A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth 

Compiled by John Rowland

For most people, the realisation that the days are getting shorter comes as July rolls into August. That last walk with the dog, when suddenly, some stars appear that you didn’t notice the night before, or you realise you’re turning the lights on the inside before your favourite TV program ends instead of after it. All signs that “the season” is just around the corner. And what’s nice about August is that it’s often reasonably warm when it’s dark. What bliss. Continue reading →

A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth 

Compiled by John Rowland

Anyone who has read these articles of mine before will know that I never try to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. If something isn’t worth getting excited about, I say so. Hyping things only disappoints. So I will be frank: for the rest of the summer and well into the autumn, apart from the ever-reliable Moon, solar system objects are going to be very disappointing. And July is of course the second lightest month in the year, starting as it does only 10 days after the summer solstice, so deep sky object observing is very limited as well. Consequently, this What’s Up will be a bit downbeat. I’m sorry, but that’s how it is. We must be content to look forward to August and beyond when observing opportunities improve dramatically. Continue reading →

A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth 

Compiled by John Rowland

Well, we’re now into the lightest month of the year, and apart from the Moon and a few select double stars, there’s not much to see up there I’m afraid. The summer solstice is on June 21st at 0431 and on that day from York, the sun rises at 0434 and sets at 2139. There are no periods of astronomical darkness; the darkest nights on offer are between the 1st and the 7th, when there is some nautical twilight, but other than that there is only civil twilight (Sun 6° below horizon) all night. But let’s make the best of it and see what we can see. Continue reading →

A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth 

Compiled by John Rowland

A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth 

Compiled by John Rowland

Wow! All of a sudden it’s light in the early evening, with the Sun not setting until 7:40 pm on the 1st of the month. Summer skies and reduced viewing opportunities are ahead, so make the most of what darkness remains before you have to wait until after 10 pm for nautical twilight to end – which is when it ends on the 30th.

And the situation is exacerbated by the fact that all six planets – that are normally observable when skies are not particularly dark – are too distant (e.g. Mars) or impossible to see because they are too near the Sun, or only visible briefly at around 6 a.m. and very close to the horizon. Continue reading →

A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth 

Compiled by John Rowland

We’ve seen quite a flurry of activity on the space front during February. More on that and what we can expect in the future later in this article.

As far as March skies are concerned, there are no significant events and four of the five brightest planets are not observable. Sorry, I can’t be more upbeat but it is what it is. Of course, we have the vernal equinox – on the 20th at 0927 – when across the world, day and night are exactly 12 hours long. This is officially the first day of spring, and to emphasise the point, the clocks go forward on the 28th. Continue reading →

A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth 

Compiled by John Rowland

February’s weather is obviously not designed to entice you out into your garden to look at the sky. But if you can catch the odd clear, windless evening when there’s no Moon, you will be rewarded with some of the most famous objects in the night sky.

Each month, we aim to highlight the objects that are conveniently placed for viewing in the four-hour evening slot of 1900 – 2300 hrs unless there’s a good reason to view earlier or later.

Continue reading →