 4th, rising at 11am and setting at midnight. She’ll be Full on the 11th, rising at 4.40pm and setting at 8.45am next morning. She’ll be at Last Quarter on the 18th, rising at 1.15am and setting at 10.30 next day. New Moon will be on the 26th, rising at 8.30am and setting at 7.30pm.
The first and last weeks are for Lunaphiles and the middle two for deep sky observers and astrophotographers.

Planets. The 1st of this month continues the end of December’s situation in the west with Jupiter and Mercury going down an hour after the Sun, followed by Neptune and very bright Venus. Behind them are the Moon and Uranus. During the first week the Moon leaves them to travel eastwards and the planets string out with Jupiter getting closer to the Sun and Venus moving further away, till by the 15th, Jupiter is too close to the Sun for safe observing.
Mercury can be seen during the first half of the month, setting some 30mins to an hour after the Sun, it'll be fraught with twilight problems, but worth a try. Perhaps the 6th to the 8th is the best time to seek it.

Neptune sets 4 hours after the Sun on the 1st, and one hour after on the 31st, in late twilight. Uranus sets from 6 hours after the Sun on the 1st, to 3 hours by the 31st. So there’s time yet to observe these blue/green worlds and possibly the moons of Uranus too, but a good telescope and a camera are the best tools for them.
The sky belongs to Venus this month with some 4 hours centre stage, a very bright Evening Star. By mid month she’ll be showing less then half phase, easy to see in big binoculars or small telescopes. On the 22nd, she plays a dodging game with Uranus over the last two weeks of January, getting to within a degree on the 22nd, and joined by the Moon on the 29th and 30th.

Over on the eastern side we have an almost apologetic Saturn, without its ring system. At m0.9, much fainter and more easily mistaken for a yellow star. It rises at 10.30pm on the 1st and 8.30pm on the 31st, and gets quite high in the sky, high enough for photographers and visual observers to catch the very narrow rings, about a 1° tilt (0° in September). A benefit here is that the moons will be easier to see and will also be visible transiting the disc and being occulted by it, just as happens with the moons and Jupiter’s disc.
Mars is too close to the Sun all month to be observed.

Meteor showers. January is a busy month for meteors but the Quadrantids, from the 1st to the 5th, peaking on the 3rd, is the most prolific, boasting up to 120/hour. All the other showers are in the region of 5/hour at the zenith. The radiant is in Bootes, which comes up in the early hours, but looking for meteors should not be done by looking towards the radiant. Look instead towards the zenith to see the most and the longest paths to lead back to the radiant, so you can judge if they’re Quadrantids or from Sporadia.
What else? Orion is high in the south all night this month but getting low in the early hours. The Great Orion Nebula is a sight not to be missed in binoculars, a telescope view will amaze you particularly with suitable filters added. Binoculars were made for scanning the Milky Way, extending across the sky through Monoceros, Orion, Gemini, Auriga, Perseus and Cassiopeia. Coming up in the early hours is Leo and Coma Berenices, galaxy country. Though Ursa Major, up all night throughout the year, has more than its share of galaxies. Unfortunately most are quite small and faint and need a good telescope to do them justice, by eye or camera.

The ISS passes over Doncaster on the
21st from 18:23 in the SW to 18:26 in the SSE getting 28° high
22nd from 18:49 in the WSW to 18:51 in the SSW getting 37° high

Iridium Flares to be seen from Doncaster
4th at 17:07:06, 10° high in the SW
4th at 17:38:22, 17° high in the WNW
5th at 17:23:21, 20° high in the WNW
15th at 17:26:00, 27° high in the SSW
15th at 18:52:13, 37° high in the SSE

Check www.heavens-above.com for more details.
And for detailed sky charts drop me a note at our website www.donastro.org.uk

What's on in November '08

2008-10-28T16:53:00.002Z

The Moon will be at First Quarter on the 6th, rising at 1.50pm and setting at 11.30pm. On the 13th, she’ll be Full, rising at 3.40pm and setting at 6.15am the next morning. On the 19th, she’ll be at Last quarter, rising at 11.15pm and setting at 1pm the next day. Now that the clocks have been put back, we have “longer” nights? Not really, earlier yes, but the steadiest skies, thence best for observing, are in the early morning, and we now have less of that. There’s always something to complain about, isn’t there?

Planets. Mercury and Mars are too close to the Sun for safety, so don’t be tempted.
On the 1st, other than Mercury, the Sun and Mars, we have Venus, as the Evening Star, and the thin crescent Moon following each other setting in the west, Venus about 90 mins after the Sun. The Moon and Venus will make a fine sight, 5° from each other, with Jupiter another 30° to the left. The Moon will have moved to 14° to the left of Venus on the 2nd, so another fine picture possibility. Venus is moving away from the Sun and approaching Jupiter and you can watch this through the month. By the 30th, she’ll be within 2° of Jupiter, with the Moon 1° to the west. But on the next day, the 1st of December, I should tell you this next month, you should be watching just west of south, to see the Moon occulting Venus! Though they’ll both be moving to the right, the Moon will appear to advance on Venus from the right and starting about 3.30pm, will cover Venus with her dark side (the Sun will be lighting her right side). The Sun will still be well up so you’ll need a telescope to see Venus fade out and be gone. The Sun will have set by 4pm but twilight will still be bright, as the Moon goes down with Venus behind and Jupiter 2° away. Look for Venus to show herself on the lit side of the Moon about 5 pm. It will be darker then, but just 7° above the horizon. This should make a couple of good pictures, so get to it all you astrophotographers! Of course, the Cloud God might interfere to spoil it all.
Back to this month and other planets. Blue Neptune and Uranus, in Capricornus and Aquarius respectively, are still good to see, rising in the east before the Sun has set in the west. They’re trailing Jupiter by 34° and another 27°, but a little higher. Neptune will be setting by midnight on the 1st, and by 9.30pm on the 30th. Uranus by 2am at the beginning of the month and by midnight at the end.
Saturn will rise at 2am on the 1st, and by 12.30am on the 30th, getting up to 40° high in the south, so a good appearance this year, except for the rings being so close to edge-on. It’ll be up all the rest of the night all month.

Meteors. There are 6 recognised showers that peak in November, but only the Leonids, radiating from the constellation of Leo, are likely to be worth watching for. They peak on the 17th. Remember, don’t look towards Leo as you’ll only see the ones coming towards you, look towards the Zenith.

