2017 – What’s Up

Week of 18th December

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.03 UT at the start of the week and 18.07 UT at the end
• The Winter Solstice falls on Thursday, when the Sun rises and sets at its extreme southerly point on the horizons and only reaches 15.5 degrees altitude at midday
• The Moon will wax from Monday and will be First Quarter on Boxing Day
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes its last pass on Tuesday at 16.38.32 from WSW to SSW reaching 13 degrees altitude
• There are two bright Iridium flares this week: Tuesday 17.00.41 at 18 degrees altitude in SSW and 18.17.29 at 33 degrees

 

Week of 11th December

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.03 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
• The Geminid meteor shower (debris from asteroid 3200 Phaethon) will peak early Thursday morng at around 2am. Wednesday night should be a good time to view the build up, especially with no Moon till much later. Peak rates of up to 120 per hour are predicted
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes its last passes this week: Monday 17.09.33 W to ESE reaching 83 degrees and 18.46.10 W to SW to 27 degrees. Tuesday 17.53.49 W to SE to 43 degrees. Wednesday 17.01.29 W to ESE to 60 degrees and 18.38.32 W to SSW to 17 degrees. Thursday 17.45.54 W to SSE to 17 degrees. Friday 16.53.26 W to SE to 38 degrees. Saturday 17.38.20 WSW to S to 15 degrees and Sunday 16.45.31 W to SSE to 22 degrees
• There are two bright Iridium flares this week: Tuesday 17.00.41 at 18 degrees altitude in SSW and 18.17.29 at 33 degrees

 

Week of 4th December

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.02 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Sunday. The ‘Cold Moon’ on 3rd was thew brightest of 2017 with it being at Perigee, 8% increase in diameter and 16% in brightness
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday at 16.49.27 from SW to E reaching 38 degrees altitude and 18.25.34 W to W to 57 degrees. Tuesday 17.33.23 WSW to E to 78 degrees and 19.09.53 W to W to 17 degrees. Wednesday 16.41.15 WSW to E to 61 degrees and 18.17.40 W to WNW to 70 degrees. Thursday 17.25.25 W to E to 86 degrees and 19.01.57 W to W to 21 degrees. Friday 16.33.11 WSW to E to 84 degrees and the best at 18.09.42 W to SSE to 87 degrees. Saturday 17.17.27 W to E to 85 degrees and 18.53.58 W to W to 25 degrees and Sunday 18.01.41 W to SE to 66 degrees
• There are three bright Iridium flares this week: Monday at 17.21.07 at 28 degrees altitude in S. Thursday at 17.12.16 at 24 degrees in SSW and Friday 18.32.23 at 33 degrees in SSE

 

Week of 27th 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 Full (Cold Moon) on Sunday
• The Sun almost blank with one young spot 2689 which is growing in activity
• The ISS returns on Tuesday making late aftrnoon passes this week: 18.49.57 from SSW to SSW reaching 14 degrees altitude. Wednesday 17.58.13 from SSW to SSE to 19 degrees. Thursday 17.07.01 SSE to ESE to 13 degrees and 18.41.14 from SW to SW to 27 degrees. Friday 17.49.08 SW to SE to 33 degrees and 19.25.07 W to W to 12 degrees. Saturday 16.57.16 SSW to E to 22 degrees and 18.32.45 WSW to WSW to 43 degrees and Sunday 17.40.27 WSW to E to 54 degrees and 19.16.48 W to W to 15 degrees
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 20th November

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.10 UT at the start of the week and 18.05 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Sunday
• The Sun almost blank with 2 small innactive spots
• The ISS makes no evening passes this weekbut returns on 28th
• There is one bright Iridium flare this week: Wednesday at 18.05.44 at 37 degrees altitude in SSE

 

Week of 13th November

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.17 UT at the start of the week and 18.11 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
• The waning Moon is now a fine sight in the pre-dawn sky with Mars below it and, at the start of the week Jupiter and Venus in a close (less than degree) Conjunction
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There is one super-bright Iridium flare this week: On Monday at 18.41.39 at 39 degrees altitude in SE

 

