2007 – What’s Up

Week of 31st December

 

• The Moon is waning and will be last Quarter on 31st December
• The Sun remains blank
• Comet 8P/Tuttle makes a close approach of 24 million miles to the Earth after a 13.6 year absence at the start of the week. It is just naked eye visibility and is an easy emerald coloured blur in binoculars just west of Comet Holmes between it and M31
• One of the most prolific annual meteor showers peaks in the early hours of 4th January. the Quadrantids are named after the now abandoned constellation Quadrans Muralis (now part of Bootes). The radiant will be high in the northern sky on Thursday evening
• There are no evening ISS passes but there is one superbright evening Iridium flare on Saturday 5th at 18.37.56, 42 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 24th December

 

• The Moon will be Full (Wolf Moon) on Christmas Eve
• Mars will be at Opposition on Christmas Eve and within a degree of the Moon
• The Sun is blank again
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares on Thursday at 17.27.59, 61 degrees in NE and on Friday at 17.21.52, 61 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 17th December

 

• The Moon will be First Quarter on Thursday
• The Winter Solstice occurs on Saturday at 6.08 am, the Sun will rise and set at its most southern point on the horizon and then the days will start to lengthen
• Mars reaches its closest point to the Earth on Wednesday
• The large group of sunspots 978 is breaking up
• The ISS makes passes as follows: Monday 17.40.40 W to SE. Tuesday 16.26.47 W to E and 18.01.52 W to SSE. Wednesday 16.47.50 W to ESE and 18.23.20 WSW to S. Thursday 17.08.51 W to SE. Friday 17.30.12 W to S. Saturday 16.15.41 W to SE and Sunday 16.36.50 W to SSE
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 10th December

 

• The Moon is New at the start of the week and will wax to first Quarter on Saturday
• The Geminid meteor shower peaks in the early hours of Friday 14th. Often this shower, which is relatively recent compared to the Perseids for example, is a good shower to observe and appears to be increasing in activity, with up to 100 per hour rates possible. This year the lack of Moonlight will aid observation. The Geminids are unusual in that unlike all other major meteor showers, the debris stream does not arise from a Comet but from an asteroid (3200 Phaethon)
• The Sun may be more active this week with the appearance of one of the largest spots this year (978)
• This is a week of ISS passes as folows: On Monday at 16.46.33 SW to E and 18.21.12 SW to E. On Tuesday at 17.07.52 WSW to E. Thursday 17.50.51 W to E. Friday 16.37.19 WSW to E. Saturday 16.58.46 W to E and 18.33.48 W to W and Sunday 17.20.12 W to ESE
• There is a rare maximum brightness Iridium flare to be seen on Monday at 16.58.04, 65 degrees altitude in ENE

 

Week of 3rd December

 

• The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS is back at the end of the week with increasingly good passes as follows: On Wednesday at 18.29.49 from SW to SSW. Friday at 17.17.30 from S to ESE. Saturday at 17.38.16 from SW to ESE and Sunday at 17.59.34 from WSW to SSE
• There is one bright Iridium flare on Saturday at 17.10.18 at 64 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 26th November

 

• The Moon is now waning and will be last Quarter on Saturday, when it will pass 2 degrees from Saturn. On Friday the Moon will be less than a degree from Regulus (alpha Leo). A the temperature falls, keep an eye out for Lunar Halos, caused by ice particles high in the atmosphere
• The Sun has one tiny spot 975
• Comet 17/P Holmes is still visible but fading and will be affected by the Moon light this week
• There are no ISS passes, but 2 superbright Iridium flares will be worth trying to catch; On Tuesday at 18.08.41 at 47 degrees altitude in NNE and on Wednesday at 18.02.31, 49 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 19th November

 

