Wednesday, January 1, 2014Friday, August 6, 2021

2014 – What’s Up

Week of 29th December

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.09 UT at the start of the week and 18.16 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full next Monday
The Sun has 7 sunspot groups; 2249 is active
Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2 is just visible by eye as a fuzzy dot at 5.5 magnitude in Lepus just below Rigel. During January it will move steadily into Taurus, but moonlight will make it hard to see
The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on Saturday at midnight and usually produces up to 80 meteors per hour. This year sadly the Full Moon will render many invisible
There are no ISS passes this week
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 22nd December

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.05 UT at the start of the week and 18.09 UT at the end. The days will now start to lengthen following the Winter Solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at its southerly extremes on the Eastern and Western horizons respectively and at noon only reaches 15.5 degrees above the horizon
The Moon is waning and is New on 22nd
The Sun has 8 sunspot groups, 2 of which are active. Number 2242 produced an X-class flare on 20th
Saturn dominates the Eastern horizon just before dawn and Venus will soon be visible in the Western twilight just after Sunset
The ISS continues to make passes: The best is on Monday at 17.25.25 W to ESE to 76 degrees and 19.02.14 W to WSW to 21 degrees. Tuesday 18.11.12 W to SSE to 36 degrees. Christmas Eve at 17.20.13 W to SE reaching 50 degrees and 18.57.45 WSW to SSW to 13 degrees. Christmas Day at 18.06.11 W to SSE to 20 degrees. Boxing Day at 17.12.56 W to SSE to 30 degrees. Saturday at 18.02.02 WSW to SSW to 11 degrees and Sunday 17.09.46 W to S to 17 degrees
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 15th December

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.04 UT at the end. Very little change due to the approach of the Winter Solstice
The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
The Sun has 8 sunspot groups, 2 of which could produce flares
The ISS makes good passes: Monday 16.54.02 SW to E reaching 40 degrees and 18.30.19 W to W to 50 degrees. Tuesday 17.39.49 WSW to E to 81 degrees and 19.16.27 W to W to 15 degrees. Wednesday 16.49.20 WSW to E reaching 65 degrees and 18.25.53 W to W to 57 degrees. Thursday 17.35.17 W to E to 85 degrees and 19.11.54 W to W to 17 degrees. Friday sees the best pass at 16.44.38 W to E to 88 degrees and then 18.21.16 W to W to 69 degrees. Saturday 17.30.34 W to E to 87 degrees and 19.07.12 W to W to 20 degrees and Sunday 16.39.49 W to 84 degrees and 18.16.26 W to S to 59 degrees
There are two bright evening Iridium flares on Monday at 17.13.38 at 62 degrees in NE and a superbright flare on 17.00.09 at 66 degrees in ENE

Week of 8th December

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.02 UT at the end. Very little change due to the approach of the winter solstice<br.
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The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Sunday
The Sun has 5 sunspot groups but is quieter than in the last few weeks
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The Geminids meteor shower, typically the most active in the year with up to 120 meteors an hour expected, peaks on 13th/14th. Already many bright Geminids have been seen and this flux will increase over the week
The ISS returns on Tuesday 18.43.19 SSW to SSW reaching 14 degrees. Wednesday 17.53.45 S to SE to 18 degrees. Thursday 17.04.46 SSE to ESE to 12 degrees and 18.38.52 SW to SSW to 27 degrees. Friday 17.48.51 SW to SE reaching 32 degrees and 19.24.56 WSW to WSW to 12 degrees. Saturday 16.59.00 SSW to E to 22 degrees and 18.34.38 WSW to WSW to 41 degrees and Sunday 17.44.21 WSW to ESE to 55 degrees and 19.20.51 W to W to 14 degrees. The best passes will be next week
There is an extraordinary pair of superbright Iridium flares on Monday less than one minute apart in the same spot in the sky; at 17.51.25 at 53 degrees altitude in NE and at 17.52.20 at 52 degrees altitude in NE

Week of 1st December

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.03 UT at the start of the week and 18.02 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Cold Moon) on Saturday
The Sun has 8 sunspot groups and 2219 could produce flares this week<br.
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The Geminids meteor shower is typically the most active in the year with up to 120 mteors an hour expected. The shower does not peak till 13th/14th December but Geminids may be see from 4th onwards. One fireball has already been recorded
There are no evening ISS passes this week but will return on 9th
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 24th Novembef

