2011 – What’s Up

Week of 26th December

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.07 UT at the start of the week and 18.12 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing from a very slender crescent on Boxing Day to the north of Venus just after sunset to First Quarter on New Year’s Day
• The Sun is covered in small inactive sunspots with 5 succinct groups
• There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
• This is a week of super ISS passes with 7 almost directly overhead; on Monday at 17.08.05 from WSW to E reaching 82 degrees and 18.44.19 SW to W to 34 degrees. Tuesday at 16.11.47 WSW to E to 66 degrees, 17.47.58 W to E reaching 88 degrees and 19.24.14 W to W to 13 degrees. Wednesday 16.51.37 W to E to 90 degrees and 18.27.52 W to SW to 55 degrees. Thursday 17.31.32 W to ESE to 79 degrees and 19.07.54 W to WSW to 20 degrees. Friday 16.35.12 W to E to 89 degrees and 18.11.28 W to SSE to 43 degrees. New Year’s Eve at 17.15.07 W to ESE to 62 degrees and 18.51.46 W to SSW to 19 degrees and New Year’s Day 16.18.47 W to ESE to 80 degrees and at 17.55.09 W to SE reaching 30 degrees
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 19th December

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.03 UT at the start of the week and 18.06 UT at the end. The Winter Solstice occurs on Thursday at 05.30 UT and the Sun will rise and set at its extreme southerly position on the horizon. By 25th there should be a noticeable movement north in these points and daylight hours will increase
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday and visible aa a very slender crescent on Boxing Day to the north of Venus just after sunset
• The Sun is covered in small inactive sunspots with 5 succinct groups
• There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
• The ISS returns on Monday at 17.19.11 from S to ESE reaching 14 degrees and 18.53.30 SW to SW to 20 degrees. Tuesday at 17.57.37 SW to SE reaching 34 degrees. Wednesday 17.01.58 SSW to E to 22 degrees and 18.37.12 WSW to WSW to 36 degrees. Thursday 17.41.05 SW to E to 49 degrees and 19.17.08 W to W to 15 degrees. Friday 16.45.07 SW to E to 33 degrees and 18.20.51 W to WSW to 65 degrees. Christmas Eve at 17.24.34 WSW to E to 67 degrees and 19.00.45 W to W to 22 degrees and Christmas Day 16.28.22 SW to E to 48 degrees and the best at 18.04.23 W to ENE reaching 89 degrees

 

Week of 12th December

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.03 UT at the end, changing very little as we approach Winter Solstice
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter next week-end
• The Geminid meteor shower, perhaps the most reliable high rate shower peaks on Wednesday at 14.00 UT (predicted up to 140 per hour). Unfortunately the Moon is only just off Full, however it is worth watching out on from Tuesday till Thursday
• The Sun is covered in sunspots with 7 sucucinct groups
• There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
• The ISS returns next week and makes the first evening pass on Sunday at 18.17.36 from SSW to S reaching 20 degrees
• There are two bright early evening Iridium flares: Tuesday at 17.39.01 14 degrees altitude WNW and Wednesday at 17.09.04 21 degrees altitude in WNW

 

Week of 5th December

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.02 UT at the end, unchanging as we approach Winter Solstice
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Saturday
• The Sun is growing again in activiy. It has 6 spot groups with 1365 growing
• There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
• There are no evening ISS passes
• There is one bright early evening Iridium flare on Friday at 17.59.08 at 50 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 28th November

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.05 UT at the start of the week and 18.03 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday. Till then it presents a beutiful crescent in the west after sunset
• Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd is now visible in binoculars at magnitude 7 and is in Hercules (http://www.britastro.org/misc/2009p1_finder.jpg) Closest approach is next March when it will be in Ursa Minor, however it is not expected to brighten significantly. Best views should be in the dark skies in late December
• After a long absence, Venus appears as ‘hespera – the evening star’ low in the west after sunset, setting around 16.30 UT. Care, do not search with optical aids due to proximity to the Sun
• The Sun is still active. It has 6 spot groups. A CME will reach Earth on 28th at 17.21 UT and could result in a minor geomagnetic storm with HF radio interference at high latitudes(see spaceweather.com for further details)
• There are no Tiangong 1 passes this week
• There are no evening ISS passes
• There are no bright early evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 21st November