What else? All the big guns are coming up in the east this month. Perseus, already well up by 6pm on the 1st, look for the Double Cluster, two Open Clusters side by side, up near the top, close to the Big W of Cassiopeia, Taurus, with the Pleiades and Hyades clusters, and M1, the Crab nebula, a supernova remnant, it explosed in 1054, recorded by the Chinese as being visible in daylight for a month, Auriga and its clusters, all beautiful. Bellatrix and Betelgeuse will be up by 8.30pm with the rest of Orion following behind. By 10pm the belt and sword with the Great Orion Nebula will be high enough to marvel at, and will be available all winter. Easily seen in binoculars. But much more impressive in a good telescope. Hundreds of stars are being born there, and some have been seen in professional telescopes with rings of dust and debris spinning round them, future planets! All part of the cosmic recycling that’s going on out there, starting with supernovae like the Crab, making all the chemical elements heavier than iron when they explode and ending with nebulae like Orion collecting the debris into new stars and planets. That’s where that gold ring on your finger originally came from.

Satellites. Check on www.heavens-above.com but here are some of the brighter ones.

1st 17:37:57 12° high WNW
1st 17:45:00 43° high South
1st 17:46:56 10° high WNW
2nd 17:22:54 15° high WNW
5th 16:46:44 20° high West
5th 17:30:06 40° high South

The International Space Station passes overhead on

23rd 17:50 10° high in the South heading SSE, taking about a minute to pass
24th 17:06 10° high in the South heading South East, taking about 3 mins to pass
26th 17:55 10° high in the WSW heading SSE, taking about 3 mins to pass

As usual, if you need charts to help find things give me a call.

Brian

What's on in October '08

2008-09-23T12:15:00.001+01:00

The month will start with a thin waxing crescent having been New a couple of days before. So she’ll be at First Quarter on the 7th, rising at 3.50pm and setting at 11pm. She’ll be Full on the 14th, rising at 5.30pm and setting at 7.00am. Last Quarter will be on the 21st, rising at 22.40pm and setting at 3.20pm next day.
The days continue to shorten, giving us another 2 hours of good darkness for observing by the end of the month, including the putting back of the clocks on the 26th. For observing, the first ten nights and the last few are for Deep Sky folk and the middle of the month is for Lunaphiles.

Planets. Jupiter will be low but bright in the south at nightfall, unmistakable, but will set by 11pm on the 1st and by 8pm on the 31st. Almost gone, so make the most of it. Look for the moons and their shadows on the face of the planet, and you should also be able to see the two major bands on the disc with telescopes, even though it is low.
Saturn is back with us, under the rear paws of Leo, rising in the east in early dawn twilight on the 1st. By the end of the month it’ll rise by 2.30am and will have moved to within a third of a degree of the rearmost paw of Leo. It’ll be brighter than that star, but at m1.0 (Magnitude 1.0), just a shadow of itself earlier in the year, having tilted so that it’s rings will be almost level with Earth’s position, making them difficult to see in binoculars, though a good telescope will show them. The silver lining to this cloud, is that with that same good telescope, you should start to look for occultations and eclipses with its moons, as their orbits will also have tilted. Not easy, as most of them are quite small and much further away than Jupiter’s moons. But by dawn on the 31st, Saturn will be 25° above the eastern horizon, making the task a bit easier.
Also in the dawn twilight, is Mercury, following some 20° behind Saturn and visible from mid to almost the end of the month. At m0.8, only a little dimmer than Saturn, which shows how much Saturn has dimmed with its ring system edge on.
Venus will be visible low in the west, all month, soon after sunset, and very bright at m4.0. Mars too but much dimmer and getting more difficult to see as the month progresses as it’ll be getting closer to the Sun, and at m1.5 not bright.
The blue discs of Uranus and Neptune however, will be well placed for most of the month, with Neptune setting by midnight at monthend, and Uranus by 2am. Uranus, at m5.8 almost at naked eye visibility, if we could remove all the pollution round Doncaster.
Vesta at m6.9 is also well placed, but reflects white light from the Sun, so more difficult to tell from stars in the field. It starts the month 2° above the star Menkar, Alpha CET, in Cetus, 22° to the right of the Pleiades, and will have tracked westwards about 6° by the end of the month. It rises on the 1st at 9pm, so it available all night, all month. As usual, charts available if needed.

Meteor Showers. There are a few showers in October but only one strong one, the Orionids. Active all month, but peaking with 20/hour at the zenith, of fast meteors on the 21st. The others produce under 5/hour.

What else. All the popular objects are coming on stage at this time of year, longer and darker nights, make them easier to see too. The Pleiades (M45) rises as the sky darkens, The Andromeda Spiral is already high. So is the third large spiral in the Local Group of galaxies, M33, not as easy but beautiful. The Double Cluster in Perseus is high too, and equally good to look at. Cassiopeia’s clusters are up all month and Auriga’s have just cleared the eastern horizon by dusk on the 1st. All the Milky Way items in Cygnus and Vulpecula and Lyra, are still there, and the Globulars in Hercules too. By midnight on the 1st, Orion will be rising and will be completely clear by 1am, with all its goodies on show. If you haven’t seen the Orion Nebula, in the sword, now’s the time. Binoculars will show it, slightly green too, but a telescope view will make you gasp!

Satellites. Check on www.heavens-above.com for details but here are a few of the brighter ones.

International Space Station
2nd 7.50pm from W to SE reaching 42° high. It takes about 5 mins to cross the sky
3rd 6.41pm from W to ESE reaching 57° high
4th 7.08pm from W to SE reaching 40° high

Iridium Flares will brighter very suddenly, right on time, so will surprise your friends. You will need to be watching the right place in time

3rd 19:18:21 58° high in the SSE
3rd 20:53:54 47° high in the East
8th 20:32:55 51° high in the ESE
9th 20:26:55 50° high in the ESE
12th 05:25:07 45° high in the SSW

Brian

What's on in September '08

2008-08-26T18:19:00.000+01:00

The Moon will be at First Quarter on the 7th rising at 3.50pm and setting at 10pm. She'll be Full on the 15th rising at 7pm and setting at 6.40am. Last Quarter will be on the 22nd when she'll rise at 10.50pm and set at 4.15pm next day. New will be on the 29th. So, the first and last weeks are more suitable for Deep Sky observers and the middle ones for Lunar folk.
Two more hours of darkness gained during September, the month of the Autumn Equinox, a major improvement for astronomers on the perpetual twilight of the summer months.