• As of last Thursday the Sun is no longer the largest object (diameter) in the Solar System ! The envelope of debris from Comet Holmes has now expanded to more than 1.4 million km. Due to the incredibly low density of matter however, in terms of mass, it is like comparing a bag of sugar to the Earth. The comet has now moved significantly towards alpha Persei, closing the triangle of last week. It will pass in front of the brightest star in Perseus (Mirphak) on Tuesday
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Frosty Moon) on Saturday
• The Sun has one tiny spot 974, the first for some time
• Mars rises around 7pm in NE brilliant orange
• There are no ISS passes this week but there is one superbright Iridium flare on Monday at 16.52.39 at 68 degrees in NE

 

Week of 12th November

 

• The Moon is Waxing and will be First Quarter next Saturday
• The Sun is blank
• Comet Holmes is dimming and is less spherical being more ‘jelly fish’ in shape
• There are no ISS passes and no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 5th November

 

• The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday
• The exploding comet 17/P Holmes continues to expand and appears currently to be 2/3 of the size of the Full Moon (though only visible as such through a telescope as it is dimming and the outer parts of the Coma are too dim to see by eye)
• If the sky is clear watch out for late Taurids
• The Sun is blank again
• The Winter sky is coming into its own with Orion up by 10pm. Mars is now really bright and orange in the North East smack in the middle of Gemini late evening
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 29th October

 

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
• Comet 17P/Holmes which is normally too dim for even large telescopes has brightened to naked eye visibility (comparable to stars in the Plough) and appears to be exploding, showing a disc in small telescopes. It can be found as an extra ‘star’ in Perseus just North and below alpha Persei (Mirfak)
• The Taurid meteor shower peaks on Saturday. The debris from 2P/Encke often produces slow bright meteors and a number of fireballs
• The Sun remains blank but active prominences have been in evidence on the western limb
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one superbright Iridium flare on Friday at 18.27.51, 44 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 22nd October

 

• Note GMT (BST-1) starts next Sunday morning
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Hunters Moon) on Friday
• The Sun remains blank
• Watch out for late Orionid meteors at the start of the week
• Comet 2007 F1 LONEOS is brightening to a naked-eye object. Scan south and west of Arcturus low near the horizon after sunset
• The winter asterisms are rising mid evening, heralded by the Pleisades (M45) and followed by Aldeberan and the Hyades and then from around 10.30pm Orion
• The ISS makes 1 more pass on Tuesday at 18.13.20 W to SSE
• There are 2 superbright Iridium flares: On Tuesday at 18.23.58 at 66 degrees altitude in NNE and on Wednesday at 18.17.51 at 67 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 15th October

 

• The Moon is now waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday
• The Orionid meteor shower peaks on Saturday, though rates are usually below 20 per hour. This is debris from Halley’s comet
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• The pre-dawn eastern sky has a beutiful triangle with bright corners of Venus, Saturn and Regulus in that order, with Saturn being yellower

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• The Sun is blank again
• There is a new comet brightening but very low in the West after sunset, below the ‘Saucepan’ of UMa. LONEOS (C/2007 F1) will brighten to naked eye visibility (just) by the end of the month
• The ISS is visible this week as follows: Monday at 19.54.18 W to SE. Tuesday 18.42.20 W to E and 20.17.28 W to WSW. Wednesday 19.05.27 W to ESE and 20.40.48 W to WSW. Thursday 19.28.35 W to SE. Friday 18.16.31 W to ESE and 19.51.51 W to S. Saturday 18.39.36 W to SE and 20.15.59 WSW to SSW and Sunday 19.02.50 W to SSE

 

Week of 8th October

 

• The Moon is waning and will be New on 11th. This Sunday morning the Moon will pass in front of Regulus (alpha Leo) from 6.15 till 6.50 BST, this will be the brightest star occultation till 2015
• Mars is rising around 22.00 and is well placed by midnight in SE. Saturn, Venus and the old Moon are nicely gathered at the start of the week in the morning sky
• The Sun has one growing spot 972
• Venus is now so bright that it can be spotted by eye in daylight near the crescent Moon in the early morning sky at the start of the week
• The ISS may be seen this week: Monday at 20.21.59 from WSW to SSW. Tuesday at 19.10.30 SW to E. Wednesday at 19.33.25 WSW to E. Thursday at 20.56.35 W to E. Friday at 20.19.48 W to W and Saturday at 19.07.54 W to E
• There are no bright iridium flares this week