Week of 6th November

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.26 UT at the start of the week and 18.18 UT at the end<br.
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• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 30th October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.36 UT at the start of the week and 18.26 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Hunters Moon) on Saturday
• Tuesday is the ancient Feast of the Pleiades or in Celtic tradition, Samhain (the Cross Quarter day, half-way between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Soltice)..now Haloween
• The Sun has two fading spots, neither is active
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week but there is one extremely bright Iridium flare next Monday at 17.48.10 at 59 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 23rd October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.48 BST at the start of the week and 18.40 UT at the end as we return to Universal Time (GMT) early Sunday morning
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Friday
• The Orionids (debris from Halley’s comet) are active at the start of the week and best seen when Orion is high in the early morning
• The Sun has one spot 2685 which unusually is on its 3rd return, it was originally the highly active region 2673
• The ISS makes no evening passes week
• There are two bright evening Iridium flare this week on Monday at 18.53.06 at 57 degrees altitude in NNE and 20.31.47 at 26 degrees in NNE

 

Week of 16th October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.02 BST at the start of the week and 19.50 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday
• The Sun is blank for the 7th day in a row
• The ISS makes no passes week
• There is one superbright evening Iridium flare this week on Wednesday at 19.23.47 at 49 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 2nd October

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.33 BST at the start of the week and 20.19 BST at the end<br.
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• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Harvest Moon) on Thursday<br.
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• The Sun has three quiet sunspot regions
• The ISS makes good passes week: Monday at 20.37.28 W to ENE reaching 87 degrees. Tuesday 19.45.19 WSW to E to 83 degrees and 21.21.49 WSW to E to 27 degrees. Wednesday 20.29.39 W to ENE to 85 degrees. Thursday 19.37.28 W to E to 85 degrees and 21.13.59 W to W to 28 degrees. Friday 20.21.47 W to ESE to 84 degrees. Saturday 19.29.35 W to E to 86 degrees and 21.06.06 W to W to 27 degrees and Sunday 20.13.52 W to SSE to 61 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 25th September

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.51 BST at the start of the week and 20.33 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
• The Sun has two quiet sunspot regions, but 2673 is about to return around the Eastern limb. It is unlikely to be as powerful as 2 weeks ago
• The ISS returns thus week with good passes next week-end: Monday at 20.19.26 from SSE to SSE reaching 10 degrees altitude. Tuesday 21.01.30 SW to SSW to 18 degrees. Wednesday 20.09.42 SSW to SE to 22 degrees and 21.45.09 WSW to WSW to 12 degrees. Thursday 20.52.55 SW to SSW to 42 degrees. Friday 20.00.46 SW to SSW to 37 degrees and 21.36.51 W to W to 19 degrees. Saturday 20.44.29 WSW to S to 76 degrees and Sunday 19.52.10 WSW to E to 59 degrees and 21.28.33 W to W to 24 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 18th September

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.09 BST at the start of the week and 20.51 BST at the end. The Autumnal Equinox falls on Friday at 21.02 BST. The Sun will rise due East and set due west and we will have equal day and night length
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday
• The Sun is quiet with one mature spot 2680
• The ISS makes no visible evening passes this week but return from next Monday
• There are bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 11th September

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.28 BST at the start of the week and 21.14 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
• On Friday just before 2.30pm, the Cassini spacecraft will end its 20 year mission by diving into the gaseous planet Saturn
• The Sun is now quieting down again as huge active spot 2673 rotates round the limb. It will almost certainly be back in 2 weeks time
• The ISS makes no visible evening passes this week
• There is bright evening Iridium flare this week on Monday 21.06.22 at 25 degrees in N

 

Week of 4th September

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.48 BST at the start of the week and 21.31 BST at the end
• The Moon will be Full (Harvest Moon) on Wednesday
• The Sun has 5 spot groups and 2674 is huge, stretching some 150,000 km and highly active
• The ISS makes no visible evening passes this week
• There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares this week: Wednesday 21.41.03 at 15 degrees in N and Friday at 21.18.53 at 21 degrees in N

 

Week of 28th August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.09 BST at the start of the week and 21.51 BST at the end
• The Moon will be First Quarter on Tuesday and will then wax to Full at the start of next week
• The Sun has 2 spot groups which are mildly active
• The ISS makes no visible evening passes this week
• There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares this week: Monday 23.58.03 at 10 degrees in W and Wednesday at 20.04.53 at 45 degrees in N

 

Week of 21st August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.31 BST at the start of the week and 22.09 BST at the end
• The Moon will be New on Monday, when it will align exactly with the Sun causing a Total Eclipse, viible across 14 states of the USA
• The Sun is active again with an extended spot groups 2671
• Venus is dominent in the pre Dawn sky
• The ISS makes no visible evening passes this week
• There are 4 bright evening Iridium flares this week: Thursday 23.45.39 at 19 degrees in WSW. Friday 23.48.42 at 16 degrees in WSW. Saturday 23.51.48 at 14 degrees in W and Sunday 23.03.54 at 12 degrees in W