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.07 UT at the start of the week and 18.03 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
The Sun has 3 large sunspot groups and 2209 and 2216 could produce flares this week
There are no evening ISS passes this week
There is one extremely superbright Iridium flare this week, which should be visible even in the twilight: Friday at 16.48.45 at 68 degrees altitude in ENE

Week of 17th November

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.13 UT at the start of the week and 18.07 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
The Leonid meteor shower peaks at 1am on 18th. Every 33 years they expect to be prolific in number. Not this year. 15 to 20 meteors are expected per hour
The Sun has 7 sunspot groups and the huge active group 2192 has made it all the way round the Sun and now is back as 2209. There is again a chance of strong X-class fares this week
The Rosetta mission and its lander Philae has already been a huge success, despite the bounce which landed Philae on its back and in the shadow of a cliff. Before its batteies depleted, so that it is now in sleep mode, the scientifc instruments sent back a huge amount of data, sniffing both the gases near the surface and a sample from the surface nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
There are no evening ISS passes this week
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 10th November

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.21 UT at the start of the week and 18.13 UT at the end<br.
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The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
The Sun is quieter at the moment but still has 5 sunspot groups and 2205 is both large and potentially active<br.
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On Wednesday the Rosetta probe, some 500Mkm from Earth, will attempt to land Philae (a complex scientific package of instruments) onto the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Already a hugely succesful mission, the landing at the site, now named Agilkia after an ancient Egyptian site on an island in the Nile, will perhaps be the greatest engineering feat attempted by humankind. The lander is due to be released Wednesday morning and will hopefully land around 5pm. There is a webcast (via Space.com) from 3pm
There are no evening ISS passes this week
There are 2 bright Iridium flares this week on Thursday at 18.11.34 at 48 degrees altitude in NNE and Friday at 18.05.25 at 64 degrees in NE

Week of 3rd November

Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.33 UT at the start of the week and 18.24 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Thursday (Frosty Moon)
The Sun is quieter this week but still has 6 sunpot groups
There are no ISS passes this week
There is one superbright Iridium flares this week on Wednesday at 16.55.31 at 71 degrees altitude in NE

Week of 27th October

All times are now in UT (GMT) Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.42 UT at the start of the week and 18.32 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday
Saturday November 1st is the last Cross-Quarter days (half-way between an Equinox and a Solsice and a true mid-Autumn marker) of the year. The ancient feast of the Pleiades (7 Sisters/Subaru) and the Celtic feast of Samhain (Feast of the Dead)
The Sun has been at its most active this Solar Cycle. Sunspot group 2192 is larger than Jupiter and has unleashed the strongest flare for many years (X3) and an X1 flare on 24th and 25th. The chances are high that more M and X class flares will follow in the next few days causing HF radio disruption
The ISS makes its last passes for a while: On Monday at 18.11.40 WSW to SSW reaching 11 degrees and Tuesday at 17.21.29 W to S to 17 degrees
There are two bright Iridium flares this week: Monday at 19.49.17 at 11 degrees altitude in N and Tuesday at 19.42.29 at 15 degrees altitude in N

Week of 20th October

This is the last week of British Summer Time. The clocks go back one hour to Universal Time (UT) or GMT next Saturday night. Astronomical Twilight ends at 19.55 BST at the start of the week and 18.44 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday and a slender crescent next week-end
The Sun only has 3 sunspot groups but 2192 is huge and highly active. X-class flares, CMEs and HF radio frequency intereference is likely over the next week or so
The Orionids meteor shower peaks on Wednesday. The meteors originate from Halley’s comet and are generally fast. Up to 20 or so per hour are expected at best. The lack of moonlight makes this very favourable. The Radiant does not rise till 10pm
Mars has a close call with comet Siding Spring which on 19th October passes only 140,000km from the planet. It is possible that there will be some interaction between the coma and the planet’s thin atmosphere
The ISS makes more passes this week: Monday 20.04.09 W to S reaching 52 degrees altitude. Tuesday 19.15.10 W to ESE to 68 degrees and 20.52.15 W to W to 17 degrees. Wednesday 20.03.02 W to S to 29 degrees. Thursday 19.13.55 W to SE to 41 degrees. Friday 18.24.51 W to ESE to 55 degrees and 20.02.16 WSW to S to 15 degrees. Saturday 19.12.47 W to SE to 22 degrees and Sunday 17.23.30 W to SE to 31 degrees
There are no bright Iridium flares this week