 

Week of 1st October

 

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun has one tiny sunspot 971
• Mars is brightening and will be 5 degrees south of the Moon on Tuesday
• The ISS returns to our evening skies at the end of the week with passes on Saturday at 19.36.46 S to SE and Sunday at 19.59.08 SW to SE
• There are no evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 24th September

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Harvest Moon) on Wednesday
• The Sun has now been blank for 14 consecutive days, though prominence activity continues at the limb
• Uranus is just 2 degrees south of the Moon on Tuesday but will be lost in its glare and certainly its colour will not be so vivid
• There are no evening ISS passes and no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 17th September

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun is totally blank again
• There are no ISS evening passes and no bright Iridium flares

 

Week of 10th September

 

• The Moon will be New on Tuesday
• The Sun is blank again
• Venus is at maximum brightness in the pre-dawn sky in the East
• There are no evening ISS passes and no bright Iridium flares

 

Week of 3rd September

 

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Tuesday when Mars will be 6 degrees south of the Moon
• The Sun has a growing spot 969 and another emerging spot, so activity may increase
• Mars is coming closer over the next few montrhs till Opposition on Christmas Eve. However, it will be neither as close or bright as in 2005 nor 2003 Oppositions. The next spectacular Opposition will not occur till 2018
• There are no ISS passes or bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 27th August

 

• The Moon will be Full on Tuesday (Corn Moon)
• The Sun has one spot 969 but it is only weakly active
• There are no ISS passes this week and no bright Iridium flares

 

Week of 20th August

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Tuesday. On Wednesday the Moon will be just South of Antares and Jupiter
• The Sun is blank again
• There are nop ISS passes this week, but there are 3 bright evening Iridium flares: Wednesday at 23.38.34, 16 degrees altitude in W. Thursday at 23.41.41, 14 degrees in W and Friday 23.44.50, 12 degrees in W

 

Week of 13th August

 

• The Perseids peak at 3am Monday morning but will still be worth watching for the first few days of the week
• The New Moon is unlikely to be visible till Tuesday, very low just after sunset, due West around 20.40.
• The Sun still has one tiny inactive spot 966
• The ISS continues to make evening passes and is currently larger due to the docked Shuttle ‘Endeavour’: Monday at 22.26.07, W to SSE. Tuesday 21.13.33, W to ESE and 22.48.51 W to SW/ Wednesday 21.36.06 W to SE. Thursday 21.58.47 W to S and Saturday 21.08.37 W to SSE
• There is one superbright Iridium flare on Tuesday at 20.40.13 in E at 74 degrees altitude

 

Week of 6th August

 

• The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
• The highlight of the week is the approach of the Perseid meteor shower maximum(debris from comet Swift-Tuttle). Early Persieds can already be seen and rates should build up to around 80 per hour. This year the shower is very well placed at New Moon. The official peak is at 3am on Monday 13th, but good rates can often beseen on days either side of this, so look out (by naked eye) as the weather allows. The radiant in Perseus is about a hand’s width down from the left hand edge of the W of Cassiopeia. The best directions to look are 45 degrees to the North and South of this.
• The Sun is very quiet, though a small spot 966 is emerging on the eastern limb
• Perseid viewers will also be treated to some really good ISS passes (every evening) as follows: On Monday at 22.57.55 W to E. Tuesday 21.45.37 WSW to E and 23.20.40 W to NE. Wednesday at 22.08.16 W to E and 23.43.24 W to W. Thursday at 22.30.59 W to E. Friday 21.18.34 and 22.53.40 W to SE. Saturday 21.41.16 W to E and 23.16.24 W to WSW and Sunday at 22.03.27 W to ESE
• There is one superbright Iridium flare on Tuesday at 21.13.18 66 degrees altitude in ENE

 

Week of 30th July

 