Planets. Jupiter will be seen each night shining brightly in the south, setting on the first at 1am, by midmonth at midnight and by monthend it'll be gone by 11pm. Not a good apparition, keeping low in the sky each night, but we hope for more next year.
On the first, Venus, Mars and Mercury, within 5° of each other, together with a thin crescent Moon, will be setting only minutes after the Sun, whose glare will make observing them difficult. You'll need a very low and clear horizon to see them too. Venus, Mars and Mercury will hold station with the Sun close by, till about the 20th, when they'll begin to separate, but still with the problem of the Sun's glare.

On the 11th,Venus and Mars will be within 1/3° of each other, and should be visible at 7.30pm, again, a very low and clear horizon will be needed. If you can, use a GOTO telescope to find them in daylight and follow them down. Venus, at -3.9Mag, will be bright enough. Drop me a note at the website, www.donastro.org.uk for a chart if needed.

Uranus and Neptune, on the other hand will be available all night and all month, from Dusk to Dawn, small but beautifully light blue with optical aid. Blue because of the Methane in their atmospheres.

Asteroid Vesta will be as easy as Neptune, being of similar brightness, but its white appearance will make it difficult to find without a chart. It starts the month rising about 11pm and will be available all night.

Asteroid Pallas, at Mag 9, much dimmer, will rise at 2am on the first, and later each night, staying up all night from then.
Some difficult tasks there, but charts will help.

Meteors. Not much this month at all, several recognised showers, but none of more than sporadic proportions.

Autumn at last, with darker and longer nights, the start of the observing season, though diehards will have been observing all summer. Pegasus is already well up, count stars in the square to judge sky conditions. Andromeda and Triangulum with their big galaxies, M31, easy but bland visually, and M33 difficult, but beautiful when seen. Auriga with its clusters M36, M37 and M38, all easy and very good in good skies. Higher up is Cassiopeia, full of clusters, notably M52, M103 and NGC457, the ET cluster, impressive. Still available at the top of the sky are the clusters and nebulosity of Cygnus, Vulpecula and Lyra. And catch it before it goes, Hercules, with globular clusters M13 and M92. I've seen visitors with tears in their eyes on seeing these.

Bright Iridium Flares.
1st 21:45:20 48° ENE
2nd 02:24:23 37° WNW
5th 02:15:04 32° WNW
8th 20:11:00 24° N

ISS passages
1st 4:31am from 10° up in SW, moving slowly towards E
3rd 3:52am from 21° up in SSW, moving slowly towards E
6th 3:39am from 40° up in SW, moving slowly towards E
9th 3:27am from 59° up in S, moving slowly towards ESE

As ever, check with www.heavens-above.com for more details.

Brian

What's on in August 08

2008-07-21T18:06:00.001+01:00

A busy month for the Moon, besides her usual movements she’s involved in two eclipses, but more later.

The Moon will be New on the 1st, and at first Quarter on the 8th rising at 2.30pm and setting at 10.30pm.
She’ll be Full on the 16th rising at 8.20pm and setting at 5am, and at Last Quarter on the 24th, rising at 10.45pm and setting at 4.15pm the next day.
Two eclipses, both partial. The first is a Solar Eclipse, on the 1st, starting at 9.30am, and lasting till 11.10am. If it’s clear or thin cloud, look to the east, carefully, with at least a number 11 welding glass, and you’ll see the Moon sliding in front of the Sun, with up to a maximum of 30% covered in Doncaster. It can be dangerous to look directly at the Sun, even during a partial eclipse, so take care, and don’t use a telescope or binoculars unless fitted with a suitably filter.
The second eclipse is on the 16th, and is a Lunar one. Look to the east at 8.30pm, the eclipse will start as the Moon rises. The sun will be sinking in the west at the same time of course, casting the Earth’s shadow onto the face of the Moon.
It’ll be visible from then and continue till about midnight, when it’ll be some 24° up in the south. A much more laid back occasion, but with more mystique than the partial solar, as it’s colour is not easy to forecast, varying from near black to coppery red. Being caused by the shadow of the earth cast 230000miles onto the Moon, it’s edge will be indistinct, hence the difficulty in exact timing. The solar one will be of the actual Moon over the face of the Sun so the edges will be easier to time. I’d appreciate a sight of pictures you may take of either. We’ll put any we take on our Photo Blog at http://donastro.blogspot.com/.

Planets. The major one is Jupiter this month, in the sky every night, low in the south till about 2am. Big and bright, at -2.6mag, not high up enough to make out much detail on the disc, but the two major bands should be discernable in a telescope. The four Galilean moons will be easy to see and fascinating to watch their changing positions.
On the 1st, in the west, immediately after the Sun has set, you may be able to see, Mercury, a very thin crescent Moon, bright Venus, dim Saturn and dimmer Mars, following the Sun down, in line astern. Mars, Saturn and Venus will be about a fist at arm’s length apart and better seen with binoculars. But Mercury and the Moon will be too close to the Sun to risk your eyesight. However, on the next two evenings, things will be easier as Mercury and the Moon move away from the Sun, bringing all five within the space of three fists soon after sunset. By the 9th, Mercury, Venus and Saturn will be within one fist of each other, with Mars another fist to the left. On the 13th, Venus and Saturn will be a quarter of a degree apart with Mercury 3° to the right, very close to the horizon, but worth a picture again. On the 15th, Venus, Saturn and Mercury will be within 3 fingers of each other. By the 20th, dim Saturn will have edged too close to the Sun to seek, leaving the two brighter ones, Venus and Mercury, 20° further to the left within a finger of each other as they near dim Mars.
On the other side of the sky, other than bright Jupiter there will be dim Neptune rising at 9.30pm with brighter Uranus an hour and a half later. By month end they’ll be rising two hours earlier, and will be well placed to observe all night. Neptune will need a telescope to appreciate its tiny blue disc and Uranus’s similarly blue disc will be just apparent in good binoculars.
Meteor showers. There are seven showers peaking in August but none has a rate of more than 5 an hour, other than the sometimes magnificent Persids, which peak on Tuesday the 12th and up to 90 an hour. Luckily the Moon will have set by midnight, so won’t be in the way as the shower’s peak is later. It’s a wide peak so should be worth watching any time within the week. Get your winter clothes on, a sleeping bag is not too much, and lie on the lawn on a garden lounger looking towards the Zenith, not in the direction of the constellation Perseus, so you’ll see a good sweep of their path across the sky.
For binoculars the Milky Way is the area to search, star clusters abound there, from Cassiopeia in the north to the centre of the galaxy in Sagittarius to the south. Favourite clusters are M11 in Scutum, M12 and M10 globulars in nearby Ophiuchus. The Dumbbell M27 in Vulpecula, a planetary nebula, the Ring, M57, another in Lyra. You must try M13 the big globular in Hercules, and its smaller brother M92. All these are visible in binoculars but better in a telescope. M31, the Andromeda Spiral, is coming up now and though a bit disappointing in binoculars, as you’ll see only the core as a glowing ball of wool, the thought that it’s a galaxy bigger than ours and is some 2.3 million lightyears away but still fills 3 moons worth of sky, will give you a buzz. The Double Cluster in Perseus is coming up too, a magnificent sight in binoculars or wide field telescope, NGC884 and NGC869 if you have a GOTO telescope. NGC457 is nearby, the ET cluster, two big eyes, arms outstretched and legs spread. Alcor and Mizar, the bump star in the handle of the Plough, see if you can make out both of the stars that make up the double that is Mizar, and the fainter one between Mizar and Alcor.