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.09 UT at the start of the week and 18.05 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday
• The Sun is active. It has 6 spot groups and a new group just emerging on the eastern limb
• There are several chances to see Tiangong 1 as it makes evening passes this week but it will be dim at 2nd to 3rd magnitude: Monday 17.42.23 from SW to SE reaching 16 degrees. Tuesday 16.39.13 SW to SE to 16 degrees and 18.15.22 SW to S to 13 degrees. Wednesday 17.11.45 SW to SE to 15 degrees. Thursday 17.45.01 SW to S to 11 degrees and Friday 16.40.56 SW to SSE to 14 degrees
• There are no evening ISS passes
• There are 3 bright early evening Iridium flares: Tuesday at 17.18.48, 16 degrees altitude in WNW and Friday 17.35.56 at 34 degrees altitude in S.

 

Week of 14th November

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.16 UT at the start of the week and 18.10 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
• The Sun is still very active. It has 8 spot groups and spot 1339, though decaying is still active
• At last there is a chance to see Tiangong 1 as it makes evening passes this week and at 2nd magnitude will be similar brightness to Polaris though it will be low altitude: Monday 17.35.05 from S to SSE reaching 11 degrees. Tuesday 17.52.30 SSW to SSE to 14 degrees. Wednesday 16.36.34 S to SSE to 11 degrees and 18.10.27 SW to S to 15 degrees. Thursday 16.53.41 SSW to SE and 18.28.40 SW to SSW to 13 degrees
• There are no evening ISS passes
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 7th November

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.25 UT at the start of the week and 18.17 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Thursday
• The Sun is seriously active. It has 6 spot groups and spot 1339 is the largest and most active this cycle. It has released one X-class flare and loads of M-class flares and as it crosses tothe centre of the Sun’s disc, there is a chance of an Earth directed X-class flare, watch the panel on the website; each of its main umbra are the size of the Earth and the total width of the group is some 100,000 miles
• This week sees the closest approach of a sizeable asteroid till 2028, on Tuesday 2005 YU55 a 400m rock passes just 0.8LD from Earth. It will only be visable in medium to large telescopes
• Neither the ISS nor Tiangong 1 makes evening passes this week
• There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 18.38.56, 41 degrees altitude in SE

 

Week of 31st October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.35 UT at the start of the week and 18.26 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun has 4 sunspot groups, spot 1330 is large could still produce flares
• The ISS makes final passes this week: Monday at 18.06.17 W to SE reaching 51 degrees and 19.43.18 WSW to WSW to 11 degrees. Tuesday 17.09.07 W to ESE to 72 degrees and 18.45.32 W to S to 22 degrees. Wednesday 17.48.07 W to SE to 35 degrees. Thursday 16.50.48 W to ESE to 53 degrees and 18.27.41 WSW to S reaching 15 degrees. Friday 17.29.51 W to SSE reaching 24 degrees and Sunday 17.11.36 WSW to S to 16 degrees
• There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 17.36.15 41 degrees altitude in S

 

Week of 24th October

 

• British Summer Time ends next Sunday 30th October and we return to Universal time (UT or GMT). Astronomical twilight ends at 19.48 BST at the start of the week and 18.37 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday
• The Sun has 8 sunspot groups, 2 of which are currently active and could produce flares
• Chinese Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) is making early morning passes but does not gt brighter than +2 magnitude
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday at 19.22.35 W to E reaching 88 degrees and 20.58.43 W to W to 14 degrees. Tuesday 18.25.01 WSW to E to 69 degrees and 20.01.05 W to WNW to 66 degrees. Wednesday 19.03.27 W to E to 85 degrees and 20.39.34 W to W to 21 degrees. Thursday 18.05.48 WSW to E to 85 degrees and 19.41.55 W to ESE reaching 86 degrees. Friday 18.44.15 W to E reaching 84 degrees and 20.20.22 W to W to 30 degrees. Saturday 19.22.40 W to ESE to 70 degrees and 20.59.05 W to W to 10 degrees and Sunday 18.24.58 W to E to 87 degrees and 20.01.09 W to SW to 33 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 19.18.08 48 degrees altitude N