• The Moon will be Full (Thunder Moon)on Monday and will wane to Last Quarter next Sunday
• The Sun has one new tiny spot which should grow during the week
• Jupiter continues to dominate the Southern sky
• The ISS returns to the evening skies: On Thursday at 23.02.20 from SW to SW, on Friday at 21.50.55 from SSW to E and 23.24.51 WSW to SW, On Saturday at 22.12.51 SW to E and 23.47.35 from W to E and Sunday at 22.35.20 WSW to E. The start of next week will see the best passes
• There is one superbright Iridium flare to watch out for: on Tuesday at 21.46.21, 57 degrees altitude in ENE

 

Week of 23rd July

 

• The Moon will wax until Full at the start of next week
• The Sun is again blank
• Jupiter will be close to the Moon on Wednesday and red giant Antares less than a degree away from the Moon
• There are no evening ISS passes this week, but there is one superbright Iridium flare to watch out for on Wednesday at 22.13.17, 49 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 16th July

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter next Sunday
• The week starts with Venus, Saturn and the Moon close in the West after sunset
• The Sun has a couple of active sunspot regions
• There are no ISS passes this week. However, there is a bright Iridium flare to look out for, on Thursday at 22.40.11 at 40 degrees in NE

 

Week of 9th July

 

• The moon is waning and will be New next week-end, though probably not visible till 9.20pm on Monday week
• The Sun has a new active spot 963
• Venus reaches maximum illumination on 12th
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on 14th at 23.00.43, 32 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 2nd July

 

• The Moon will wane to Last Quarter next Saturday
• On 7th July the Earth reaches Aphelion, its furthest distance from the Sun
• The Sun has two small spot groups but is not active
• Venus and Saturn will remain apparently very close and are worth viewing together in the West after sunset, especially in an instrument that will show the waning crescent of Venus and Saturn’s rings. The speed of Venus’ orbit will be obvious compared to distant Saturn as the 2 planets move appart
• There are no ISS passes this week, but there are 2 bright Iridium flares; on Tuesday at 22.13.43, 50 degrees altitude in NE and Thursday at 23.35.13, 19 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 25th June

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be Full next Saturday. This is officially a Blue Moon, the second Full Moon in a single month. Though not perhaps as rare as the saying ‘once in a blue Moon’ might suggest, the last was in July 2004 and the next will not be till December 2009
• The Sun is totally blank, though there is still prominence activity at the limb
• On Monday the supergiant star Antares (300x diameter of Sun) is close to the Moon and on Thursday Jupiter is only 6 degrees away from the Moon
• There are no ISS passes this week but there is one bright Iridium flare on Thursday at 22.34.38, 42 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 18th June

 

• The Moon will be First Quarter on Friday. On Monday there is a daytime occultation by the waxing crescent Moon of the waning crescent Venus. The planet will disappear at the dark limb of the Moon at 15.05, emerging at 16.25, this should be visible in Binoculars. Venus is 45 degrees East of the Sun, but care must be taken not to look towards the Sun. The occulation will occur at 53 degrees altitude. The Moon will be within one degree of Saturn on Tuesday and Regulus on Wednesday
• The Sun is blank again. Thursday is the Summer Solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at its most Northly points of the East and West horizons respectively
• Some vivid Notiluscent clouds occurred at the end of last week. Clear Summer nights near Solar minimum are often good for these high altitude luminous electric blue clouds
• There is one last low ISS pass on Monday at 22.39.06 WSW to S reaching 17 degrees. There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 11th June

 