Satellites. The ISS will pass over Doncaster on the 1st at 9.26pm, from the west to the south east, but only getting 30° up, so not very bright. Then on the 2nd at 9.50pm from WSW to SSE and only 19° up. Again not bright.
There are plenty of Iridium flares though and some very bright.
Some of the brightest are
on the 3rd at 03.45.59, 52° up in the WNW
on the 4th at 00.35.44, 46° up in the SW
on the 7th at 03.30.40, 46° up in the WNW
on the 8th at 00.20.35, 41° up in the SW
on the 12th at 23.07.41, 22° up in the NNE

All the details at Heavens-above, of course.
Brian

The Doncaster Sky in July 08

2008-06-28T13:20:00.003+01:00

The Moon will be New on the 3rd, and First Quarter will be on the 10th, when it’ll rise at 2.20 in the afternoon and set at midnight. Full Moon will be on the 18th rising at 9.45pm in the east just as the Sun is setting in the west. It’ll set at 4.30 in the morning. Last quarter will be on the 25th rising at 11pm and setting at 2 in the afternoon.

Planets.
Your best chance of seeing Mercury, the Winged Messenger, is on the 1st, an hour before the Sun rises. By the 5th, it’s getting too close to the Sun to be safe to seek. Very small, but quite bright. On the 1st the very thin crescent Moon will be 7° above and left of it. The next night it will be New, so look for an even thinner crescent, 15° to the lower left, and on the 3rd it’ll be too close to the Sun, but Mercury will still be there. All this will not be easy, being swamped by the dawn twilight, but worth a look from 4.30 to 5.30am.
Saturn and Mars have almost left the scene, but can still be seen at dusk low in the west. On the first they will be 5° apart at sunset about 15° above the horizon, with Regulus, lead star of the constellation Leo within 0.5° of Mars. If you care to watch this area each evening throughout the month at the same time, 9.30 to 10pm-ish, being careful to avoid the Sun, you’ll see Mars moving eastwards, reluctant to set it seems, passing Regulus, not easily seen in the twilight, then getting within 0.5° of Saturn and moving past it till by month’s end it will be more than 10° east of Saturn.

From the 3rd the Moon, a very thin crescent, will join in, some 40° further west and lower, and 3° to its right will be Venus, big and bright. This will be just after sunset and the twilight will make things difficult, be wary of the Sun if you’re using binoculars. At the same time of night on the 4th the Moon will be midway between Venus and the Mars/Saturn duo. By the 5th it’ll be 11° to the right of Mars, and on the 6th the D-shaped crescent Moon will be 4° below Saturn, making a foursome photo opportunity with Regulus, Mars and Saturn, but you’ll need a cloud free western horizon. Venus will be keeping station further to the right and quite close to the Sun. Though very bright, not easy, as it will be setting no more than 20mins after the Sun so be wary of catching the Sun if using optical aid.

A point to note. With the brightness of the sky so close to the Sun, your brain will probably have narrowed your pupils to about 4mm diameter, so with 50mm binoculars you’ll be inviting 600 times more light, suddenly, into your eye, so beware!

As the month progresses, Saturn and Mars move westwards and Venus moves eastwards till by the end of the month they will be 10 and 15° apart and will set within an hour of the Sun.
When these three have set, turn your attention to the east and look for Jupiter rising at 10pm on the first and by 8pm at the end of the month. Jupiter will be brighter than anything other than the Moon so should be easy to find as it rises in the south east. Unfortunately, it won’t get very high in the sky this year, 14° above the horizon at the most, that’s a fist and a half at arm’s length, so will be in the murky air and it’ll be difficult to make out much detail on the disc with a telescope. The four Galilean moons will be easy to see with big binoculars or a telescope though.
Neptune will need a telescope to find and a chart for where to look, but it will be rising at 11.30pm at the start of the month and by 9.30pm at the end and like Jupiter it’ll stay low. Uranus too will stay low but will rise half an hour after midnight at the start of the month and by 10.30pm at the end, but it’ll get higher than Jupiter, about 30° above the horizon. They both present a small blue disc in telescopes.

Meteors. A busy month but almost all the dozen showers peak at less than 6 meteors/hour at the clearest part of the sky, so are little better than those from the constellation of Sporadica. The exception is the Delta Aquarids, peaking on the 28th, with 20/hour, coming from the east before dawn, between Neptune and Uranus. The Moon’s thin crescent will be rising then too, in the same part of the sky, but shouldn’t be a problem.
Satellites. The International Space Station will cross the Doncaster sky in daylight only this month, so will be very difficult to see. But if out on a clear night, look up for the moving non-flashing stars. They cross silently in any direction, taking up to 5 mins to make the crossing.

Iridium Flares. These are a selection of the brightest to be seen from Doncaster.

4th at 9.31.23 pm 17° above the horizon at compass point 354° (N)
5th at 9.24.59 pm 19° above the horizon at compass point 354° (N)
6th at 9.18.39 pm 21° above the horizon at compass point 354° (N)
7th at 9.12.17 pm 24° above the horizon at compass point 354° (N)

They suddenly appear then fade, so be watching on time. For others check http://www.heavens-above.com/ for details.