Week of 13th October

Astronomical Twilight ends at 20.09 BST at the start of the week and 19.55 BST at the end
The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
The Sun is less active and 2182 will soon rotate away from the nearside
The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday 19.19.24 WSW to E reaching 56 degrees and 20.56.01 W to W to 30 degrees. Tuesday 20.07.12 W to ENE to 88 degrees. Wednesday 19.18.23 WSW to E to 83 degrees and 20.55.08 W to W to 28 degrees. Thursday 20.06.16 W to ENE to 85 degrees. Friday 19.17.23 W to E to 84 degrees and 20.54.08 W to W to 26 degrees. Saturday 20.05.13 W to SSE to 79 degrees and on Sunday a rare Zenith pass directly overhead at 90 degrees at 19.16.17 W to E and then a lower pass at 20.53.04 W to W to 22 degrees
For those of you now hooked on Iridium flare ‘hunting’, there is just one superbright evening flare this week on Friday at 19.42.55 at 43 degrees elevation in NNE

Week of 6th October

Astronomical Twilight ends at 20.25 BST at the start of the week and 20.11 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be Full (Hunters Moon) on Wednesday. The Total Lunar eclipse will not be visible from here
The Sun is peppered with 9 sunspot groups. 2181 is potentially active
The ISS makes 8 passes this week but the best will be next week: Tuesday at 20.58.56 SW to SW reaching 11 degrees. Wednesday 20.10.04 SSW to SSE to 22 degrees. Thursday 19.21.28 S to ESE to 16 degrees and 20.56.34 WSW to SW to 22 degrees. Friday 20.07.22 SW to SE to 43 degrees. Saturday 19.18.17 SSW to E to 31 degrees and 20.54.22 WSW to WSW to 31 degrees and the best on Sunday at 20.04.58 WSW to ESE reaching 70 degrees
There are 5 bright evening Iridium flares this week: Monday at 20.51.31 at 21 degrees in N. Tuesday 20.45.09 at 24 degrees in N. Wednesday at 18.32.55 at 67 degrees in NNE. Thursday at 18.26.47 at 69 degrees in NNE and Friday at 18.20.38 at 70 degrees in NNE

Week of 29th September

Astronomical Twilight ends at 20.41 BST at the start of the week and 20.27 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
The Sun has 6 sunspot groups. 2173 flared up early on 28th and caused temporary radio blackout. A CME may sesult. 2175 is highly active and could give rise to a strong flare
The planned deployment of the Rosetta mission lander, Philae, to landing suite ‘J’ on 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko has been put back a day to 12th November
The ISS make no evening passes this week but will return from 7th October
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 22nd September

Astronomical Twilight ends at 20.59 BST at the start of the week and 20.44 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New on Tuesday and will then be visible as a slender crescent by the end of the week
The Autumnal Equinox is on Tuesday as the Sun crosses the Celestial Equator at coordinates 12h RA, 0 degrees Dec and the Northern summer ends. From now the day length is less than that of the night
The Sun has 6 sunspot groups none of which are active
The ISS make no evening passes this week
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 15th September

Astronomical Twilight ends at 21.18 BST at the start of the week and 21.02 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Tuesday and will then wane to New at the start of next week
The most powerful solar storms this year (G3) hit the Earth last week causing mid-latittude aurorae. The Sun still has 7 sunspot groups. 2157 and 2158 are still active
The ISS make no evening passes this week
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 8th September

Astronomical Twilight ends at 21.37 BST at the start of the week and 21.20 BST at the end
The Moon is Full (Harvest Moon) on Tuesday and will then wane to Last Quarter at the start of next week
The Sun has 7 sunspot groups. 2157 is potentially active
The ISS make no evening passes this week
There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Saturday at 21.07.07 24 degrees altitude in N

Week of 1st September

Astronomical Twilight ends at 21.58 BST at the start of the week and 21.40 BST at the end
The Moon is First Quarter on Tuesday and will then wax to Full next Tuesday
The two pairs of planets continue to dominate the twilight: Jupiter and Venus pre sunrise in the East (also with bright Sirius) and Mars and Saturn in the West after sunset
The Sun has 5 sunspot groups. 2152 is potentially active
The ISS make no evening passes this week
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 25th August

Astronomical Twilight ends at 22.19 BST at the start of the week and 22.01 BST at the end
The Moon is New at the start of the week and will then wax to First Quarter early next week
The Sun has 8 sunspot groups which are gaining in activity
The ISS make no evening passes this week
There is 1 bright evening Iridium flare this week: On Tuesday 22.39.14 at 20 degrees in WSW

