Compiled by Steve Sawyer
Hi welcome to Februarys Whatsup. Hope you all had a good January and managed to survive ‘Blue Monday’! We’re now in the last month of winter so try to make the most of the dark winter evenings!
A monthly look at astronomical events in the sky and on Earth
Compiled by Steve Sawyer
Hi, wishing you all a Happy New Year from York Astronomy Society!
The society has many events planned for 2023 including our 50th Anniversary! Have a look at the society pages for full details of our events program which includes star parties and outreach events.
So what’s on this month? Continue reading
Hi, wishing you all a Happy Christmas from York Astro! We hope you all have a great time over the festive season and here’s looking forward to a great New Year for stargazing.
Hopefully that means plenty of warm clear nights! (which is very unlikely but you can hope!) . The nights are still drawing in as I write this (the end of November). The winter constellations are starting to be prominent . So I’ll cover these in the deep sky section of this month’s guide.
Compiled by Steve Sawyer
[Take the November 2022 Quiz – A Quizzical History of Astronomy]
Compiled by Steve Sawyer
[Take the April 2022 Quiz – Planets and their Satellites]
So what’s on this month?
What’s happening or is going to take place this next month. Continue reading
Compiled by Steve Sawyer
[Take the March 2022 Quiz – Comets and Meteors]
So what’s on this month?
It’s the start of meteorological spring on the 1st and the vernal spring equinox on the 20th of March. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the moment in time when the Sun stands directly above the equator while crossing from the south to the north and is called the vernal equinox (also known as the spring equinox, March equinox or northward equinox). It is the moment winter ends and spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere (where nearly 90% of the world’s population live).
Compiled by Steve Sawyer and John Rowland
Hi, welcome to February’s what’s up. Hopefully, you’ve all survived the January blues and are looking forward to some late winter stargazing.
[Take the February 2022 Quiz – Stars and Stellar Systems]
Snow! Well, it depends, but February is the month that has the most snowfall in the Northern Hemisphere. You never know you might be able to dust off the sledge! But that’s enough about the weather, so on to astronomy! Continue reading
Compiled by Steve Sawyer and John Rowland
Happy New Year! Here’s looking forward to an excellent year of astronomy with (hopefully) lots of clear skies!
[Take the January 2022 Quiz – Telescopes & Observing]
Well, some of you may be aware, the James Webb telescope had a successful launch on Christmas day (25/12/2021). If you missed the launch (it was around lunchtime) and you may have been busy with other things (food and booze perhaps) you can catch up with the live feeds below:
Useful links: [Where is the Webb Telescope?] [Webb vs Hubble Comparison]
Best media comment: Heard on BBC Television on Christmas Day, asked by the main newsreader, “So, how far beyond the universe will this telescope be able to see?” Continue reading
Compiled by Steve Sawyer and John Rowland
Yay, it’s nearly Christmas, time for mince pies, mulled wine and dodgy jumpers!
Plus it also gets dark nice and early and {hopefully with good weather) they’ll be time over the Christmas break to get a bit of stargazing in. Assuming everyone isn’t drinking the sherry!
Well, we have comets, meteors, seven planets in a line and some good deep-sky objects (DSOs). Not forgetting Santa of course as he whizzes around the globe on the 24th, hopeful not spoiling too many long exposures! Continue reading
Compiled by Steve Sawyer and John Rowland
Well, it’s November already, darker evenings are coming as the days get shorter.
The Sky at night is on BBC 4, 14th November at 10 pm. As the James Webb Telescope nears its launch date. The show looks back at other famous telescopes that have enhanced our understanding of the cosmos.