What else? For deep sky folk the south is the place to look, in Serpens, Scutum, Ophiuchus and Sagittarius, where the centre of our galaxy is. Full of clusters and star birth nebulae. The other place is further along the Milky Way disc, and indeed the Milky Way’s disc itself, visible, without optical aid, on a clear dark night as a band of light, like a thin cloud, but it’s all stars! Pick out the Planetary nebulae the Ring M57 in Lyra and the Dumbbell M27 in Vulpecula; globulars M10, M12, M14 in Ophiuchus; globulars M15, M71 and M56 in Pegasus, Sagitta and Lyre respectively; and M92 and M13 in Hercules, the biggest and boldest of them all. In a good sky it’ll take your breath away.

Brian

June '08

2008-05-27T14:45:00.005+01:00

The Moon will start the month with a waning sliver of a crescent and will be New on the 3rd. It'll be at first quarter on the 10th rising an hour after noon and setting at 1am. It will be Full on the 18th rising at 10.15pm and setting at 3.30am. Last quarter will be on the 26th rising half an hour after midnight and setting at 1.30pm the next day.
Not a good month for Deep Sky folk as only the first week is without the Moon, the rest belongs to the Lunarphiles, as it's in the sky for most of the month at some time or other, though towards the end of the month it's quite low in the south, but that's where all the newly rising nebulae are that are only visible at this time of the year!

Planets. Mars is very small and getting low too, setting at the start of the month by 1am, so make the most of its little 5arc" disc. It will be the bright 1.5Mag "star" half way between the Twins, Castor and Pollux, and Regulus, at the front feet of Leo, in the west.
At least that's its location on the 1st, but during the month it races towards Saturn and Regulus, and is well worth watching as it makes a progressively better and better photographic grouping with them, till on the 30th, coming to within 5° of Saturn and 1° of Regulus.
A fine swansong for them both, as Saturn too will be out of our skies for some time.
Saturn is always worth a look but needs a telescope or good binoculars to see the rings. With a good telescope you may also see some of its brighter moons, up to 7 can be seen in good skies.
Saturn sets an hour after Mars on the 1st and by the end of the month both of them will be down by midnight within minutes of each other.

When Saturn returns in October as a morning object it'll present a very thin view of its ring system. Mars won't be with us again till March next year, and will be smaller still. It's almost keeping pace with Earth on its circuit round the Sun, but on the far side.

In the mornings we have Venus rising a few minutes before the Sun but she'll be too close to look for, so don't try it.

Jupiter, will be rising at midnight on the 1st and by 10.15pm on the 30th. It's big at 47arc" and bright at -2.7Mag, so will be unmistakable, but will get no higher than 15deg above the horizon and it'll be difficult to see detail on the disc through the thick air at that altitude, tough the dancing of the Galilean moons will be easily seen with good binoculars.

Throughout the month, rising an hour and a half after Jupiter, at about 1.30am on the 1st, will be tiny Neptune, but only visible with a telescope where it'll present a little blue disc. Following an hour behind Neptune, at 2.30am, is Uranus, a slightly larger blue disc but still not large enough to be seen without a telescope, though it might be if we didn't have light pollution to contend with. Under good conditions and with a good telescope, both these planets present a distinctly blue disc, caused by the methane in their atmospheres.

No meteor showers of note in June, and no easily visible comets either.

What else. This month sees the continued rise of the summer constellations into the eastern sky, with the Summer Triangle of Vega (Lyra), Deneb (Cygnus) and Altair (Aquila), easy to pick out as the sky darkens. Hercules has already risen and its globular clusters M13 and M92 will be glorious sights in a telescope. They take magnification well in good skies, particularly M13 which will allow you deep into the centre of it's half million stars. Just south of Hercules is Ophiuchus with 3 more globulars. But June is the time to seek out the nebulae and Open Clusters in Sagittarius where the centre of the galaxy lies, and there are many, though the Moon will try to make it difficult. But perseverance will be rewarded.

In addition to stars and planets you'll be able to see many of the several thousand man made satellites soon after dark as they reflect the Sun's light down to us. They don't flash as 'planes do. See Chris Peat's website http://www.heavens-above.com/ for details.

For instance, very bright Iridium Flares can be seen as follows:
on the 3rd, at 22.50.55 Hrs, 24° above the horizon, at compass point 283° (WNW)
on the 5th, at 22.48.11 Hrs, 21° above the horizon, at compass point 288° (WNW)
on the 5th, at 23.55.45 Hrs, 48° above the horizon, at compass point 242° (SW)
on the 6th, at 22.28.05 Hrs, 11° above the horizon, at compass point 346° (NNW)
on the 8th, at 23.39.25 Hrs, 46° above the horizon, at compass point 248° (SW)

Yes, those are the exact times so be looking in that direction then or you'll miss them.

The International Space station can be seen passing over the Doncaster area from time to time, for instance,
on the 1st, visible from 22.31.36 Hrs in the west, moving south westwards towards the south east.
on the 3rd, visible from 21.40.56 Hrs in the west, moving in the same direction as the one above.

The ISS will appear to be a bright "star" taking about 5 minutes to cross the sky, whereas Iridium Flares are small satellites that tumble and not easily seen till the tumbling brings their solar panels to a position that gives us the characteristic "flare", for moments only.

I can draw up star charts if needed for particular items, just give me a call.

Regards, Brian

May '08

2008-04-24T22:45:00.008+01:00

The Moon will be New on the 5th, and the First Quarter will be on the 12th, rising just after mid-day and setting at 2.30 am. It’ll be full on the 20th, rising at 10.30pm and setting at 3.15am. The last quarter will be on the 28th when it’ll rise at 2am and set at 1pm. From the first to the 9th-ish, it’ll be out of the way for most of the night and not easily studied. Good! say the DSO folk. From then to the 25th-ish it’s available every night and should enable Lunarphiles see almost the whole of it as the Terminator passes over it. The rest of the month favours the DSO observers a bit more.

Planets. Mars sets at 2.30am on the 1st, and earlier each night till the end of the month when it’ll set by 1am, so make the most of it, though it’ll be in the murky low part of the sky soon after dark, and will soon be gone.