 

Week of 17th October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.01 BST at the start of the week and 19.49 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun has 7 sunspot groups, none of which are currently active
• Some time next week-end another satellite will re-enter the atmosphere at the end of its life. Launched in 1990, bits of ROSAT X-ray observatory may survive to the surface due to heat resistant materials. The new Space Station Chinese Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) does not make passes this week
• The ISS returns on Monday at 19.44.52 S to SSE reaching 15 degrees. Tuesday 20.21.20 SW to SSW to 22 degrees. Wednesday 19.23.29 SSW to ESE to 24 degrees and 20.58.42 WSW to WSW to 13 degrees. Thursday 18.26.09 S to ESE to 15 degrees and 20.00.26 WSW to S reaching 15 degrees. Friday 19.02.19 SW to E reaching 35 degrees and 20.37.57 W to W to 25 degrees. Saturday 19.39.33 WSW to E to 71 degrees and Sunday 18.41.15 SW to E to 49 dgerees and 20.17.07 W to W to 43 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 10th October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.16 BST at the start of the week and 20.03 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Wednesday
• The Sun has 4 sunspot groups, none of which are currently active
• The new Space Station Chinese Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) does not make passes this week
• The ISS returns next week
• There is bright Iridium flare on Wednesday at 20.12.11, 51 degrees altitude in SE and Friday 20.03.12 also at 51 degrees in SE

 

Week of 3rd October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.32 BST at the start of the week and 20.16 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Tuesday
• On Saturday there is the possibility of a rare flare up of the Draconid meteor shower. The Draconids are caused by dust from comet 21P-Giocobini-Zimmer a short period (6.5 year)comet. Occasionally the Earth passes through denser dust streams and on Saturday we will encounter the 1900, 1907 and 1980 streams. Draconid (or Giocobinid) metoers are faint and slow, but rates have reached 1000s an hour in the past (1933 and 1946). This year’s forecast is for a couple of peaks at 8pm and 9pm, perhaps reaching 10 meteors a minute. These could however occur anytime from 4pm till 10pm local time. Sunset is at 6.30pm and the waxing Gibbous three-quarter lit Moon rises at 5pm and its light will affect the number seen. The Radiant in Draco is NW from UMa and UMi and looking North away fromm the Moon will probably be best. If the evening is not clear, you can listen to the ‘ping’ of incoming meteors on www.spaceweatherradio.com
• The Sun has had an active week with the most powerful aurorae this cycle. Spot 1302 still could unleash X-class flares and there are several other spot groups on the disc
• There is now a new Space Station to track as the Chinese have successfully launched Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace-1) which will be manned over the next 2 years
• There are no ISS passes this week but Tiangong makes a pass at 18.48.00 BST on Tuesday SSW to SSW reaching 11 degrees altitude. Unlike the ISS, at magnitude +3, this will be less remarkable and will need a keen eye
• There is one superbright Iridium flare on Friday at 18.57.23, 54 degrees altitude in S

 

Week of 26th September

 

• The Autumnal Equinox has now passed (Friday) and the Sun is now rising and setting further south each day as nights grow longer than day
• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.49 BST at the start of the week and 20.37 BST at the end
• The Moon is New on Tuesday and will be a slender crescent by the end of the week
• The Sun has 3 sunspot groups. Spot 1302 is enormous at 100,000km total width and has already produced X-class flares. The week should see some strong storm activity. Keep an eye on the Geomagnetic Field Status bar
• There are no ISS passes this week and no bright Iridium flares

 

Week of 19th September

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.08 BST at the start of the week and 20.49 BST at the end
• The Moon is Last Quarter on Tuesday and will then wane to New at the start of next week
• Jupiter is rising at 8.30pm and will give good observing opportunities this autumn as it is higher altitude than in the last couple of years
• The Sun has 6 sunspot groups. Spot 1295 is currently active and could give rise to Earthbound class-C flares
• Bright orange Arcturus is now setting in the west in the early evening, a sure sign of Autumn
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one superbright bright Iridium flare on Saturday at 19.57.31, 62 degrees altitude in SE

 