Week of 18th August

Astronomical Twilight ends at 22.41 BST at the start of the week and 22.22 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
Venus and Jupiter (higher elevation)are in conjunction and dominate the pre-dawn sky below Gemini and on 23rd will be joined by a slim decrescent Moon. Look East at 5am. A little further to the South Sirius and Orion are visible
The Sun has 6 sunspot groups which are waning in activity
The ISS makes its last 2 low evening passes: On Tuesday at 21.30.38 W to SSE reaching 26 degrees and Thursday at 21.31.11 WSW to S to 13 degrees
There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares this week: On Friday at 23.52.14 24 degrees altitude in WSW and Sunday 23.49.13 at 22 degrees in WSW

11th August

Astronomical Twilight ends at 2305 BST at the start of the week and 2241 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Sunday
The Perseid meteor shower (Tears of St Lawrence) peaks between 10th and 13th. The peak will be largely hidden by the Full Moon, nevertheless bright meteors should still be visible especially just after sunset/moonrise when earthgrazers (long trails across the sky) are possible
The Sun is fairly active again with 5 sunspot groups and 2135 could be a source of flares
The ISS continues with good passes this week: On Monday at 21.32.36 W to E reaching 87 degrees and 23.09.20 W to SSE to 73 degrees. Tuesday 22.20.19 W to ESE to 86 degrees and 23.57.08 W to W to 18 degrees. Wednesday 21.31.18 W to E to 86 degrees and 23.08.02 W to SW 43 degrees. Thursday 22.18.58 W to SE to 61 degrees and 23.56.11 W to W to 11 degrees. Friday 21.29.55 W to ESE to 77 degrees and 23.06.50 W to SW to 23 degrees. Saturday 22.17.37 W to S to 35 degrees and Sunday 21.28.29 W to SE to 49 dgerees and 23.06.11 WSW to WSW to 12 degrees
There are no particularly bright evening Iridium flares this week

4th August

Astronomical Twighlight ends at 2331 BST at the start of the week and 2309 BST at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Grain Moon, a ‘supermoon’ since it is at Perigee) at the start of next week
The Perseid meteor shower (Tears of St Lawrence) peaks between 10th and 13th. The peak will be largely hidden by the Full Moon, thus observing before dawn this week should give the greatest rate of shooting stars
The Sun is beginning to be active again with 10 sunspot groups and 2132 could be a source of flares<br.
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The Summer Triangle of Vega, Deneb and Altair now dominates the southern sky as it culminates in the evening, signalling mid-summer and the harvest
Red supergiant Antares (the eye of the scorpion) culminates at 2030 BST at 12 degrees above the horizon and will be more visible over the next couple of weeks<br.
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The ISS returns with good passes this week: On Monday at 22.25.35 SW to E reaching 37 degrees . Tuesday at 21.37.05 SSW to E to 26 degrees and 23.13.00 WSW to E to 78 degrees. Wednesday 22.24.09 WSW to E to 63 degrees. Thursday at 21.35.22 SW to E to 47 degrees and 23.11.51 W to E to 85 degrees. Friday 22.22.55 W to E to 87 degrees and 23.59.29 W to W to 50 degrees. Saturday 22.21.43 W to E to 84 degrees and 23.58.27 W to W to 30 degrees and Sunday 21.32.43 W to E to 86 degrees and 23.09.27 W to SSE to 73 degrees<br.
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There are no bright evening Iridium flares

28th July

Astronomical Twighlight ends at 0001 BST at the start of the week and 2335 BST at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter at the start of next week
The Sun is still relatively quiet with 5 small sunspot groups
The ISS returns with a few passes at the end of this week, then next week will give good passes: On Saturday at 22.27.39 at 10 degrees in SSW and Sunday at 21.39.48 at 10 degrees in S
There are two bright evening Iridium flares; on Monday at 22.36.26 at 41 degrees altitude in NE and Tuesday at 22.30.27 at 42 degrees in NE

21st July

The nights are now getting longer and Astronomical Twighlight now ends again for about an hour at 0046 BST at the strt of the week and 0006 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
The Sun is extremely quiet and indeed has recently had no sunspots at all
There are no ISS passes this week
There are three bright evening Iridium flares; on Wednesday at 22.57.07 at 34 degrees altitude in NE, Friday at 21.10.14 at 70 degrees in ENE and Saturday at 21.04.12, 71 degrees altitude in ENE

14th July

The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
The Sun is again active with 8 sunspot groups. 2108 could still produce flares
There are no ISS passes this week
There are two super-bright evening Iridium flares; on Friday at 21.43.11 at 60 degrees altitude in NE and Saturday at 21.37.14, 61 degrees altitude in NE

7th July

The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Thunder Moon) on Saturday
The Sun is again active with 8 sunspot groups. 2104 and 2108 could produce flares
Good Notilucent Clouds (NLCs)have already been seen this summer. Look West 30 minutes to an hour after sunset for lumninous electric blue tendril clouds<br.
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There are no ISS passes this week
There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 22.31.00 at 44 degrees altitude in NE

30th June

The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
The Sun is less active with 5 sunspot groups, though activity may pick up during the week
There are no ISS passes now for a few weeks
There is one super-bright evening Iridium flare on Tuesday at 22.57.46 at 35 degrees altitude in NE

23rd June

The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday and visible as a slender crescent at the start of next week
The Sun is less active with 5 sunspot groups, though 2093 could produce flares
The Summer Triangle is now prominent with bright magnitude 0 Vega following Mars as the twilight darkens. Orange Arcturus at higher altitude is next and then Saturn. The line from West to East of Mars, Spica, Saturn then supergiant Antares (even redder than Betelgeuse in a small telescope) makes a nice ‘target hop’ and with a reasonable telescope Vesta and Ceres are within a couple of degrees and close to Mars. Sagitarius and the densest part of the Milky Way near the Galactic centre just skim the southern horizon
There are no ISS passes now for a few weeks
There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 23.18.12 at 26 degrees in NNE

16th June

The Moon is waxing and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
The Sun is still active with 11 sunspot groups but the sources of activity last week 2080 and 2085 have rotated round the western limb
Red Mars and yellow Saturn are now visible in the S from 9.30pm only reaching 25 or so degrees above the horizon. They are followed by deep red Antares (the eye of Scorpio), perhaps the biggest diameter and brightest star we can see (it is in fact 10000 times brighter than the Sun) It reaches its maximum elevation when it culminates at 11.30pm
The ISS makes its last passes for a while on Monday at 22.56.44 W to SSE reaching 24 degrees . Tuesday at 22.07.30 W to SE to 34 degrees and Wednesday 22.56.12 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees
There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Wednesday at 23.45.51 at 10 degrees in NNE

9th June

The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Solstice Moon) on Friday
The Sun is active with 8 sunspot groups of which 3 are crackling with activity
The ISS makes excellent passes this week: On Monday at 22.12.49 W to E reaching 89 degrees altitude and 22.49.34 W to ESE to 82. Tuesday 23.00.36 W to E to 88 degrees. Wednesday 22.11.37 W to E to 84 degrees and 23.48.21 W to SE to 55 degrees. Thursday 22.59.21 W to ESE to 71 degrees. Friday 22.10.22 W to ESE to 85 degrees and 23.47.11 W to S to 31 degrees. Saturday 22.58.06 W to SE 43 degrees and Sunday 21.09.04 W to ESE to 59 degrees and 23.46.22 W to SSW to 17 degrees
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

2nd June

The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
The Sun is relatively quiet with 4 non-active sunspot groups<br.
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The season for Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) has started. They should build in intensity over the Solstice. Look West on a clear evening 30 to 60 minutes after sunset for electric blue veils of clouds
The ISS returns this week: On Monday at 23.05.48 SSW to E reaching 29 degrees altitude.22.17.27 SSW to E to 21 degrees and 23.53.01 WSW to E to 68 degrees. Wednesday 23.04.13 SW to E to 52 degrees. Thursday 22.15.31 SW to E to 38 degrees and 23.51.52 W to E to 89 degrees. Friday 23.02.57 WSW to E to 80 degrees. Satyurday 22.14.04 WSW to E 65 degrees and 23.50.44 W to E to 84 degrees and Sunday 23.01.47 W to E to 85 degrees
There are two super-bright evening Iridium flares this week on Thursday at 21.32.55 at 61 degrees altitude in NE and Friday at 23.06.58 at 29 degrees altitude in NNE

26th May

Astronomical twilight now lasts all night till 21st July. Astronomical darkness does not return again till 21st July<br.
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The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday
The Sun is active with 6 sunspot groups in total, 2 of which are active
The ISS returns at the satart of June. It makes a late pass next Sunday 1st at 23.54.52 from SW to E reaching 41 degrees altitude<br.
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There are two bright evening Iridium flares this week on Tuesday at 22.14.20 at 47 degrees altitude in NE and Friday at 23.29.31 at 16 degrees altitude in NNE

19th May

Astronomical twilight ends at 00.19 BST at the start of the week but by the end of the week Astronomical twilight continues all night. Astronomical darkness does not return again till 21st July
The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
The Sun is active with 9 sunspot groups in total, 3 of which are active<br.<br.
The ISS does not make any passes this week
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There is one super-bright evening Iridium flares this week on Friday at 22.29.15 at 41 degrees latitude in NE

12th May

Astronomical twilight ends at 23.43 BST at the start of the week and 00.19 BST at the end<br.
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The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Flower Moon) on Wednesday
The Sun is active again with 3 active sunspot groups. There are 8 groups in total and a chance of flares
The ISS does not make any passes this week<br.
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There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares this week on Monday at 23.07.06 at 22 degrees latitude in NNE and Thursday 22.58.38 at 29 degrees in NE

5th May

Astronomical twilight ends at 23.13 BST at the start of the week and 23.37 BST at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks on Monday night-Tuesday morning. Up to 30 meteors an hours may be seen in the Northern hemisphere. This is debris from Comet Halley and is the first time in the year that the Earth crosses the debris stream. The second time is in October for the better known Orioninds
The Sun is active again with a huge rapidly developing sunspot group 2051. There are 5 groups in total and a chance of X-flares
The ISS does not make any passes this week
There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares this week on Monday at 22.06.05 at 46 degrees altitude in NE and Saturday 21.45.07 at 55 degrees in ENE

28th April

Astronomical twilight ends at 22.53 BST at the start of the week and 23.06 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New on Tuesday it will then wax and be visible as a slender crescent at the end of the week
Thursday is May Day and the feast of Beltane, the spring cross-Quarter day. The Sun will rise soon after 5.20am
The Sun is relatively quiet and has 3 sunspot groups
The ISS does not make any passes this week
There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares this week on Friday at 20.39.41 at 74 degrees altitude in E and Sunday 20.3.42 also at 74 degrees in E

21st April

Astronomical twilight ends at 22.29 BST at the start of the week and 22.46 BST at the end
The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter next Tuesday
The Lyrid meteor shower (Debris from comet Thatcher) peaks on 22nd in the early hours (Th Moon risesat 2am). Around 15 meteors per hour are expected
The Sun has 8 sunspot groups, some of which are currently active
The ISS makes its last 2 passes: On Monday at 21.01.51 W to SSE reaching 27 degrees and Wednesday 21.02.05 WSW to S reaching 14 degrees
There are5 bright evening Iridium flares this week on Monday at 22.53.00 at 24 degrees altitude in NE. Tuesday 21.21.52 at 58 degrees in ENE. Thursday 22.44.22 at 29 degrees in NE. Sunday 21.00.47 at 66 degrees in E and 22.35.41 at 34 degrees in NE

14th April

Astronomical twilight ends at 22.10 BST at the start of the week and 22.29 BST at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Paschal Moon) next Tuesday. Given this is the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox then next Sunday 20th is Easter
There will be Total Lunar eclipse on Tuesday morning but this will not be visible from here. We will have to wait till 28th September 2015<br.
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The Sun has 5 sunspot groups but has now quietened down after a period of hightened activity
The ISS makes good passes: Monday 21.49.37 W to E reacghng 88 degrees altitude and 23.26.27 W to W to 14 degrees. Tuesday 21.01.14 W to E to 85 degrees and 22.38.01 W to WSWto 39 degrees. Wednesday 21.49.29 W to SE to 62 degrees and 21.26.42 W to W to 10 degrees. Thursday 21.00.50 W to ESE to 78 degrees and 22.37.46 W to SW to 24 degrees. Friday at 21.48.52 W to SSE to 36 degrees. Saturday 20.59.55 W to SE to 50 degrees and 22.37.37 WSW to SW to 13 degrees and Sunday at 21.48.00 W to S to 20 degrees
There are three bright evening Iridium flares this week on Tuesday at 22.59.57 at 11 degrees altitude in NNE and Thursday at 21.42.51 at 51 degrees in ENE and Saturday at 22.55.32 at 20 degrees in NE