• The Moon will be New at the end of next week and may be just visible in its 4% phase around 9.30pm on 16th directly below Castor and Pollux and above Mercury (which is now getting closer to the horizon aftr sunset and is thus harder to view)
• Next Sunday (17th) there should be a lovely line-up at sunset of Saturn, the crescent 9% Moon and Venus, each 10 degrees or so from the other
• Spot 960 is breaking up and the Sun is quieter
• Whilst the Moon is ‘dark’ it is an excellent opportunity to view Jupiter and Vesta in the southern evening sky both just past Opposition
• The ISS makes good passes this week and in good instruments will be seen to be larger as the shuttle Atlantis is now docked. After the mission it will remain larger as they are unfolding new solar panels. The ISS is best viewed: On Monday at 23.24.01 W to ESE. Tuesday at 22.09.43 W to E and 23.44.41 W to SE. Wednesday at 22.30.22 W to ESE. Thursday at 22.51.00 W to ESE. Friday at 23.11.44 W to SSE and Saturday at 23.32.51 WSW to SSW and Sunday 22.17.58 W to SE
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 4th June

 

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
• Mercury reached greatest elongation (angle from the Sun) on 2nd and will remain a good target for naked eye observation low on the NW horizon after sunset. Venus reaches greatest elongation next Saturday and both Venus and Mercury are now seen in Gemini. Venus is nicely alligned with Castor and Pollux at the start of the week and Saturn in Leo adds to the other two showing the plane of the Solar System (the Ecliptic) and the Zodiac constellations of Leo, Cancer and Gemini (with the Sun in Taurus..note not Gemini, for those who read their ‘stars’ in the papers!)
• The Sun has a new active region (spot 960) emerging on its eastern limb
• The ISS returns this week with evening passes as follows: Tuesday at 00.09.26 WSW to E and 22.55.34 SW to E. Wednesday at 00.30.14 W to E and 23.16.09 WSW to E. Thursday at 22.02.20 SW to E and 23.36.57 W to E. Friday 22.22.54 WSW to E and the best 23.57.48 W to E reaching 89 degrees and Saturday at 22.43.41 W to E reaching 82 degrees altitude
• There is one bright Iridium flare on Friday at 22.23.14, 45 degrees altitude in NE
• The ISS makes good passes this week and in good instruments will be seen to be lareger as shuttle Atlantis is docked. After the mission it will remian larger as they are unfolding new Solar panels. The Space Staition can be seen best: On Monday at23.24.01 from W to E. Tuesday 22.09.43 W to E and 23.44.41 W to SE. Wednesday at 22.30.22 W to ESE. Thursday 22.51.00 W to ESE

 

Week of 28th May

 

• The Moon will be Full (Rose Moon) on Friday, when it will be within a few degrees of Jupiter and Antares
• Vesta reaches opposition and brightest magnitude on Wednesday, but still needs a dark sky for the unaided eye. It will be harder to spot due to the moonlight and thus will be easiest again from June 4th. It can be found a couple of degrees higher in altitude and forming an equilateral triangle with Jupiter and Antares in eveneing SE sky. It is moving roughly a quarter of a degree per night
• The Sun is totally blank again
• There are no evening ISS passes but one bright Iridium flare on Thursday at 22.58.43, 30 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 21st May

 

• The Moon is waxing to First Quarter on Wednesday. It occults Saturn on Tuesday (but this is during daylight from UK) and then passes within 1 degree of Regulus (alpha Leo) on Wednesday
• Mercury continues to be visible in the twighlight by heading at 45 degrees dwon from Venus towards North. It may be spotted as a pink dot in the twighlight glow around 9.45pm
• The Sun has one large sunspot 956 which could become active during the week
• There are no evening passes of the ISS this week but there is one bright Iridium flare at 23.21.20 , 17 degrees altitude in NNE on Wednesday

 

Week of 14th May

 

• The Moon will be New on Tuesday and may be glimpsed as a thin sliver in WNW within a couple of degrees of Mercury at about 10 degrees above the horizon at 9pm on Thursday and close to Venus on Saturday
• This is the month for the best viewing this year of the 77% illuminated planet Mercury. Though it will be dimming, its angle from the Sun is increasing into June. On Thursday, the 2 day old Moon will be just North of the planet and on Friday should be half-way between Mercury and Venus (waning to about 60% illumination) in a line at 9pm. If the evenings are clear, Mercury should be easy to spot around 10 degrees altitude, but do not scan with instruments until the Sun has set.
• The Sun has a decaying spot but is nearly blank again
• Very unusually an asteroid (Vesta) brightens to naked-eye visibility and the next week or so over the New Moon is ideal. Vesta is a couple of degrees higher than Jupiter in the late evening SE sky in Ophiucus and forms a triangle with Jupiter and Antares.
• There is a comet (Lovejoy) passing through Draco at the start of the week and on 14th will be found next to eta Draconis (2nd mag. star), it is not visble to the naked eye but easy in good binoculars
• There are no evening ISS passes this week but there is one super bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 22.21.02, 42 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 7th May

 

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
• The large spot 953 continues across the Solar disc and though the umbra has split into several smaller shapes, the spot is only mildly active
• The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks before dawn this Sunday (6th) but the Moon is not helpful. The debris from Halley’s comet has however already produced a -10 fireball yesterday, so if up keep a look out East. The radiant is to the South of the Square of Pegasus and red Mars will also be visible nearer teh horizon
• There are no ISS passes this wekk but there is one bright Iridium flare on Tuesday at 22.50.28, 29 degrees altitude in NE to look out for

 

Week of 30th April

 

• The first in a series of 3 public lectures (Living in the atmosphere of the Sun) for Public Engagement with Science and Technology takes place on Wednesday at 6.30pm in Green College, Woodstock Road.Places are limited to 100 and though free, must be booked by email to jeff.burley@green.ox.ac.uk
• The Moon will be Full (Flower Moon) on Wednesday and will be within 1 degree of supergiant red Antares on Friday
• The Sun at last has one very large (Neptune sized) spot number 953, which is mildly active
• Jupiter is becoming ever more evident and will be just North of the Moon on Saturday
• There are no evening passes of the ISS this week
• There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares: On Monday at 23.09.45, 14 degrees altitude in NNE. On Wednesday at 23.15.07, 20 degrees in NNE and on Saturday at 22.59.06, 24 degrees in NE

 

Week of 23rd April

 

• The Moon is waxing to First Quarter on Tuesday and will be only one degree from Saturn on Wednesday and Regulus on Thursday
• The Sun remains blank
• The Lyrid meteor shower which is associated with Comet Thatcher has its radiant just to the right of Vega and is best viewed in the pre-dawn sky this Sunday and Monday morning
• There are no more good evening ISS passes but there is one bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 20.31.30, at 73 degrees altitude in E

 

Week of 16th April

 

• The Moon will be New on Tuesday and will be visible near Venus on Thursday as a slim crescent
• The Sun has now been blank fro 12 days, the longest period since 1996
• The Lyrid meteor shower peaks next Saturday and given the phase of the Moon it is worth watching in the late evening. Lyra and the Summer Triangle are rising in the NE around 8.30pm
• There are some good ISS passes, the best are as follows: On Monday at 20.50.06 W to E, Tuesday at 21.10.08 W to E, Wednesday at 21.30.08 W to E, Thursday at 21.50.08 from W to SSE and Saturday at 20.55.04 W to ESE
• There is one bright Iridium flare on Friday at 22.27.38 at 35 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 9th April

 

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Tuesday
• The Sun is still blank
• The ISS is back and starts making good evening passes on Thursday at 21.04.41 from SW to E reaching 35 degrees. On Friday 13th at 21.24.32 from WSW to E reaching 62 degrees and the two best next week-end on Saturday at 21.44.33 from W to E reaching 85 degrees and Sunday at 22.04.35 from W to ESE reaching 89 degrees
• There are several bright Iridium flares this week: On Tuesday at 22.50.02 at 17 degrees in NE. Wednesday at 21.36.12 at 18 degrees in N. Thursday at 22.47.38 at 21 degrees in NE

 

Week of 2nd April

 

• The Moon will be Full on 2nd (Paschal or Pink Moon) and as the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox, signals Easter next Sunday (8th)
• The Sun remains quiet
• There are no ISS evening passes this week, thopugh it returns from 10th

 

Week of 26th March

 