Week of 12th September

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.03 BST at the start of the week and 20.42 BST at the end
• The Moon is Full on Monday and will then wane
• The Sun has 4 sunspot groups. Spot 1283 is currently active and more activity is likely during the week, though none are currently active
• The Type 1a supernova 2011fe which has hit the news is in Messier M101 a nearby galaxy a mere 21 million light years away. The galaxy is just visible in good binoculars or small telescope at magnitude 7.7just a couple of fingers width (at arms length) north of the handle of the saucepan (Plough) between Alkaid and Mizar, but you need a larger telescope to make out the supernova especially by eye
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 5th September

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.47 BST at the start of the week and 21.29 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full next Monday
• The Sun has 5 sunspot groups, though none are currently active, 1283 may develop
• Jupiter is beginning to dominate the SE sky in the late evening, its moons changing positions visibly in Biblios night by night
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 21.31.49 at 49 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 29th August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.07 BST at the start of the week and 21.50 BST at the end
• The Moon is New on Monday and will be visible as a slender crescent mid-week. It will be First Quarter on Sunday
• The Sun has a number of small sunspot groups, though none are currently activ
• The ISS makes 5 last evening visits this week: Monday 20.25.37 W to SE reachiing 48 degrees and 22.02.48 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees. Tuesday 21.03.45 W to SSE to 21 degrees. Wednesday 20.05.14 W to SE to 33 degrees and Thursday 20.43.47 WSW to S to 14 degrees
• There is on super bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 21.57.30 at 45 degrees altitude in ENE

 

Week of 22nd August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.29 BST at the start of the week and 22.07 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
• The Sun has a number of active regions, the largest number 1271 is Jupiter sized and likely to give rise to M-class flares
• The ISS makes more evening visits this week with some super bright near Zenith passes: Tuesday 21.26.29 W to E to 487 degrees and 23.02.37W to W to 24 degrees. Wednesday 20.28.20 W to E to 84 degrees and 22.04.26 W to SSE to 60 degrees. Thursday 21.06.16 W to ESE to 82 degrees and 22.42.30 W to WSW to 23 degrees. Friday 21.44.12 S to SSE to 43 degrees. Saturday 20.45.59 W to ESE to 65 degrees and 22.22.29 W to SW to 18 degrees and Sunday 21.23.58 W to SSE to 30 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 15th August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.52 BST at the start of the week and 22.33 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Sunday
• The Sun is currently blank but a new spot is emerging on the Eastern limb
• The ISS makes numerous evening visits this week with some super bright Zenith passes: Monday at 21.11.54 SSW to E reaching 19 degrees and 22.46.49 WSW to S reaching 66 degrees. Tuesday 21.48.58 SW to E to 45 degrees and 23.24.50 W to W to 33 degrees. Wednesday 20.51.19 SSW to E to 28 degrees and 22.26.47 WSW to E to 83 degrees. Thursday 20.28.48 WSW to E to 62 degrees and 23.04.50 W to WNW to 60 degrees. Friday 20.30.58 SW to E to 41 degrees and 22.06.45 W to E to 87 degrees and 22.42.52 W to W to 18 degrees. Saturday 21.08.42 WSW to E to 79 degrees and 22.44.48 W to W to 85 degrees and Sunday 21.46.42 W to E to 83 degrees and 23.22.48 W to W to 22 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare; On Friday at 22.39.07 at 33 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 8th August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.17 BST at the start of the week and 22.56 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Saturday
• The Perseid meteor shower peaks at 5am on Saturday but will be greatly affected by the moonlight
• The Sun has active sunspot groups, which could give rise to X-Class flares. Spot number 1263 has a 50,000km active region
• The ISS returns this week with evening passes: Tuesday at 22.25.28 SSW to SSW reaching 48 degrees. Wednesday 21.28.14 S to ENE to 21 degrees and 23.06.24 WNW to NW to 10 degrees. Thursday 22.05.48 WSW to N to 32 degrees. Friday 21.47.08 W to NNW to 13 degrees
• There are two superbright evening Iridium flares; On Wednesday at 22.10.17 at 54 degrees altitude in SE and Thursday 22.04.11 at 56 degrees in SE

 