7th April

Astronomical twilight ends at 21.52 BST at the start of the week and 22.10 BST at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Paschal Moon) next Tuesday. Given this is the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox then the next Sunday 20th is Easter
The Sun has 7 sunspot groups but has now quietened down after a period of hightened activity<br.
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The ISS returns to our skies making good passes: Monday 21.04.50 SSW to ESE reaching 25 degrees and 22.40.40 WSW to WSW to 16 degrees. Tuesday 21.51.48 WSW to ESE to 60 degrees. Wednesday 21.03.00 SW to E to 44 degrees and 22.39.27 W to W to 34 degrees. Thursday 21.50.27 WSW to E to 85 degrees and 23.27.11 W to W to 13 degrees. Friday 21.01.27 WSW to E to 72 degrees and 22.38.09 W to W to 48 degrees. Saturday 21.49.04 W to E to 84 degrees and 23.25.48 W to W to 15 degrees and Sunday 20.59.58 W to E to 88 degrees and 22.36.42 W to W to 51 degrees
.There are three bright evening Iridium flares this week on Wednesday at 22.12.45 at 38 degrees altitude in ENE and Friday at 20.02.27 at 46 degrees in N and Saturday at 22.03.51 at 44 degrees in ENE

31st March

Astronomical twilight ends at 21.36 BST at the start of the week and 21.50 BST at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter next Monday
The Sun has 8 sunspot groups and following an X-1 flare on Saturday there is still potential for activity
Mars now rises at 8.30pm, following orange Arcturus, and in small instruments is already showing some detail
The ISS makes its first pass week: Sunday 21.52.51 SW to SSW reaching 18 degrees altitude. It will return with passes next week
There are two bright evening Iridium flares this week on Thursday at 22.30.20 at 29 degrees altitude in NE and Sunday at 22.21.31 reaching 33 degrees in ENE

24th March

Astronomical twilight ends at 20.20UT at the start of the week and 20.33 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New next Monday
The Sun has 7 sunspot groups, 2010 and 2014 are potentially active
Mars now rises at 8pm and in small instrumernts is already showing some detail
The ISS makes no passes this week
There are four bright evening Iridium flares this week on Monday at 20.55.30 at 10 degrees altitude in N. Wednesday at 21.40.29 at 14 degrees in NE. Thursday at 20.26.31 at 20 egrees in N and Friday at 21.38.13 at 18 degrees in NE

17th March

Astronomical twilight ends at 20.08UT at the start of the week and 20.19 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Monday 24th
Friday 21st is the Vernal Equinox. The start of the Astronomical Year and Origin (0,0) of the Celestial coordinate system. The Sun rises due East and sets due West. From Friday the days are longer than the nights and the Sun rises progressively further north on the horizon
The Sun has 6 sunspot groups, none of which are currently particularly active
Arcturus ‘the Spring marker’ is now rising in the East in the early evening (arc from the handle of the saucepan (Plough) to Arcturus..and on to Spica and Mars)
The ISS makes no passes this week
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

10th March

Astronomical twilight ends at 19.54 UT at the start of the week and 20.06 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Lent Moon) on Sunday<br.
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The Sun is covered with small spots, unlike last week, none of which are currently particularly active
Mars is now rising in the East late evening and is approaching Opposition on April 8th, when it will rise at sunset
The ISS makes no passes this week<br.
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There is one bright evening Iridium flares this week on Friday at 19.21.39 at 41 degrees altitude in N

National Astronomy Week beginning 3rd March

Astronomical twilight ends at 19.42 UT at the start of the week and 19.52 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
National Astronomy Week all over the UK to celebrate the excellent potential viewing in the evening sky of Jupiter which is at its best elevation for many years. Events can be located on the NAW website www.astronomyweek.org.uk
The Sun has 9 active sunspot groups strung out across its disc. 1990 and 1991 have the potential for real activity and even X-class flares. Watch the live monitors on the right of the website’s front page
The ISS makes no more passes this week
There are two extremely bright evening Iridium flares this week on Monday at 20.21.19 at 18 degrees altitude in N and Tuesday at 18.08.30 at 63 degrees in NNE

Week of 24th February

Astronomical twilight ends at 19.29 UT at the start of the week and 19.40 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday and a slim crescent at the start of NAW
National Astronomy Week returns next week after 5 years to celebrate the excellent potential viewing in the evening sky of Jupiter. Events are running across the Country and can be located on the NAW website www.astronomyweek.org.uk
The Sun has 8 active sunspot groups strung out across its disc. 1982 is worth watching for flares and unusually 1967 is returning again after its January appearance and whole rotation survival
The ISS makes last passes this week: Monday 18.26.48 from W to SSE reaching 23 degrees and the last on Wednesday 18.26.28 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees
There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 17th February