• Note that times will now be BST (ie UT +1)
• The Moon continues to wax and will be Full at the start of next week. On Thursday the Moon passes less than 1.5 degrees from Saturn and on Friday only 1 degree from Regulus (alpha Leo)
• On the morning of 31st an Asteroid (2km in diameter) 2006 VV2 will pass closer than any sizeable object for some time at 8.8 Lunar distances or roughly 2 million miles. The asteroid will reach magnitude 10 (ie small telescope object)and might be viewed in Leo 2.5 degress east of Regulus at 20.00 BST on 31st.
• The Sun has no spots and continues blank
• There are no evening ISS passes but one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 20.40.34 BST at 35 degrees altitude in N

 

Week of 19th March

 

• The Moon is New on 19th and should be visible by Wednesday within 5 degrees of Venus in the evening sky
• Following half a lunar cycle after the Lunar Eclipse, there is a partial (87%) Solar Eclipse on 19th at 02.30 UT so not visble from Europe (only central Asia)
• The Sun is blank and not active and will rise due East and set due West on Wednesday, the Vernal Equinox
• There are no evening ISS passes this week and no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 12th March

 

• The Moon will be Last Quarter on Monday and will wane until New at the start of next week
• The Sun is currently blank
• There are no evening ISS passes, but there is one bright evening Iridium flare on Friday at 20.43.58, 11 degrees altitude in N

 

Week of 5th March

 

• The Moon will wane to Last Quarter at the start of next week
• The Sun is almost blank, with no activity forecast
• There are no ISS passes this week. There is however one superbright Iridium flare on Friday at 19.01.20 at 47 degrees altitude in N

 

Week of 26th February

 

• This is a week of unusual Lunar events
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full next Saturday 3rd March (Lenten Moon), when it will pass through the Earth’s shadow for a Total Lunar eclipse. All of the eclipse is visible from here weather permitting !
• Before that on Thursday the Moon will pass within 1 degree of M44 the Beehive Open Cluster and on Friday within 1 degree of the brightest star in Leo (Regulus)
• A rare event will occur in the early hours of Friday: The Moon will pass in front of Saturn. From here however, none of the planet will disappear but we will see a grazing approach where Saturn (followed by Titan) will appear to roll along the southern edge of the Moon. This will occur in WSW at an altitude of 33.5 degrees. The timing is not ideal in that it is in the middle of the night and will last from 2.40 till 2.50 am
• Lunar Eclipse timings: the Moon is touched by the penumbra at 20.21 GMT at 24 degrees altitude in E and will then start to dim, entering the darker umbra at 21.33 at 33 degrees in ESE. Totality starts at 22.49 at 41 degrees in SE and lasts till 23.57 with mid eclipse at 23.25. The Moon will then brighten until resuming normal brightness at 02.25 on 4th. The Total eclipse phase is much longer than in a Solar eclipse primarily due to the size of the Earth’s shadow
• The last decent ISS pass will occur on Monday at 18.24.53 from W to SE reaching 48 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 19th February

 

• The New Moon should first be visible on Monday at 17.45 GMT at 21 degrees altitude in WSW. If clear it should be a beautiful sight less than 2 degrees NE of Venus.
• The Sun remains blank and inactive
• The ISS will make its best evening passes this week: On Monday at 19.12.33 from W to ENE reaching 84 degrees. Tuesday at 17.58.00 WSW to E reaching 74 degrees and 19.32.57 W to E reaching 58 degrees. Wednesday at 18.18.19 from W to E reaching 85 degrees and 19.53.18 W to E reaching 31 degrees. On Thursday at 18.38.38 from W to E reaching 83 degrees. On Friday at 18.58.53 from W to ESE reaching 74 degrees. On Saturday at 19.19.07 from W to SSE reaching 44 degrees and Sunday at 18.04.19 from W to ESE reaching 74 degrees.
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 12th February

 