Week of 1st August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.45 BST at the start of the week and 23.25 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun has 3 active sunspot groups, which could give rise to X-Class flares. One spot number 1263 covers an area 65,000km wide
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flares; On Saturday at 23.27.46 at 13 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 25th July

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 00.18BST. By the end of the week it will be 23.49BST
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
• The Sun has 3 sunspot groups, none of which is currently active
• Saturn is now setting in the West by 22.00BST. No other planets are visible till Uranus rises due E at 23.00BST
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There are three super bright evening Iridium flares; On Tuesday at 21.16.42 at 67 degrees altitude in ENE, Wednesday at 21.11.33 at 69 degrees altitude in ENE and Friday 22.42.45 at 38 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 18th July

 

• True Astronomical darkness returns on Friday as twilight ends at 00.49UT. By the end of the week it will be 00.25UT
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun has 4 sunspot groups and a new one emerging
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There are two super bright evening Iridium flare; On Tuesday at 21.49.44 at 58 degrees altitude in NE and on Wednesday at 21.44.35 at 59 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 11th July

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Friday
• The Sun has 4 sunspot groups, one of which is active with C-Class flares. A CME was realeed on Saturday towards Earth and is due to hit on Monday or Tuesday. Though not severe there may be some magnetic storm effects
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare; On Thursday at 23.47.05 at 16 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 4th July

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday
• .On Monday and Tuesday the first UK Space Conference takes place in Warwick University and will address Space in education via ESERO-UK (part of the STEM initiative)and the recently launched UK Space Agency (UKSA)
• There are no ISS evening passes this week.
• There is one bright evening Iridium flares; On Thursday at 22.05.43 at 23 degrees altitude in N

 

Week of 27th June

 

• The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday
• On Monday at 14.30 BST the Earth will experience a once in 6 year close approach by an asteroid 2011MD. The roughly 10m sized rock will pass less than an Earth diameter (12,000km) away and will have its orbit significantly altered by Earth’s gravity. The Sun has several inactive sunspot groups
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There are four bright evening Iridium flares; On Monday at 23.24.26 at 23 degrees altitude in NNE and Thursday at 21.48.37 19 degrees altitude in NNW and on Friday at 21.48.37 at 19 degrees altitude in NNW and 22.59.47 12 degrees altitude in WNW

 

Week of 20th June

 

• The Moon is waning and will beLast Quarter on Thursday
• The Solstice occurs on Tuesday when the Sun reaches its furthest North rising and setting points. From the end of the week the Sun will rise progressively further south and day length will reduce slowly
• The Sun has several inactive sunspot groups
• The ISS makes evening passes this week: Saturday 22.03.31 WSW to E reaching 66 degrees and Sunday 22.33.28 W to E reaching 87 degrees. Times for later in the week are currently unavlaible
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Thursday at 22.39.57 at 42 degrees altitude in NE and again at 23.09.38 34 degrees altitude in W and on Friday at 22.32.05 43 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 13th June

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Solstice Moon) on Wednesday
• As heralded by the partial solar eclipse viisble from arctic latitubes 2 weeks ago, the Earth, Moon and Sun will again be exactly aligned and the Moon will move through he Earth’s shadow. The eclipse will be the deepest for 11 years with Totality lasting 100 minutes. The Moon will rise totally eclipsed at 21.20 BST, with maximum eclipse at 21.13 BST before it rises. Total eclipse ends at 22.04 BST (the Moon will only be 5.5 degrees above the SE horizon however) and then the Moon will be partially eclipsed till 23.04 BST and the Full Moon will be visible at normal brightness at 00.03 BST
• The Sun two small inactive sunspot groups but prominence activity is currently high
• The ISS makes evening passes this week: Thursday 22.38.40 WSW to E reaching 58 degrees. Friday 23.08.54 W to E reaching 89 degrees. Saturday 22.03.31 WSW to E reaching 66 degrees and Sunday 22.33.28 W to E reaching 87 degrees
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Thursday at 22.39.57 at 42 degrees altitude in NE and again at 23.09.38 34 degrees altitude in W and on Friday at 22.32.05 43 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of 6th June

 

• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
• Notilucent clouds appeared at the end of last week for the first time this year and for the next couple of months over the Summer Solstice, these 80km high electric blue whispy clouds may be seen after sunset when the Sun is around 6 to 16 degrees below the horizon, though the brightest displays may be viewed just as the Sun sets
• The Sun has five sunspot groups but activity is currently low
• The ISS returns making a couple of late evening passes this week: Saturday 23.26.55 ESE to E reaching 13 degrees and Sunday 23.46.32 SW to E reaching 39 degrees. It will be visible each night next week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare; On Tuesday at 22.47.47 at 15 degrees altitude in WNW

 

Week of 30th May

 

• The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday and visible as a slender crescent at the end of the week
• The Sun is waking up and a new spot 1226 is already producing C-class flares
• Before sunrise Jupiter continues to herald the rising of Mercury, Venus and Mars in a close triangle to be followed by the glow of the rising Sun
• There are no evening ISS passes this week
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Monday at 00.15.32 48 degrees altitude in SW. Tuesday at 22.52.33 25 degrees in W and Thursday 23.33.26 18 degrees in NNE

 

Week of 23rd May

 

• The nights are now no longer truly dark and the Sun never dips more than 18 degrees below the horizon
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Tuesday
• The Sun is still relatively quiet, though large prominences are still being seen
• Before sunrise Jupiter continues to herald the rising of Mercury, Venus and Mars in a close triangle to be followed by the glow of the rising Sun
• There are no evening ISS passes this week are at the start of this week
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares; On Tuesday at 23.10.48 32 degres altitude in W. Wednesday at 23.10.07 32 degrees in W and 00.36.37 50 degrees in SW

 

Week of 16th May

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.59 BST at the start of the week and 00.45 BST on Sunday after which astronomical twilight does not end till 21st July
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Flower Moon) on Tuesday
• The Sun is relatively quiet, though a new spot is emerging in the centre of the disc
• Mercury, Venus and Venus are now forming an impressive triangle in the pre-dawn sky
• There are no evening ISS passes this week are at the start of this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare; on Friday at 21.12.57 at 26 degrees altitude in NNW

 

Week of 9th May

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.27 BST at the start of the week and 23.49 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and is will be First Quarter on Tuesday
• The Sun is relatively quiet, though a new spot is emerging on the Eastern limb
• There are no evening ISS passes this week are at the start of this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare; on Friday at 23.54.57 at 40 degrees altitude in WSW

 

Week of 2nd May

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.36 BST at the start of the week and 22.45 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and is will be New on Tuesday and visible as a slender crescent by the end of the week
• The Sun has several sunspots, though none are yet active
• The last few ISS passes are at the start of this week. On Monday at 21.09.44 W to SSE reaching 26 degrees. Tuesday 21.34.50 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees and Thursady 20.47.58 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares; on Tuesday at 23.19.37 at 24 degrees altitude in W and on Friday at 23.10.50, 22 degrees altitude in W

 

Week of 25th April

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.23 BST at the start of the week and 22.36 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and is Last Quarter on Monday
• The Sun has several active regions and spot 1195 may give rise to flares
• The ISS continues to make excellent passes (times BST): Monday 21.28.37 W to E reaching 83 degrees and 23.03.51 W to W to 30 degrees. Tuesday 21.53.19 W to ESE reaching 84 degrees and 23.28.40 W to W to 13 degrees. Wednesday 20.42.44 W to E to 83 degrees and 22.17.58 W to SSE to 53 degrees. Thursday 21.07.20 W to ESE to 83 degrees and 22.42.42 W to SW to 26 degrees. Friday 21.31.52 W to SE to 51 degrees and 23.07.59 WSW to WSW reaching 11 degrees. Saturday 21.56.31 W to S to 26 degrees and Sunday 20.45.36 W to SE to 50 degrees and 22.22.46 WSW to SSW to 13 degrees
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 11th April

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.01 BST at the start of the week and 22.17 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full at the start of next week (Pascal Moon) on Sunday
• The Sun has 5 small spot groups and 1176, though on the far side is still very active
• There are no ISS evening passesthis week> The ISS returns next Monday
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 28th March