Saturn will be due south on the 1st at 9pm, still high up, and will set by 3.30am and, on the 31st, it’ll set by 1.30am, giving you just 4 hours each night and most of them quite low and near setting. It will however be at its widest ring set for a couple of years, so again, make the most of it.

Jupiter is a morning planet, rising on the 1st at about 2.30am. By the end of the month it’ll be getting up soon after midnight, and at 45arcsec and –2.6mag, it’s the brightest thing in the night sky, other than the Moon. But, it’ll not get more than 15° above the horizon, so disc detail will be difficult, though the Galilean moons will be easy enough with big binoculars.

Venus isn’t worth getting your eyes damaged for, as it’ll be on the far side of the Sun, and by line of sight within 10° of it on the 1st and within 2° on the 31st, so give it a miss this month.

Uranus and Neptune are morning planets too and get up after Jupiter but before Venus so are worth a try, though the morning twilight won’t help. On the 1st, you should see them either side of the thin crescent Moon from 4.30am. On the 2nd the Moon will be 5° to the left of Uranus at the same time. On the 27th you’ll find the almost half Moon just 1/3° from Neptune at 4am and on the 29th it’ll be within 3° of Uranus at the same time. On the 24th it’ll be within 6° of Jupiter in the morning twilight.

Mercury, however will be an evening object and goes down before Mars and Saturn, but should be visible on the 1st an hour after the Sun sets, just north of west from 8.30pm. It’ll be 14° from the Sun on the 1st and by the 14th will be 21° away when it’s as far from the Sun as it can get from our position. After this it’ll close the gap over the following weeks to the point of “too close for observing” by the 27th when it’ll be back to the 14° we started with, so don’t miss this opportunity to see the little planet. Be safe in observing but as it swings round the Sun it’ll be lit only on the Sunward side so will show a phase, 73% on the 1st, 52% on the 8th a week later, 33% on the 15th , a week later, 18% the following Thursday, and 6% on the 29th but that’s too close to observe so don’t try it. If we could turn the Sun’s light off on that date we’d see Mercury 12° above the Sun and Venus 3° below it. The Moon joins in with an appearance in thin crescent form beside Mercury on the 6th. From all this you'll see that this is Mercury's month.

Meteors. The only shower of note this month is the Eta Aquarids, peaking on the 6th but with a spread of several nights. A good shower, up to 60 ZHR, but the radiant rises early in the morning so you'll have to stay up for it or go to Australia.

What else? During May we have the scene changes from winter to summer, in the west we have Orion setting with his entourage, Gemini, Auriga and Taurus, in the south we have Leo and his fields of galaxies in Coma and Virgo, and in the east, Hercules bringing up the Summer Triangle, Lyra, Cygnus, Vulpecula and Aquila. Just coming into the picture is the centre of the galaxy with all the extended nebulosity for which large cameras may be needed.

What's on in April 08

2008-04-24T22:45:00.001+01:00

The Moon starts the month with a thick waning crescent. It will be New on the 6th, and at first quarter on the 12th rising at 10.15am and setting at 3.30am. Full Moon will be on the 20th rising at 9pm and setting at 5.20am. Last quarter is on the 28th rising at 3am and setting at 11am. So, the best nights for Lunarphiles are from about the 11th to the 27th, leaving the Deep Sky folk with the first 10 nights and the last 3, when the Moon won’t be glowering down on us. The daylight time continues to lengthen as spring progresses into summer without a thought for the astronomers, particularly as BST starts this Sunday.
Planets. Saturn continues to rule the roost at 0.3mag, and though small at 19 arc”, is a fine sight as it will be very high up in the sky throughout the month at the same size and brightness. The rings will be a bit wider this month but not enough to make a difference as they continue towards 2009 when they’ll become edge on and invisible to us.
Mars continues to shrink in brightness, from 0.8mag to 1.2mag by the end of the month and from 0.7arc” to 0.6 in size, and it’ll move from the middle of the Twins (Gemini), to the left of them, through the month, finally making an almost straight line with Castor and Pollux. Though high in the sky, it’s too small for much detail to be seen with our telescopes.
Venus will move from 17 to about 10° from the Sun so will be a bit too close to observe, though dawn, just before the Sun gets up, will be the best time to try, very bright at 3.9mag.
Mercury, as ever is close to the Sun, and particularly so on the 16th when it’ll be coming round the far side of it and within half a degree as seen from Earth. However, from the 22nd to the end of the month, it’ll be much easier at dusk, as it will set 30 mins after the Sun on the 22nd (-1.6mag) to an hour and a half after it on the 30th, though a bit dimmer at –0.9mag. Dimmer because it’s coming from behind the Sun towards us, and being lit on one side. By the 30th only 76% of its disc will be lit. It will be about the same size as Mars in the sky. See if you can make out its gibbous shape in a telescope. Next month is even better for observing Mercury.
Jupiter, though bigger than the others in the sky, is going to be a very poor object to observe as it’ll only be available from about 4am on the first and 2.30am on the 30th, till the Sun rises an hour or so later. And it’ll not get more than 15° above the horizon all month. The Galilean moons should still be visible though.
Uranus and Neptune will rise before the Sun so dawn is their time too. They’ll be following Jupiter up into the sky, so will be closer to the Sun and more difficult to see, particularly in the first half of the month. Towards the end they leave the Sun behind and rise earlier so should be seen with binoculars in the pre-dawn sky, 6mag for Uranus and 8 for Neptune, you’ll need a clear horizon of course.
On the 8th the Moon escorts the Pleiades down into the western horizon, about the width of 3 fingers away from each other, following them is Ceres, another 6° behind, but at Mag 9, it’ll be difficult with binoculars, but not with a telescope. On the 13th it’ll eclipse the Beehive Cluster M44, then on the 15th, it’ll be quite close to Saturn and Regulus, making for a pretty picture at dusk, and at dawn on the 27th it gets to within 4° of Jupiter.
Meteor showers. This month we have the Lyrids, peaking on the 22nd, but with a spread of only two weeks suggesting it’s young and strong, but it has a Zenith Hourly Rate of 15. Lyra is coming up this month later at night in the east north east.
This month continues the parade of the galaxies, led by Leo, with Virgo, Coma and Ursa Major following. You’ll also see the spring constellations rising in the east, Hercules, Lyra, Ophiuchus, Serpens bringing up all the nebulae, planetaries and globular clusters near the middle of the Milky Way. The centre our galaxy is full of goodies, but it doesn’t get high enough to be worth pursuing on a regular basis except as and when the seeing and Cloud God permit in mid summer.