 

Week of 14th August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.54 BST at the start of the week and 22.34 BST at the end
• The Moon will be Last Quarter on Tuesday and will then wane to New at the start of next week, when it will align exactly with the Sun causing a Total Eclipse, viible across 14 states of the USA
• Perseid meteors will continue to be seen throughout the week
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes no visible evening passes this week
• There are 3 bright evening Iridium flares this week: Tuesday 22.27.23 at 12 degrees altitude in W. Wednesday at 21.45.09 at 19 degrees in N and Friday at 23.54.39 at 28 degrees in WSW

 

Week of 7th August

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.20 BST at the start of the week and 22.57 BST at the end
• The Moon will wax to Full (Storm Moon) on Monday and will then wane to Last Quarter at the start of next week. On Monday the Moon will move into the Earth’s shadow and will be partially eclipsed (fully visible from Asia and mainland Europe). We will see the Moon rise already covered by the Earth’s penumbral shadow at 20.45 BST. The Moon will return to full brightness at 21.50 BST
• The Persied meteor shower peaks at 1800 hrs on 12th but already fireballs are being seen as Earth moves into the debris stream left by comet swift-tuttle. It is worth watching out this week and certainly from 10th to 13th as the moonlight becomes less obtrusive
• The Sun has one mature spot 2670 (the remains of the huge spot 2665) and has little activity
• The ISS makes a couple of last passes on Monday at 22.08.31 from W to S reaching 24 degrees and Wednesday 21.00.54 WSW to S reaching 13 degrees
• There are 6 bright evening Iridium flares this week: Monday 23.21.33 at 20 degrees altitude in W. Tuesday 23.20.15 at 19 degrees in W. Wednesday 23.23.26 at 16 degrees in W. Thursday at 23.26.39 at 14 degres in W. Friday 23.29.56 at 12 degrees in WNW and Saturday at 23.33.02 at 10 degrees in WNW

 

Week of 31st July

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.51 BST at the start of the week and 23.20 BST at the end
• The Moon will wax to Full (Storm Moon) at the start of next week. The Moon will move into the Earth’s shadow and will be partially eclipsed on Monday 7th (fully visible from Asia and mainland Europe). We will see the Moon rise already covered by the Earth’s penumbral shadow at 20.45BST. The Moon will return to full brightness at 21.50 BST
• The Sun is almost blank again with one inactive sunspot group
• ISS pass times and Iridium flare times to follow

 

Week of 24th July

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 00.21 BST at the start of the week and 23.51 BST at the end
• The Moon will wax to First Quarter at the start of next week
• The Sun is now blank again
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday 23.05.49 SW to E to 52 degrees. Tuesday 22.13.45 SW to E to 36 degrees and 23.49.49 W to E to 89 degrees. Wednesday 22.57.30 WSW to E to 76 degrees. Thursday 22.05.14 WSW to E to 58 degrees and 23.41.37 W to E to 84 degrees. Friday 22.49.15 W to E to 88 degrees . Saturday 21.56.53 WSW to E to 81 degrees and 23.33.22 W to E to 89 degrees and Sunday 22.40.59 W to E to 84 degrees
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares this week on Monday at 23.16.39 at 11 degrees altitude in WNW and at 23.55.53 ar 39 degrees in WSW and on Tuesday at 21.50.47 at 19 degrees in NNW

 

Week of 17th July

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 00.55 on Friday for the first time true darkness returns
• The Moon is waning and will be New at the start of next week
• Saturn, though low, is well placed for viewing due south mid evening
• The Sun has been active with the enormous sunspot group 2665 causing strong auroral activity as it rotates out of sight on the western limb
• The ISS more passes at the end of the week: Saturday 23.14.20 SW to E reaching 32 degrees and Sunday 22.22.34 SSW to E reaching 21 degrees and 23.57.59 WSW to E to 70 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Tuesday at 23.03.29 at 19 degrees in WNW

 

Week of 10th July

 

• There is no Astronomical darkness
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter at the start of next week
• The Sun has one enormous (largest of 2017) sunspot group 2665, which is currently active
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There is one superbright evening Iridium flare this week on Wednesday at 23.14.42 at 32 degrees altitude in W

 

Week of 3rd July

 