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.29 BST at the start of the week and 21.45 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Sunday
• The Sun has several spot groups and 1176 may release M-class flares over the week-end
• One bright Iridium flare occurs on Monday at 22.42.56 BST, 15 degrees altitude in N

 

Week of 21st March

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.15 UT at the start of the week and 20.27 UT at the end and the days are now lengtheneing at their fastest rate
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun has quietened slightly though one of the largest prominences seen for ages erupted on Saturday (not Earth directed) Cycle 24 is warming up
• Saturn is now rising at 7.30pm and on Monday will be only a few degrees from the large waning Gibbous Full Moon. Over the next weeks Saturn will become a prominent yellow evening ‘star’ in the SE, slightly lower and to the South of the brighter ‘Spring marker’ orange giant Arcturus
• There are no ISS passes this week
• One bright Iridium flare occurs on Tuesday at 18.54.26, 49 degrees altitude in N

 

Week of 14th March

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.01 UT at the start of the week and 20.13 UT at the end
• Next Sunday 20th is the Vernal Equinox. One of only 2 days in the year when the Sun rises due East and sets due West. Time to check alignments. From Monday the hours of daylight will exceed those of dark and each day the Sun will moves North along the Horizon at rising and setting
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Equinox Moon) on Saturday
• Tuesday and Wednesday are excellent for spotting Mercury in the twilight. Just after sunset Jupiter and Mercury are in Conjunction and only 2 degrees appart
• The Sun has quietened slightly and the active regions of this last week are rotating out of sight
• There are no ISS passes this week nor any bright Iridium flares

 

Week of 7th March

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.48 UT at the start of the week and 20.01 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun has two massive sunspot groups 1164 and 1166 (easily visible in projection boxes and indeed through Solar goggles (DO NOT try to look directly wwithout proper protection) There is a good chance that we will see powerful X-Class flares over the next few days
• The ISS makes its last passes at the start of the week: Monday 19.22.27 W to SSE reaching 19 degrees. Tuesday 18.13.11 W to SE to 36 degrees and Wednesday 18.39.56 W to S to 17 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 28th February

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.36 UT at the start of the week and 19.48 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday and visible as a slender crescent at the start of next week
• The Sun has the potential for further actvity and flares as new sunspot groups emerge over the Eastern limb
• The ISS will be bigger and brighter this week as it is joined by Space Shuttle Discovery on its last visit: Monday 17.53.06 WSW to E reaching 62 degrees and 19.28.23 W to ENE to 83 degrees. Tuesday 18.19.18 W to E to 89 degrees and 19.54.38 W to W reaching 48 degrees. Wednesday 18.45.35 W to E to 84 degrees and 20.20.56 W to W reaching 22 degreess. Thursday 19.11.52 W to ESE to 75 degrees and 20.47.27 W to W to 11 degrees. Friday 18.02.50 W to E reaching 85 degrees and 19.38.11 W to S reaching 42 degrees. Saturday 18.29.07 W to ESE reaching 71 degrees and 20.04.46 W to SW to 20 degrees and Sunday 18.55.28 W to SE to 39 degrees
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares: Tuesday 18.41.15 54 degrees altitude in SSE and Friday 18.26.48 54 degrees altitud in S

 

Week of 21st February

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.24 UT at the start of the week and 19.36 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
• The Sun has growing activity again and after the X2 class flare last week from 1158, 2 new spot groups 1161 and 1162 are now active and giving M-class flares and there is the potential for another X-class flare during the week. Increased sunspot activity is now expected as the new Cycle at last seems to be well under way
• The ISS returns this week: Monday 19.36.50 SSW to SSW to 16 degrees. Tuesday 18.28.53 S to ESE to 13 degrees and 20.02.20 WSW to SW reaching 16 degrees. Wednesday 18.53.29 SSW to ESE to 28 degrees and 20.28.12 WSW to WSW reaching 11 degreess. Thursday 19.18.58 WSW to SE to 55 degrees . Friday 18.10.00 SW to E reaching 30 degrees and 19.44.46 W to WSW reaching 51 degrees. Saturday 18.35.26 WSW to E reaching 58 degrees and 20.10.39 W to W to 25 degrees and the best on Sunday 19.01.10 W to E to 85 degrees and 20.36.29 W to W to 14 degrees
• There is one superbright Iridium flare on Tuesday 19.09.12 50 degrees altitude in SSE