Astronomical twilight ends at 19.17 UT at the start of the week and 19.28 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
The Sun has 6 large active sunspot groups strung out across its disc. 1974 is worth watching for flares
The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday 19.18.52 from W to SE reaching 81 degrees. The best on Tuesday 19.30.04 W to E to 89 degrees and 20.06.51 W to WSW to 26 degrees. Wednesday 19.17.59 W to SSE to 53 degrees. Thursday 18.29.06 W to ESE to 69 degrees and 20.06.10 W to SW to 20 degrees. Friday 19.17.04 W to SSE to 30 degrees. Saturday 18.28.03 W to SE to 41 degrees and 20.06.41 Sw to SW to 10 degrees and Sunday 19.16.28 WSW to S to 16 degrees
There is one superbright evening Iridium flares this week on Saturday at 19.00.43 at 46 degrees altitude in NNE

Week of 10th February

Astronomical twilight ends at 19.06 UT at the start of the week and 19.16 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Snow Moon..or Rain Moon) on Thursday
The Sun has 7 sunspot groups and there is a slight chance of activity
The ISS returns with low passes this week: Monday 18.33.19 SSW to ESE reaching 30 degrees and 20.09.27 WSW to WSW to 18 degrees. Tuesday 17.45.15 SSW to E to 21 degrees and 19.20.54 WSW to SSW to 64 degrees. Wednesday 18.32.24 WSW to E 54 degrees and 20.09.00 W to W to 22 degrees. Thursday 19.20.21 W to NNW to 88 degrees. Friday 18.31.42 WSW to E to 81 degrees and 20.08.28 W to W to 24 degrees. Saturday 19.19.46 W to ENE to 85 degrees. Sunday 18.31.02 W to E to 84 degrees and 18.31.02 W to W to 26 degrees
There is one superbright evening Iridium flares this week on Tuesday at 17.53.47 at 65 degrees altitude in NNE

Week of 3rd February

Astronomical twilight ends at 18.55 UT at the start of the week and 19.04 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
The Sun has 2 sunspot groups and 1967 is enormous and active
The Type 1a Supernova in M82 (now nearly 2 weeks old) is still visible at around apparent magnitude +11 and is visible in small telescopes
The ISS returns with low passes this week: Friday 19.22.37 SSW to S reaching 15 degrees. Saturday 18.34.55 S to SE to 16 degrees and 20.09.58 WSW to WSW to 12 degrees and Sunday 17.48.03 SSE to SE to 11 degrees and 19.21.39 SW to SSW to 34 degrees. Next week will be a good ISS pass week
There are no particularly bright evening Iridium flares this week

Week of 27th January

Astronomical twilight ends at 18.44 UT at the start of the week and 18.53 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday and a slender Crescent next week-end
The Sun is slightly less active, though there are still 9 sunspot groups
The Type 1a Supernova in M82 (now less than a week old) is the closest in over 20 years. It will be an ideal candidate to study for its lightcurve given the dependence on thee type of evenst for measuring the acceleration of the Universe’s expansion. At apparent magnitude +11 it should be visible in the 10 inch. We await a clear night
There are no ISS passes this week
There is 1 bright evening Iridium flare: Wednesday 16.59.24 at 74 degrees altitude in ENE

Week of 20th January

Astronomical twilight ends at 18.34 UT at the start of the week and 18.43 UT at the end
The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Thursday
The Sun is less active, though there are still 6 sunspot groups and an active region is about to emerge on the Eastern limb
There are no ISS passes this week
There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares: Monday 17.13.58 at 22 degrees altitude in WNW and 17.45.16 at 61 degrees in NE and Wednesday at 16.56.21 at 25 degrees in W

Week of 13th January

Astronomical twilight ends at 18.25 UT at the start of the week and 18.34 UT at the end<br.
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The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Thursday
The Sun is still active and the giant sunspot 1944 is now on the limb but has the potential for a final flares. There are 7 other sunspot groups
There are no ISS passes this week
There are 4 bright evening Iridium flares: Monday 17.11.32 at 21 degrees altitude in SSW. Tuesday 17.11.46 at 19 degrees in SSW. Thursday at 17.08.57 at 16 degrees in SW and Friday 17.53.20 at 15 degrees in WNW

Week of 6th January

Astronomical twilight ends at 18.17 UT at the start of the week and 18.25 UT at the end
The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
Venus will be in Inferior Conjunction on Saturday 11th
The Sun is highly active and giant sunspot 1944 has the potential to release flares. An Earth directed CME left the Sun on 4th and could impact on 7th causing geomagnetic storms. There are 6 other sunspot groups
There are no ISS passes this week
There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares: Thursday at 17.23.28 at 24 degrees altitude in SSE and Saturday at 18.31.19 at 47 degrees in NNE

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