• The Moon will be New on Saturday but will not probably be visible till the 19th (altitude and times to follow)
• The Sun is blank again
• Saturn is currently at Opposition and closest to Earth in its orbit. It is now at its best for 2007 and given good seeing, 6 moons can be viewed in the 10 inch
• Mercury is now disappearing but Venus remains incredibly bright
• The ISS is back with best passes on Wednesday at 19.05.37 from SSW to S, on Thursday at 19.25.43 from SW to SE, On Friday at 18.11.51 from SSW to E and 19.46.07 from WSW to ESE and Saturday at 18.31.49 SW to E with the best on Sunday at 18.52.06 from WSW to E
• There are 2 bright Iridium flares; on Tuesday at 19.01.58 at 30 degrees altitude in SSE and a magnitude -8 flare in Saturday at 18.40.09 at 51 degrees in NNE

 

Week of 4th February

 

• The Moon will wane till Last Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun has two spots but is magnetically quiet
• Venus and Uranus will be within one degree on Wednesday an Spica will be just over one degree from the Moon on Tuesday
• There are no ISS passes and no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 29th January

 

• The Moon will be Full (Snow Moon) next Friday when it will be within 1 degree of Saturn in the sickle of Leo
• The Sun has one large spot 940 which caused some activity before coming into view
• Venus is superbly bright in the Western sky in the evening and Sirius dominates the southern sky mid-evening. Saturn will be lost in the Moon’s glare at the start of the week
• There are no evening ISS passes and no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 22nd January

 

• Perhaps the forecast winter weather this week will bring clear skies!
• Comet McNaught has now gone after its very brief bright appearance but great pictures exist eg on Astronomy picture of the day (also on Blackett images see www.blackettobservatory.org)
• The Moon is now waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
• The Sun remains quiet
• There are no evening ISS passes
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares on Friday at 18.31.40, 50 degrees altitude in NNE and on Saturday at 18.25.31, 52 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 15th January

 

• Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught is now visible in daylight, a few degrees to East of the Sun, but it will go behind the Sun and will soon be too far South of the Celestial Equator for viewing from here. The comet is magnitude -5 and the brightest since Ikeya-Seki in 1965
• The Moon will be New on Friday
• The Sun is quiet again
• Saturn will be well viewed this week with no Moon and Venus is now a bright evening object at magnitude -3.9
• There are no evening ISS passes this week but one very bright Iridium flare on Saturday at 18.59.31, 39 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 8th January

 

• The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
• The Sun is quiet though has two large spots 930 and 933 crossing the disc
• There is currently a naked eye comet 2006 P1 McNaught (Oort cloud origin) visible just before sunrise (currently around 8.05am) in ESE or sunset in WNW, a clear view of the horizon is needed and it rises after both Jupiter and Mars and a little further North. Care must be taken as it is getting closer to the Sun. Viewing from the UK will be impossible after next week-end and probably best at the start of the week but it might be visible in daylight on 14th
• There are no evening ISS passes and just one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 17.06.52, 15 degrees altitude in SW

 

Week of 1st January 2007

 

• The Moon will be Full on Wednesday (Cold Moon) and will sadly obliterate all but the brightest of the slow moving Quadrantid meteors, the shower peaks also on Wednesday. The Radiant is in the no longer used constellation of Quadrans Muralis which lies between Bootes and Ursa Major.
• The Sun is currently blank but spot 930 is expected to return during the week
• Saturn rises around 8pm in Leo and by mid month will be at its best, especially as the Moon wanes. Venus is noticeable now in the West for an hour after sunset and is brightening and moving Eastwards.
• An unusual transit occurs on the night of 6th to 7th. Saturn’s moon Iapetus will transit the planet’s disc from 10.45pm and should be visible all night, travelling slowly as one of the outermost moons. Whereas Jupiter transits are fairly common, this will be worth watching if clear
• The ISS makes a couple more evening passes: On New Year’s Day at 17.00.04 from W to ESE anfd on Tuesday at 17.22.23 from W to SE
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares both on Thursday: At 17.12.32, 20 degrees altitude in SSW and at 18.23.09 at 47 degrees altitude in NE