• There is no Astronomical darkness
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Thunder Moon) on Sunday
• The Sun is blank again
• Noctilucent Clouds, which were wiped out by the heat wave, have again been sighted. On clear evenings it is worth looking west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 26th June

 

• There is no Astronomical darkness
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun has two sunspot groups, neither of whih is active
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares: On Monday at 22.51.48 at 25 degrees altitude in W and 22.49.00 at 22 degrees in WNW

 

Week of 19th June

 

• There is no Astronomical darkness
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
• On Wednesday (the Summer Solstice)the Sun reaches a Right Ascension of 6 hours and Declnation of 23.5 degrees at 5.24 BST. The Sun rises at it northernmost extreme (standstill point)on the Eastern horizon and likewise sets at the northernmost extreme, reaching its greatest altitude above the Southern horizon at Noon of 62.5 degrees; thus giving us the longest day of the year
• The Sun has two sunspot groups, 2663 is active
• Noctilucent Clouds have again been sighted and with clear evenings ,it is worth looking west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset
• The Southern evening sky is dominated by 4 bright objects; from the East yellow Saturn, red Antares then blue Spica and finally bright yellow Jupiter. The planets alone will shin with a steady light
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares: On Monday at 23.12.21 at 35 degrees altitude in W and Thursday at 23.03.27 at 31 degrees in W

 

Week of 12th June

 

• There is no Astronomical darkness
• The Moon is now waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun has one new sunspot group 2662, ending a number of blank days
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare: On Thursday at 23.27.17 at 39 degrees altitude in WSW

 

Week of 5th June

 

• There is no Astronomical darkness
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Strawbery Moon) on Friday
• The Sun has one new sunspot group 2661, which is active
• The ISS makes final passes this week: Monday 23.18.32 W to S reaching 2 degrees. Tuesday 22.26.13 W to SSE to 32 degrees. Wednesday at 23.11.40 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees. Thursday 22.18.47 W to S to 19 degrees and Sunday 22.12.33 SW to SW to 10 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare: On Wednesday at 23.57.17 at 46 degrees altitude in WSW

 

Week of 29th May

 

• The nights are now not truly dark until Astronomical Twilight ends on 21st July
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Thursday
• The Sun has one disappearing sunspot group
• The first Notilucent Cloud (NLC) has been sighted this year. From now till into July they are more common. We now know that they are seeded by debris from meteors and are made up of ice crystals in the mesosphere. Look west for an hour after sunset and they are obvious as high electric blue iridescent clouds
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday 22.56.50 W to E reaching 85 degrees. Tuesday 22.04.45 W to E to 88 degrees and 23.41.18 W to ESE to 83 degrees. Wednesday at 22.49.12 W to E to 87 degrees. Thursday 21,57,06 W to E to 84 degrees and 23.33.37 W to SE to 60 degrees. Friday 22.41.30 W to ESE to 77 degrees. Saturday 23.25.57 W to SSE to 37 degrees and Sunday 22.33.46 W to SE to 53 degrees
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares. On Tuesday at 21.49.06 at 56 degrees altitude in NE and on Friday at 21.36.05 at 61 degrees in NE

 

Week of 22nd May

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 00.58 BST at the start of the week after which we do not see true astronomical darkness till 21st July
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday
• The Sun has three small sunspots groups, none of which is active
• The ISS makes passes this week: Tuesday 23.19.58 reaching 38 degrees from SW to E. Wednesday at 22.28.20 to 26 degrees SSW to E. Thursday 23.12.04 to 60 degrees WSW to E. Friday 22.20.10 to 43 degrees SW to E. Saturday 23.04.18 to 83 degrees WSW to E and Sunday 22.12.14 to 67 degrees WSW to E and 23.48.42 to 85 degrees from W to E
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares. On Wednesday at 22.15.05 at 47 degrees altitude in SE and on Friday at 22.02.06 at 51 degrees in NE and a superbright flare on Saturday at 22.04.01 at 55 degrees in NE

 

Week of 15th May

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.57 BST at the start of the week and 00.58 BST at the end. The times now changing rapidly as we approach the period of continual astronomical twilight when from 23rd May till 21st July, the Sun never goes more than 18 degrees below the horizon and there is no astronomical darkness
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday<br.
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• The Sun is again blank for the 5th successive day. Solar minimum is predicted in 2019-2020
• The ISS makes no passes this week, but returns from 23rd
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares. On Tuesday at 22.40.38 at 37 degrees altitude in NE and a super-bright flare at 23.00.33 at 37 degrees in NE and on Thursday at 22.37.32 at 37 degrees in NE

 

Week of 8th May

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.26 BST at the start of the week and 23.57 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Flower Moon) on Wednesday
• The Sun has two small sunspot groups, neither of which is active
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares. On Monday at 23.09.10 at 29 degrees altitude in NNE and a super-bright flare on Tuesday at 21.38.34 at 57 degrees in ENE

 

Week of 1st May

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.00 BST at the start of the week and 23.26 BST at the end
• Monday is May Day and one of the Cross-Quarter days, roughly half-way between the Equinox and the Solstice. Known as Beltane in the Celtic calendar it is associated the World over with fertility celebrations
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun has three small sunspot groups, none of which is active
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Friday at 23.17.02 at 14 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of 24th April

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.38 BST at the start of the week and 23.00 BST at the end
• The Lyrid meteor shower peaks at the start of this week. Observing just before dawn may allow 10-20 shooting stars an hour to be seen
• The Moon is New on Wednesday and will then wax to First Quarter next week
• The Sun has two sunspot groups, 1653 is a return of the active 2645 group
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are 2 bright evening Iridium flares: Wednesday at 20.54.07 (superbright) at 68 degrees altitude in E and 22.29.16 at 37 degrees in NE

 

Week of 17th April

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.59 BST at the start of the week and 20.10 BST at the end
• The Moon is Last Quarter on Tuesday
• Jupiter, which rises around 8.30pm and dominates the South-Eastern evening sky and is well positioned for observations, with blue Spica following it up mid evening
• The Sun is almost blank
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are 3 very bright evening Iridium flares: Wednesday at 21.21.22 at 59 degrees altitude in ENE and 22.46.43 at 43 degrees in NE and on Thursday, a super bright flare at 21.15.21 at 61 degrees in ENE

 

Week of 10th April

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.48 BST at the start of the week and 19.58 BST at the end
• The Moon is Full (Paschal Moon) on Tuesday
• Jupiter, which rises around 8.30pm and dominates the South-Eastern evening sky and is well positioned for observations
• The Sun has 2 sunspot groups but neither is active
• The ISS makes its last passes this week: Monday at 21.28.58 W to S reaching 25 degrees. Tuesday 20.36.38 W to SE to 36 degrees and Wednesday 21.21.44 WSW to S to 14 degrees
• There are 4 bright evening Iridium flares: Tuesday at 23.00.57 at 9 degrees in NE. Thursday at 20.09.46 at 73 degrees in SE. Friday at 20.03.43 at 74 degrees in SE and Saturday at 22.57.45 at 17 degrees in NE

 

Week of 3rd April

 

• The Moon is waxing to First Quarter on Monday and then will continue to wax to Full at the start of next week
• Orange Arcturus heralds the arrival of bright yellow Jupiter, which rises around 8.30pm and dominates the Eastern sky
• After significant inactivity The Sun has now a huge 120,000 km wide sunspot group 2645, almos central on the disk and facing Earth
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday at (times now BST) 21.07.38 W to E to 86 degrees and 22.44.08 W to W to 22 degrees. Tuesday 20.15.12 WSW to E to 84 degrees and 21.51.41 W to SE to 87 degrees. Wednesday 20.59.13 W to E to 85 degrees and 22.35.43 W to W to 25 degrees. Thursday 21.43.13 W to SSE to 65 degrees. Friday 20.50.45 W to ESE to 82 degrees and 22.27.21 W to WSW to 23 degrees. Saturday 21.34.45 W to SSE to 42 degrees and Sunday 20.42.13 W to ESE to 59 degrees and 22.19.14 W to SW to 16 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flares next Saturday at 20.30.55 at 68 degrees altitude in ESE

 

Week of 20th March

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 20.20 UT at the start of the week and at 19.30 UT+1 (BST) at the end. The clocks go forward one hour to British Summer Time next Saturday night
• Monday is the Vernal Equinox. Ths start of the Astronomical Year when the Sun crosses the Celestial Equator at 0 hours RA and 0 Degrees Dec. Sunrise and sunset are due East and West respectively
• The Moon will wane to New next Week
• The Sun is totally blank for the 12th successive day
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week but returns next week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 13th March

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 20.00 UT at the start of the week and at 20.12 UT at the end
• The Moon will wane to Last Quarter next Monday
• The Sun is totally blank
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are two superbright evening Iridium flares this week on Tuesday at 19.40.59 at 57 degrees altitude in ESE and Wednesday at 19.34.56 at 58 degrees altitude in SE