Regards, Brian

What's on in March 08

2008-04-24T22:45:00.000+01:00

The Moon will be best seen during the middle of March, particularly from the 9th to the 17th, during which time you will be able to see the terminator pass right across the face at good observing times. This leaves the first few nights and the later half of the month to the deep sky observers.
It’ll be New on the 7th, and the first quarter will be on the 14th, rising at 9am and setting at 3am the next day. It will also get within a degree of Mars as it sets that morning. It’ll be Full on the 21st, rising at 6.30pm and setting at 6.45am. Last quarter will be on the 29th, when it’ll rise at 2.40am and set at 8.50am. You will of course have noted that the nights are getting shorter, and before you know it someone will declare it summer by putting the clocks forward. The rule is, from the last Sunday in March, the 30th this year, to the last Sunday in October, the 26th, the clocks are moved forward one hour for British Summer Time.
Planets. Mars is in the sky and easily seen all night all month, but is shrinking so that by the end of the month it’ll be 7 arcsec and mag 0.8, and be almost too small to show any detail on the disc.
Saturn will be there all night too and high enough for good observing. The Cassini division will be more difficult as the rings are closing, but the moons will be easier to find, being more in line east to west. The disc will also be more readily seen and you should see some banding, more subtle than on Jupiter, but clear to see. A still, hazy night is best for planets rather than a crisp clear one, as it steadies the seeing and stops the planet bouncing around, making detail easier to see.
Venus isn’t to be seen this month, nor are Mercury, Uranus and Neptune, all clustered near and just ahead of the Sun, making it unsafe to seek them. Jupiter will be leading the pack by a reasonable amount so will be more easily seen at dawn later in the month, but very low and less than an hour before the sky lightens to hide it. A good Celestron goto should find it in daylight though.
Meteor showers. None of note this month.
Orion is still the best sight soon after it gets dark, together with the clusters in Monoceros, but not for much longer, as the spring constellations continue their rise, led by Leo, a degree higher every night, to take up prime position centre stage, bringing with them the galaxies that make up so many of those pseudo-comets that M. Messier warned other comet seekers to avoid. March is the traditional month for Messier Marathons, an attempt to see all the Messier objects in one night. It can be done and is done frequently and more easily from more southerly latitudes than ours.

Regards, Brian

What's on in February 08

2008-04-24T22:41:00.001+01:00

The Moon is best observed towards the latter half of the month when it’ll be in the sky for much of the night, the first half is the preserve of the photographers when the Moon won’t be in the way.
It will be New on the 7th rising at 8am and setting at 5.30pm. Look for the thinnest sliver on a couple of nights either side of the 7th, difficult, as it’ll be in daylight. First quarter comes on the 14th when it’ll rise at 9.30am and set at 2.15am next morning. Full Moon is on the 21st rising at 6pm and setting at 7.15am. Last quarter is on the 29th rising at 3am and setting at 9.15am next day.
But there’s more. On the night of the 21st, the Earth’s shadow will start to creep over the Full Moon in a Total Lunar Eclipse. It’ll start at 12.45am when the penumbra starts to cover the Moon, but won’t be visually noticeable till the Umbra gets there at about 2am. From then it’ll become darker progressively till full eclipse at 2.55am. Then a period of continued cover till 4am, when it’ll start to ease away allowing the Sun’s light to fall onto the face of the Moon again starting from the other side of the disc, till 5am, when it’ll visually have finished. But this is just the Umbra clearing from the disc. The eclipse will continue till 6am when it’ll be done completely, with the clearing of the Penumbra. What colour to expect of the disc? Heaven knows, but judging from last time we saw one at Austerfield, it’ll be a dusky red. I’m sure Dave A will be able to give you the RGB details from the pictures he took on that occasion. The only difference I can think of is that it was dusk then and will be full night ending at dawn this time. You tell me what colour you see it as.
Planets. Mars is still up at the top of the sky, big and bright, but past its best and in recession, shrinking to 9as (arcsec) and mag 0.2 by the end of February (In mid December it was 16as and –1.6mag.). Arcsec? What’s that? If you stretch you arm out, with fist clenched, the width of the fist subtends an arc of about 10° on the sky, so an arcsec is 1/(10° x 60mins x 60secs) or 1/36000 of your fist, making Mars about 1/3600 of your fist. Detail is becoming difficult to make out, but keep trying as it’s all dependant on the sky’s condition, and the Cloud God’s favour of course.
Saturn is coming up fast, getting well up in the sky, much slimmer than last year but still good to look at. See how many of its moon you can see, 3? 6? 7? Name them by checking date and time in almost any planetarium software.
At dawn on the 1st there will be a close encounter between Jupiter and Venus, they get to within half a degree of each other and the Moon isn’t far away either. But on the 4th, Jupiter and Venus will be 4° apart and the Moon will be just 5° away. And Pluto will be 12° further west if we could see it. Most of the planetary activity this month is at dawn just before the Sun comes up, and only just, so won’t be easy. Jupiter and Venus will be there all month, bright enough to be unmistakable, just a few degrees above the horizon, but Neptune and Mercury are there too, much more difficult because of the Sun and their low brightness. In fact, on the 27th, Venus and Mercury will be within 1° of each other with Neptune a further 10 eastwards, just 30 mins before the Sun shows, but the twilight may hide Mercury, and you’ll have to be wary with binoculars looking for Neptune. Other than Mars and Saturn, well up in the sky, the only planet in the evening will be Uranus and that will be very low, 15° above the western horizon on the first and getting lower daily, till by monthend it’ll be almost out of contention. Farewell, Uranus.
Meteors. None of note other than those from Sporadia.
This is the start of the galaxy season, led up into the sky by Leo and Ursa Major. They aren’t big and bright things to look at like the Orion Nebula, which will still be there due south by 9pm and centre stage, but much smaller and dependant more heavily on seeing conditions for a good appearance. However, there are “millions” of them, singly and in groups, in Leo, Ursa Major, Virgo, Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici. In Leo look for the M65 and M66 grouping and the M105, M95 and M96 grouping, very close to Saturn. Following Coma Berenices is Bootes, lit up by bright Arcturus, located in a curved line tailing from the handle of the Plough, and behind that is Hercules and its Great Globular Cluster M13. Of course M53 and M3, also globulars, are ahead of Arcturus so will be available earlier.

