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 →

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

Compiled by John Rowland

A Happy New Year to all our Readers!

Prospects for 2021

Well, I hardly dare say, “What a year!” but it’s unavoidable. Thankfully, however, we enter 2021 with hope in our hearts that after such a long time, we can again get together with friends to gaze upwards, wonder, and share in the splendour of the night sky. After all, the cycles of the heavens know nothing of nor care about the trillions of microscopic organisms against which we, on this precious and exquisitely beautiful planet, are battling. Hopefully, this battle will soon be won, and we can turn our attention from microscopes to telescopes and say, “What’s Up?”. Continue reading →