 

Week of 6th March

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 19.47 UT at the start of the week and at 19.59 UT at the end
• The Moon will wax to Full (Lenten Moon) on Sunday
• The Sun is totally blank. As Solar activity decreases, so Cosmic Ray radiation increase. There has been a 10% increase since 2015. The Earh’s magnetic field also appears to be weakening. The South Atlantic anomaly has weakened 2% since 1999
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There is one superbright evening Iridium flare this week on Friday at 19.56.04 at 53 degrees altitude in ESE

 

Week of 27th February

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 19.35 UT at the start of the week and at 19.47 UT at the end
• The Moon will wax to First Quarter on Sunday. The new Crescent Moon will be close to Venus at the start of the week
• The Sun is quiet with two inactive spot groups
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Wednesday at 18.56.43 at 54 degrees altitude in SSE

 

Week of 20th February

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 19.23 UT at the start of the week and at 19.33 UT at the end
• The Moon will wane to New on Sunday
• Three planets line up in the evening western sky. From West Venus at magnitude -4.3 then Mars at +1.6 and then at +6.2 Uranus (should be easy in Binos)
• The Sun is quiet with one inactive spot group
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are two super-bright evening Iridium flares this week on Monday at 19.32.59 at 48 degrees altitude in SE and on Thursday at 53 degrees in NNE

 

Week of 13th February

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 19.11 UT at the start of the week and at 19.21 UT at the end
• The Moon will wane to Last Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun is quiet with one inactive spot group
• The ISS makes its last passes: Monday at 18.52.45 from W to SSE reaching 23 degrees. Tuesday 18.00.04 W to SE reaching 34 degrees and Wednesday 18.44.57 WSW to S to 13 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Wednesday at 19.21.41 at 38 degrees in NNE

 

Week of 6th February

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 19.00 UT at the start of the week and at 19.10 UT at the end
• The Moon will Wax to Full (Snow Moon) on Saturday
• The Sun is totally quiet
• The ISS continues to makes good passes as follows: on Monday at 18.33.31 from W to E reaching 85 degrees and 20.10.01 W to W to 16 degrees. Tuesday 17.41.05 W to E to 87 degrees and 19.17.35 W to W to 69 degrees. Wednesday 18.25.08 W to E to 86 degrees and 20.01.39 W to W to 21 degrees. Thursday 19.09.10 W to SSE to 61 degrees. Friday 18.16.41 W to ESE to 79 degrees and 19.53.21 W to WSW to 22 degrees. Saturday 19.00.43 W to SSE to 39 degrees and Sunday 18.08.10 W to ESE to 55 degrees and 19.45.22 WSW to SSW to 15 degrees altitude
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Thursday at 19.49.56 at 25 degrees in NNE

 

Week of 23rd January

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.39 UT at the start of the week and at 18.48 UT at the end
• The Moon wanes to New on Sunday
• Venus dominates the evening sky in the West with Mars just above and to the left. In the pre-dawn sky Jupiter (with blue Spica below it) form a line with the Moon (at the start of the week) and Saturn and Mercury
• The Sun at last has some spot activity, of the 4 small groups, 2628 has some activity
• The ISS returns at the end of the week with a psss on Sunday at 19.07.31 from SSW to S reaching 16 degrees
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares this week on Thursday at 19.00.55, 41 degrees altitude in NNE and Friday at 18.54.47, 43 degrees in NNE

 

Week of 9th January

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.21 UT at the start of the week and at 18.29 UT at the end
• The Moon will be Full on Thursday and will then wane to Last Quarter next week. It passes less than a degree from Red giant star Aldeberan on Monday
• Venus dominates the evening sky in the West, reaching Greatest Eastern Elongation on Thursday
• The Sun is very quiet and remains blank
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are two bright (the first is superbright and the beam within a km of the Observatory) evening Iridium flares this week on Wednesday at 16.18.37 at 73 degrees altitude in ESE and Thursday at 18.12.19 at 52 degrees in NE

 

Week of 2nd January

 

• Astronomical Twilight ends at 18.13 UT at the start of the week and at 18.21 UT at the end
• The Moon will be First Quarter on Thursday and will then wax to Full next week. Just after sunset the Moon moves eastwards over the next few days past Venus and Mars
• The Sun is very quiet and almost blank
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Friday at 16.44.12 at 70 degrees altitude in ENE