Regards, Brian

What's on in January '08

2007-12-30T16:40:00.000Z

The Moon is New on the 8th when it'll rise, invisibly, at 9am-ish and set before 4pm. First Quarter is on the 15th, rising at 10.30am and setting about 1am. It'll be Full on the 22nd rising at 4.30pm and setting at 8.30am, so will be there all night, just like in December. Last Quarter will be on the 30th rising at 1.30am and setting at 10am. The first half of the month will suit Deep Sky folk, and the second half the Lunarphiles, remembering that much of the third week will be near Full Moon when there is little detail to be seen on its face.

Planets. Mars is still the one to watch, easily seen high up all night all month, though by the end of the month it'll have shrunk to 12arc" in diameter and be setting by 4.30am. So, get your pictures while you can.

Uranus is still there low in the west all month, but setting by 8pm at the end, a nice blue disc. Neptune will also be there but lower and smaller, setting earlier.

Saturn rises at 9.30 at the start of the month and a couple of hours earlier by the end. It'll be getting brighter through the month, from 0.6 to 0.3mag, a reasonable increase, but not noticeable when compared with the brightness of Mars at -1.4mag, remembering that brightness increases as the number decreases, one mag being 2.5 times brighter/dimmer than the next. Saturn will follow Mars's trajectory high across the sky, brightening to a maximum of 0.2mag in March. Though the rings are closing (completely closed in 2009), it is still a marvellous sight and must be taken advantage of by the cameramen among us.

Venus rises at 5.30am on the 1st but will be overtaken by the dawn twilight in an hour or so, getting later daily till by the 31st she'll be rising in breaking dawn twilight, but at -4.0mag, unmistakable, and accompanied by Jupiter at -1.9mag, just a degree and a half behind. On the 1st of February the gap will be a third of a degree. But dawn will overtake and hide them unless you have a goto telescope. A good non-goto mount will be able to track them till closest approach about midday, if set up well on them as they rise at dawn.

Mercury will be visible from the 10th to about the 25th in the west just before sunset, as it goes down in the company of Neptune and Uranus. And though Uranus is some 25° behind, Neptune and Mercury will get within a quarter of a degree of each other on the 22nd. That may be worth the effort for conjunctionists to photograph. Very low and soon after the Sun has set. The Moon, a thin crescent, should add to the picture on the 10th, when the queue to set will be Mercury, Moon Neptune with Uranus 25° behind. On the 11th Mercury, Neptune, Moon, Uranus, and on the 12th it'll be the same but the Moon will be 4° before Uranus. To get Mercury you'll have to be ready less than a half hour after the Sun has gone down.

You can also try Mars and the Moon on the 20th, but it will be 2 days before full, so very bright, and at less than half a degree, very close, though Dave managed it recently. On the 25th the Moon tries to swamp Saturn but doesn't get as close. Both of these will be all night possibilities.

Meteor showers. A good start for the year is the Quadrantids peaking on the 3rd or rather, the morning of the 4th as it's a narrow peak emanating from the Bootes area. Quadrant was the name of a discarded constellation. A good shower of meteors bright enough to leave trains. Trains? Like aeroplane vapour trails, but they last just a few seconds. The Moon shouldn't be a problem.

Orion still commands attention all night with Taurus and Monoceros and Gemini and Auriga, coming up behind are Leo and Coma Berenices with their entourage of Galaxies, with Virgo below them and her galaxies. The galaxy season is soon to be upon us.

Regards, Brian

What's up there in December 07

2007-11-30T14:00:00.000Z

The Moon. Last Quarter will be on the 1st, rising at midnight and up all night. New Moon will be on the 9th, the actual time being 5.42pm. For a couple of days either side it will show a thin crescent, but only visible during the day. First Quarter will be on the 17th, rising at midday and setting at 7am next morning. Full Moon will be on the 24th, when it'll rise at 3.50pm and set at 9.20am next morning. In general the first half of the month is for Deep Sky folk and the rest for Lunarphiles.
We continue gaining observing time during the month till the 22nd, when the night is 16.5 hours long. No, I can't last that long at the camera without sustenance either.
Planets. In the evenings, Neptune is still available for the first half of December, but fades out of contention from then for some months, it's still a nice tiny blue disc. Uranus, sat 21° directly below the western two stars of the Square of Pegasus, sets by midnight on the 1st, 11pm midmonth, and by 10pm at the end, so make the most of it while you can.
Mercury isn't available this month at all, and Jupiter has gone, it's almost exactly behind the Sun, but the one to watch this month, as the BBC keeps saying, is Mars. Bright and high, and at last, we're getting some detail on the disc, at least John Cox and Dave A are. Starting the month at -1.3 mag and ending at -1.5, it's the brightest in the night sky after Venus. Its size increases too, from 15 to a maximum of 16 arc" this year. After this month it'll shrink gradually as Earth pulls away from it in their tours round the Sun. Bright orange in the constellation of Gemini.
Saturn rises, under the belly of Leo the Lion, in the east, about 11.30pm on the 1st, and by Christmas Day it'll do so by 9.30pm. It'll follow Mars's line high into the sky as the month progresses and should be a better sight as a result, though the rings are narrower. Not as bright as Mars at 0.6 mag but a beautiful sight nonetheless, a bit larger at 19 arc" too. Venus rises at about 5am all month, letting the stars of Virgo pass her by, actually getting later each day as she races ahead of Earth round the Sun, falling 34° behind bright Spica into Libra, during the month, after starting adjacent to it.
On the 1st, the Moon will rise within 5° of Saturn and follow it across the sky. On the 22nd, it'll be in among the Pleiades, and at 3.50am on the 24th, it almost runs Mars down. On the 29th it gets close to Saturn again.
Comets. Two of some note, 17/P Holmes of course, much faded now but still within a stone's throw of Mirfak the brightest star in Perseus throughout December, and worth a check with binoculars or the Meade. 8/P Tuttle will be from 10 to 7 mag as the month progresses and as it moves south from the pole region through Cepheus, Cassiopeia and Triangulum, where M33 sits. So, a binocular object, but you never know with comets.
Meteors. The Geminids, peaking on the 13th is the only shower of note and should be worth staying up late for. Wide field pictures could catch some as they're usually slow and long. The Moon shouldn't interfere either.