 

Week of 14th February

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.12 UT at the start of the week and 19.24 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Sap Moon) on Friday
• The Sun has 5 sunspot regions. One, number 1158 is growing in activity, so far no eruption has been in our direction
• The ISS returns next week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of 7th February

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.01 UT at the start of the week and 19.10 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
• The Sun has one fading sunspot
• Close approach of an asteroid: A 1 meter asteroid 2011 CQ1, discovered on 4th February, passed only 5480km (less than 1 Earth radius) over the Pacific late on Saturday. The object was part of the Apollo class of asteroids, but Earth’s gravity deflected it 60 degrees into an orbit similar to an Aten class object
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one super bright evening Iridium flare on Tuesday at 18.30.57, 44 degrees altitude in SSE

 

Week of 31st January

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.50 UT at the start of the week and 19.01 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday and should be visible as a crescent at the week-end
• The Sun has a couple of inactive sunspot regions
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Friday at 17.19.49, 29 degrees altitude in SSW

 

Week of 24th January

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.39 UT at the start of the week and 18.48 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun has one active sunspot region 1149, which is giving C-class flares
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 17.43.48, 34 degrees altitude in S

 

Week of 17th January

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.30 UT at the start of the week and 18.39 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Snow Moon) on Wednesday
• The Sun has one sunspot region rotating into view which has the potential for storms over the next few days
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There are a number of bright evening Iridium flares. On Thursday at 17.47.56, 16 degrees altitude in WNW and 18.15.25, 36 degrees in S. Also on Friday at 17.16.06, 22 degrees in WNW and 17.32.56, 19 degrees in WNW

 

Week of 3rd January 2011.

 

• The new year starts with a flurry of astronomical events. On Monday night the Quadrantid meteor shower peaks. The Quadrantids are one of the least well known showers and yet now the second best in the year. The shower is named after the radiant in the now redistributed old constellation of Quadrans Muralis (the mural quadrant) and now is placed in Bootes, just above the end of the handle of the Saucepan (Plough). The shower is caused by object 2003 EH1 an asteroidal (or dead comet) body with a 5.5 year orbit. Quadrantids are slow meteors and often coloured and bright. The peak is narrow (one hour only) and is forecast around 00.00hrs. With no Moon this is very favourable and over 120 per hour are forecast. It is worth looking out for early meteors from Sunday. If cloud prevents visual sightiongs, you can hear the Quadrantids as they enter the atmosphre via their RADAR signal (you hear a ‘ping’ on www.spaceweatherradio.com.
• The Sun rises on Tuesday morning in partial eclipse. From here it should be visible about 67% eclipsed at 8.13am (sunrise) and the final contact at the end of the eclipse occuring at 09.36 UT. ON NO ACCOUNT SHOULD YOU LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN WITH OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS OR EVEN BY EYE ALONE (ONLY OFFICIAL SOLAR GOGGLES OR SOLAR FILTERS ARE SAFE). It is possible with care to project the eclipsed Sun through a hole (a couple of mm in a piece of cardboard) onto a piece or cardboard. But always face away from the Sun.
• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.13 UT at the start of the week and 18.20 UT at the end.
• The Moon is waxing from New on Tuesday and will be First Quarter on 12th.
• The Sun has five new active regions.
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday at 16.31.39 WSW to E reaching 55 degrees and 18.06.53 W to ENE to 83 degrees. Tuesday 16.57.47 W to E to 86 degrees and 18.33.07 W to W to 46 degrees. Wednesday 17.23.59 W to E to 83 degrees and 18.59.19 W to W to 22 degrees. Thursday 17.50.09 W to ESE to 81 degrees and 19.25.38 W to W to 12 degrees. Friday 16.40.57 W to E to 83 degrees and 18.16.18 W to SSE to 48 degrees. Saturday 17.07.03 W to ESE to 79 degrees and 18.42.34 W to SSW to 24 degrees and Sunday 17.33.07 W to SE to 45 degrees and 19.09.46 WSW to SW to 11 degrees.
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares