2018 – What’s Up

Week of December 30th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.10 UT at the start of the week and 18.14 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Sunday
• The Sun is blank
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares

 

Week of December 24th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.06 UT at the start of the week and 18.10 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun is blank. 2018 has been 60% and we are in deep miminum awaiting the start of the new cycle
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Monday at 17.22.26 at 61 degrees altitude in NE

 

Week of December 17th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.03 UT at the start of the week and 18.06 UT at the end
• Friday sees the Winter Solstice. The Sun rises and sets at its southerly extremes on the horizons. At midday it is only 27.5 degrees above the horizon at midday. The days will then start to lengthen
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Yule Moon) on Saturday
• Comet 46P is now visible by eye (just) as a grey smudge between the Hyades and Pleiades. Its coma is the size of the Full Moon but with only an integrated brightness of +4
• The Sun is again blank
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of December 10th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.01 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 is again blank after spot 2729 departs
• Comet Wirtanen (46P) is now an easy target in binoculars (grey fuzzy smudge) and at the start of the week is close to magnitude 4.7 Menkar (lambda Cetus) before it heads into Taurus. This short period comet (5.4 years) which only gets as far out as Jupiter is returning to make a very close pass to Earth. The closest for a long while. It was the original target for the Rosetta and Philae lander mission. On December 16th, at its closest, it will be only just over 7 million miles from Earth or 20 Lunar Distances. It should then be easy to locate at this stage between the Hyades and Pleiades in Taurus. Over Christmas and into January it will fade and head towards a vanishing point in Ursa Major. The comet was discovered in 1948 and, due to its frequent solar passes is realtively small at just over one km in diameter
• China has launced a mission to land the first rover on the far-side of the Moon. It is heading for the South Pole-Aitken basin
• The ISS makes its last passes for a while this week: Monday at 18.04.08 from W to SSE reaching 26 degrees altitude. Tuesday 17.11.47 W to SE to 38 degrees. Wednesday 17.56.46 WSW to S to 15 degrees. Thursday 17.04.03 W to SSE to 22 degrees and Sunday 16.56.51 WSW to SSW to 12 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of December 3rd

 

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.02 UT at the start of the week and 18.01 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday<br.
  </br.
• The Sun is again blank
• We are getting ready for Comet Wirtanen (46P). This short period comet (5.4 years) which only gets as far out as Jupiter is returning to make a very close pass to Earth. The closest for a long while. It was the original target for the Rosetta and Philae lander mission. On December 16th, at its closest, it will be only just over 7 million miles from Earth or 20 Lunar Distances. It should reach naked eye visiblity, but will be best in binoculars. It should be easy to locate at this stage between the Hyades and Pleiades in Taurus. Over Christams and into January it will fade and head towards a vanishing point in Ursa Major. The comet was discovered in 1948 and, due to its frequesnt solar passes is realtively small at just over one km in diameter
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday at 17.43.08 W to E reaching 87 degrees and 19.19.39 W to W to 14 degrees. Tuesday 16.50.58 WSW to E to 83 degrees and 18.27.29 W to W to 52 degrees. Wednesday at 17.35.17 W to E reaching 85 degrees and 19.11.48 W to W to 16 degrees. Thursday 16.43.05 W to E to 85 degrees and 18.18.35 W to SW to 63 degrees. Friday at 17.27.22 W to ESE to 83 degrees and 19.03.59 W to WSW to 19 degrees. Saturday 16.35.09 W to E to 86 degrees and 18.11.40 W to S to 43 degrees and Sunday 17.19.24 W to ESE to 60 degrees and 18.56.25 W to SW to 17 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of November 26th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.06 UT at the start of the week and 18.02 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
• Sun is again basically blank
• The ISS makes low passes this week but better passes next week: Monday at 17.24.45 from SSE to ESE reaching 12 degrees and 18.58.53 SW to SW to 17 degrees. Tuesday 18.07.00 SW to SSE to 32 degrees. Wednesday 17.15.20 SSW to ESE to 22 degrees. Thursday 17.58.43 WSW to SE to 53 degrees. Friday at 17.06.44 SW to E to 37 degrees and 18.42.50 W to W to 35 degrees. Saturday 19.27.07 WSW to E to 77 degrees and 19.27.20 W to W to 12 degrees and Sunday 16.58.27 WSW to E to 60 degrees and 18.34.51 W to W to 42 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of November 19th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.11 UT at the start of the week and 18.06 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Friday (Frost Moon)
• Sun is again basically blank
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of October 29th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.38 UT at the start of the week and 18.32 UT at the end. Note that BST ended on 28th October and we have returned to UT (GMT)
• The Moon is Last Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun is again blank
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of October 15th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.05 BST at the start of the week and 19.53 BST at the end. Note that BST ends on 28th October and we return to UT (GMT)
• The Moon is First Quarter on Tuesday and will wax to Full (Hunters’ Moon) on 24th
• The Orionids meteor shower (debris from Halley’s comet) peak on 21st, but does not tend to produce many meteors and this year will be effected by moonlight
• The Sun is again still basically blank
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flares this week on Thursday at 18.23.58 at 12 degrees altitude in W

 

Week of October 8th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.20 BST at the start of the week and 20.05 BST at the end
• The Moon is New on Tuesday
• The Sun is again blank
• The ISS makes it last evening passes for this session: On Monday at 20.01.59 fro W to SSE reaching 28 degrees altitude. Tuesday 19.09.55 from W to SE to 41 degrees and 20.48.38 SW to SW to 10 degrees. Wednesday 19.55.05 from W to S to 16 degrees. Thursday 19.02.43 W to SSE to 24 degrees and finally Saturday 18.55.57 WSW to S to 14 degrees
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares this week: Monday at 19.27.56 at 56 degrees altitude in SSE and Thursday at 19.14.57 at 54 degrees in SSE

 

Week of October 1st

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.36 BST at the start of the week and 20.22 BST at the end
• The Moon is Last Quarter on Tuesday
• The Sun has one stable sunspot
• The ISS returns making some of its best passes this week: On Monday at 19.39.8 from W to E reaching 89 degrees and 21.15.40 from W to W to 36 degrees. Tuesday 20.23.46an overhead pass through the Zenith from W to E to 90 degrees and 22.00.21 W to W to 11 degrees. Wednesday 19.31.51 W to E to 81 degrees and 21.08.23 W to W to 34 degrees. Thursday 20.16.27 W to SE to 71 degrees. Friday 19.24.32 W to ESE to 86 degrees and 21.01.08 W to WSW to 28 degrees. Saturday 20.09.07 W to SSE to 47 degrees and Sunday 19.17.09 W to SSE to 64 degrees and 20.54.06 W to SW to 19 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of September 24th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.54 BST at the start of the week and 20.41 BST at the end
• The Moon is Full on Tuesday (Harvest or Equinox Moon) is will then wane to Last Quarter on 2nd October
• The Sun is blank
• The ISS returns making good passes this week: On Monday at 20.52.57 from SW to S reaching 39 degrees. Tuesday at 20.01.24 from SSW to ESE reaching 29 degrees and 21.37.16 from WSW to WSW to 23 degrees. Wednesday at 20.45.24 from WSW to SE to 66 degrees. Thursday at 19.53.36 from SW to E reaching 49 degrees and 21.29.55 from W to W to 31 degrees. The best pass is on Friday at 20.37.59 from W to E reaching 87 degrees and 22.14.31 from W to W to 10 degrees. Saturday at 19.46.02 from WSW to E to 73 degrees and 23.33.32 from W to W to 35 degrees and Sunday at 20.30.33 from W to E to 84 degrees and 22.07.05 from W to W to 11 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of September 17th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.12 BST at the start of the week and 20.56 BST at the end
• The Autumnal Equinox falls this year next Sunday (23rd) when the Sun will rise due East and sets due West. This is the moment that the Sun (at RA 12h and declination 0 degrees) crosses the Celestial Equator from North to South and our nights become longer than our days. Though referred to as the First Point of Libra, due to precession over the last 2 millennia, the Sun will actually be in Virgo<br.
  </br.
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full at the start of next week
• The Sun is blank
• The ISS returns next week-end: Saturday at 21.00.30 from SSW to SSW reaching 15 degrees altitude. Sunday at 20.09.15 from S to SE reaching 17 degrees and 21.44.13 from WSW to WSW to 13 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of September 10th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.31 BST at the start of the week and 21.12 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter next Sunday
• Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner makes its closest approach for 72 years (0.39 AU or 58 million miles) to Earth on 10th September. It is now shining nearly at magnitude 7, just beyond naked-eye capability but possible in binoculars. It will cross in front of the Open star cluster M35 in Gemini on 15th September. 21P is the ‘parent’ comet of the Draconids meteor shower, which peaks annualy on 8th October. It may be worth watching closely in case it is richer than normal
• The Sun has one typical solar-minimum sunspot
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of September 3rd

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.52 BST at the start of the week and 21.34 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New next Sunday
• Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is heading for a close approach (0.39 AU) to Earth on 10th September. It is predicted to only now reach magnitude 11 next week-end when it will be just below the bottom stars of Auriga (see www.cometwatch.co.uk for details). It will only be low on the ENE horizon till after midnight
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Saturday at 22.43.15 at 10 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of August 20th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.35 BST at the start of the week and 22.13 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Sunday
• Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner is heading for a close approach (0.39 AU) to Earth on 10th September. It should be visible at magnitude 7 in binoculars (more details next week)
• The Sun has one small quiet sunspot
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of August 13th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.58 BST at the start of the week and 22.35 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
• The Sun remains blank
• The ISS makes no passes this week
• There is one bright evening Iridium flares this week on Saturday at 23.06.51 at 18 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of August 6th

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.23 BST at the start of the week and 23.02 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
• The annual Perseid meteor shower (Tears of St Lawrence and debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle) peaks at 2am on morning of 13th August. Before dawn on 12th and 13th may be best. There is no Moon, so conditions this year are very favourable and some extimate up to 150 meteors and hour. Already bright Perseids are being seen and rates up to 10 per hor recorded. It is worth watching out all week after 10pm or so. The Radiant rises late in the North East but any patch of dark sky is worth watching, eg Uras Major and Minor and the Summer Triangle
• The Sun remains blank at the end of Cycle 24
• Mars is past its very brightest but follows dim yellow Saturn and bright Jupiter from E to W along the Ecliptic
• The ISS one last pass this week on Tuesday at 21.39.03 from WSW to SSW, reaching 12 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of July 23rd

• Astronomical twilight at last comes to an end and true darkness returns, all be it briefly. At the start of the week it gets dark at 00.29 BST and 23.52 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Thunder Moon) on Friday, when it passes into the Earth’s shadow. The eclipse is Total and very long, lasting for over 6 hours (given the Moon is at apogee, it will be the longest in the 21st Century). The Moon rises already in the umbra and should be a deep red colour at 21.05 in SE. Totality starts to end at 21.45 with the Moon at only 5.5 degrees altitude. The Moon is fully in the penumbra at 23.00 at 13 degrees altitude. Full brightness will have returned by 00.45
• The Sun has one inactive spot
• Four planets are visible during the evening. Venus dominates the West and sets around 10pm. Jupiter is highest in the South, followed by Saturn. Mars rises just after 22.00 and is only 5 degrees from the Moon, slightly to the South at 11pm
• The ISS makes excellent long and high passes this week: The best is on Monday at 23.21.31 from W to E passing through the Zenith at 90 degrees. Tuesday at 22.29.24 from WSW to E reaching 77 degrees. Wednesday at 23.13.44 from W to E reaching 84 degrees. Thursday at 22.21.33 from W to E reaching 87 degrees and 23.58.04 W to SE to 74 degrees. Friday at 23.05.53 from W to E reaching 88 degrees. Saturday at 22.13.41 from W to E reaching 85 degrees and 23.50.12 from W to SSW to 50 degrees and Sunday 22.57.59 from W to ESE reaching 68 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare this week on Thursday at 23.22.44 at 22 degrees altitude in NNE

 

Week of July 16th

• The Moon is wanxng and will be First Quarter on Friday. The Crescent Moon and Venus are close at the start of the week
• The Sun remains blank
• Four planets are visible during the evening. Venus dominates the West and sets around 10pm. Jupiter is highest in the South, followed by Saturn. Mars rises at 11pm. By midnight, Saturn is due South
• The ISS returns this week: Tuesday at 23.50.13 from E to E reaching 16 degrees altitude. Wednesday 22.58.12 from ESE to E to 13 degrees. Thursday 22.03.12 from SSE to ESE to 12 degrees and 23.37.15 from SW to E to 46 degrees. Friday 22.45.26 from SW to E to 32 degrees. Saturday 21.53.51 from SSW to E to 22 degrees and 23.29.17 from WSW to E to 70 degrees and Sunday 22.37.15 SW to E to 52 degrees
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of July 9th

• The Moon is waning and will be New on Friday
• The Sun is blank
• Four planets are visible during the evening. Venus dominates the West and sets around 10pm. Jupiter is highest in the South, followed by Saturn. Mars rises at 11pm. By midnight, Saturn is due South
• There have been good Noctilucent Cloud displays around UK. Look West, 30 to 60 minutes after sunset. Tendrils of electric blue high altitude clouds are NLCs
• The ISS returns with evening passes next week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of July 2nd

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
• The Sun is blank
• The Noctilucent Cloud season has begun. Look west, 30 to 60 minutes after sunset. Tendrils of electric blue high altitude clouds are NLCs<br.
  </br.
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares this week: Monday at 22.51.10 at 23 degrees altitude in WNW. Tuesday at 22.02.02 at 43 degrees in W and Thursday at 22.51.42 at 18 degrees in WNW

 

Week of June 25th

• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Strawberry Moon) on Thursday
• Venus in West, Jupiter in South West and Saturn in South East are all now visible an hour or so after sunset, with Mars appearing in the East a couple of hours after Venus sets. At the start of the week the waxing Moon, Jupiter and the bright star Spica for a horizontal line in South<br.
  </br.
• The Sun has 2 sunspot groups and 2715 has the potential to be active
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares this week: Wednesday at 22.23.56 at 47 degrees altitude in NE and Friday at 23.44.41 at 13 degrees in NNE

 

Week of June 18th

• The Sun rises and sets at its northern most extremes on the horizon on Thursday and its highest declination at 11.07am. At midday the Sun reaches its maximum altitude in the year (Co-latitude + Declination) of 62.5 degrees
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
• Saturn is now rising at 22.20 BST but remains close to the horizon, culminating at 1.30 am at 16 degrees altitude. Bright red Supergiant Antares and the 3 stars in Scorpio’s tail are also now visible low in the South
• Mars rises at half-past midnight and is approaching Opposition (closest, largest and brightest) on .27th July and is already outshining Sirius. Though Oppositions occur every 2 years, this year Mars is near Perihelion in its orbit, so even closer
• The Sun continues to be almost blank
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There are three bright evening Iridium flares this week: Monday at 21.29.41 at 23 degrees altitude in NNW. Thursday at 22.49.40 at 38 degrees in NE and Saturday 22.53.04 at 37 degrees in W

 

Week of June 11th

• The Moon is waning and will be New on Wednesday
• The young crescent Moon and Venus will be close and make a super picture at the end of the week, around 9pm low in the West
• Mars is approaching Opposition (closest, largest and brightest) on 27th July and is already outshining Sirius. Though Oppositions occur every 2 years, this year Mars is near Perihelion in its orbit, so even closer
• The Sun conitnues to be blank
• There are no ISS evening passes this week
• There are eight bright evening Iridium flares this week (a great chance to catch one if you havent before) On Tuesday at 22.42.20 at 20 degrees altitude in WNW and 23.23.45 at 22 degrees in NNE. Wednesday 22.19.50 at 12 degrees in NNW and 22.43.20 at 19 degrees in WNE. Thursday ay 23.31.40 at 45 degrees in WSW. Friday at 22.49.56 at 14 degrees in WNW. Saturday at 22.3.27 at 12 degrees in WNW and Sunday at 23.09.35 at 30 degrees in NNE

 

Week of June 4th

• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes one last evening pass on Tuesday at 22.41.00 from WSW to SSW reaching 12 degrees
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares this week, on Thursday at 21.51.34 at 27 degrees altitude in W and Saturday at 22.48.41 at 25 degrees in W

 

Week of 28th May

• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Flower Moon)on Tuesday
• The Sun has one fast growing spot which may become active over the next few days
• The ISS makes a number of good passes this week: On Monday at 23.11.46 from W to ESE reaching 83 degrees. Tuesday 22.19.34 W to E to 87 degrees and 23.56.06 W to S to 43 degrees. Wednesday 23.03.51 W to ESE to 60 degrees. Thursday 22.11.38 W to ESE to 78 degrees and 23.48.19 W to SSW to 26 degrees. Friday 22.55.56 W to SSE to 37 degrees. Saturday 22.03.38 W to ESE to 53 degrees and 23.40.55 WSW to SW to 15 degrees and Sunday 22.48.09 W to S to 22 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday at 23.15.16 at 33 degrees altitude in W

 

Week of 21st May

• Astronomical twilight ends at 00.36 BST at the start of the week, then from Tuesday, does not return till 21st July and the nights have no Astronomical darkness
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Tuesday
• Venus appears in the twilight sky from 9pm and for 2 hours dominates the Western sky till it sets at 11pm. The waxing Moon increses its separation from the planet during the week
• The Sun is again blank and there have now been over 50% of days this year with no sunspots
• The ISS makes good passes in the evening this week: On Monday at 22.51.32 from SW to E reaching 89 degrees. Tuesday 21.59.45 SSW to E to 26 degrees and 23.35.27 WSW to E to 78 degrees. Wednesday 22.43.17 WSW to E to 60 degrees. Thursday 21.51.14 SW to E to 43 degrees and 23.27.27 W to E to 87 degrees. Friday 22.35.12 WSW to E to 83 degrees. Saturday 23.19.26 W to E to 85 degrees and Sunday 22.27.08 to E to 85 degrees
• There are two bright evening Iridium flares:Monday at 22.17.05 at 11 degrees altitude in NNW and Wednesday at 23.45.09 at 41 degrees altitude in WSW

 

Week of 14th May

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.50 BST at the start of the week and 00.27 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Tuesday
• The Sun has one stable spot 2709
• The ISS returns from Sunday 20th: 222.08.34 from S to ESE reaching 15 degrees and 23.43.14 from WSW to E reaching 54 degrees
• There is one bright evening Iridium flare on Thursday 22.58.02 at 22 degrees altitude in

 

Week of 7th May

• Astronomical twilight ends at 23.17 BST at the start of the week and 23.46 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be First Quarter on Tuesday
• The annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower (debris from Halley’s Comet) peaks in the early hours of 7th. With clear skies up to 20 shooting stars per hours may be visible in the hour before dawn, but they are not usually easily viewed from UK
• The Sun has one short lived spot 2708, now decaying
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There are no bright evening Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 30th April

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.45 BST at the start of the week and 23.05 BST at the end
• The Moon will be Full (Flower Moon) on Monday
• Tuesday is the start of summer with May 1st festivals all over UK. It is the feast of Beltane in the celtic tradition and a time of ‘union’. It is one of the ancient cross-quarter days, half-way between the Equinox and the Solstice
• The Moon and Jupiter are in conjunction (in Libra) and are well placed to view rising in the East after sunset (around 20.45). Perhaps of interest is the possibility that an April conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter (though in Aries) is a contender for the ‘star’ of Bethlehem origin
• Jupiter itself reaches Opposition on 9th May (Culminating at midnight), reaching its closest point to Earth and hence potentially the best conditions for observation
• The Sun is blank again
• There are no ISS passes this week

 

Week of 23rd April

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.34 BST at the start of the week and 22.45 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full at the start of next week
• The Sun is very innactive, though it now has 2 small spot groups
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There are four bright late evening Iridium flares this week: On Monday at 23.35.00 at 12 degrees altitude in W. Tuesday at 23.29.04 at 12 degrees in W. Wednesday at 23.32.22 at 11 degrees in W. Saturday at 22.09.11 at 11 degrees in N

 

Week of 16th April

• Astronomical twilight ends at 22.15 BST at the start of the week and 22.32 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter next Sunday
• The Sun is blank again
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There are two bright Iridium flares this week: On Wednesday at 23.41.21 at 16 derees altitude in W and Friday at 23.33.27 at 15 degrees in W

 

Week of 9th April

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.57 BST at the start of the week and 22.15 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Sunday
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes one last evening pass this week on Wednesday at 20.59.29 from WSW to SSW reaching 13 degrees altitude
• There are three bright Iridium flares this week, unusually 2 of them very close together, within 2 minutes: Thursday at 20.58.48 at 30 degrees altitude in N and Saturday at 23.50.14 at 17 degrees in WSW and 23.51.50 at 17 degrees in WSW

 

Week of 2nd April

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.41 BST at the start of the week and 21.55 BST at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Sunday
• The Sun has one active region 2703
• The first Chinese space station Tiangong-1 will make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere in the early hours of 2nd April, the debris will not be visible from MCBO
• The ISS continues to make good passes this week: Monday 21.30.53 from W to ESE reaching 83 degrees altitude. Tuesday 20.38.35 from W to E to 87 degrees and 22.15.07 W to WSW to 32 degrees. Wednesday 21.22.46 W to SE to 60 degrees. Thursday 20.30.26 W to ESE to 78 degrees and 22.07.08 W to SW to 25 degrees. Friday 21.14.39 W to ESE to 38 degrees. Saturday 20.22.16 W to ESE to 54 degrees and 21.59.30 WSW to SW to 15 degrees and Sunday 21.06.40 W to SSE to 22 degrees
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 26th March

• Astronomical twilight ends at 21.24 BST at the start of the week and 21.39 BST at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full (Paschal Moon) on Saturday, thus enabling Easter Day to fall on 1st April
• Just after sunset around 7.30pm Venus is visible low in West
• The Sun is still blank
• The ISS makes good passes this week: Monday 21.11.04 SW to SSE to 38 degrees. Tuesday 20.20.13 SSW to E to 26 degrees and 21.54.55 WSW to WSW to 39 degrees. Wednesday 21.02.42 WSW to E to 61 degrees and 22.39.06 W to W to 16 degrees. Thursday 21.10.34 SW tp E to 43 degrees and 21.46.47 W to WNW to 78 degrees. Friday 20.54.28 WSW to E to 83 degrees and 22.30.58 W to W to 24 degrees. Saturday 21.38.37 W to E to 85 degrees and Sunday 20.46.16 W to E to 85 degrees and 22.22.46 W to W to 31 degrees
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 19th March

• Astronomical twilight ends at 20.11 UT at the start of the week and 20.26 UT at the end
• The Vernal Equinox this year falls on Tuesday 20th, wehn the Sun will rise due East and set due West. Days will start to be longer than night and it should be the start of Spring!
• The Moon is waxing and will be First Quarter on Saturday
• Just after sunset around 7pm, Mercury and Venus are now visible close together in the west and at the start of the week Mercury is apparently furthest from the Sun
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS will make passes again from next week-end: Saturady at 20.19.30 from SSW to SSW reaching 12 degrees and Sunday 19.28.07 S to Se to 15 degrees and 21.02.49 WSW to SW to 14 degrees
• There is one bright Iridium flare this week on Monday at 19.55.12 at 30 degrees in N

 

Week of 12th March

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.58 UT at the start of the week and 20.10 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Saturday
• The Sun is blank
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one bright Iridium flare this week on Wednesday at 20.26.51 at 18 degrees altitude in N

 

Week of 5th March

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.45 UT at the start of the week and 19.56 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Friday
• The Sun is blank again
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 26th February

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.33 UT at the start of the week and 19.43 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Friday (Lenten Moon)
• The Sun is blank again
• There are no ISS passes this week
• There is one bright Iridium flare this week on Monday at 17.60.34 at 45 degrees altitude in SSW

 

Week of 12th February

• Astronomical twilight ends at 19.08 UT at the start of the week and 19.17 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be New on Thursday
• The Sun has a growing sunspot group 2699 which may lead to increased activity
• Elon Musk’s red Tesla is now more than 1 million km from Earth and shining at 17th magnitude
• The ISS makes its last pass for a few weeks on Tuesday at 18.17.51 WSW to SSW reaching 13 degrees
• There are two bright Iridium flares this week on Monday at 18.47.58 at 46 dgrees in SSE and Friday at 17.29.14 at 16 degrees altitude in W

 

Week of 5th February

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.58 UT at the start of the week and 19.08 UT at the end
• The Sun is currently blank
• The ISS makes good evening passes this week: Monday at 18.48.19 from W to ESE reaching 84 degrees altitude and 20.24.56 W to W to 10 degrees. Tuesday at 17.56.06 W to E to 86 degrees and 19.32.38 W to WSW to 36 degrees. Wednesday 18.40.23 W to SE to 61 degrees and 20.17.23 W to WSW to 12 degrees. Thursday 17.48.08 W to ESE to 79 degrees and 19.24.49 W to SSW to 26 degrees. Friday 18.32.26 W to SE to 38 degrees. Saturday 19.17.21 WSW to S to 15 degrees and Sunday 18.24.37 W to SSE to 23 degrees
• There is one bright Iridium flare this week on Thursday at 19.03.06 at 45 degrees altitude in SSE

 

Week of 29th January

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.47 UT at the start of the week and 18.58 UT at the end
• The Moon is waxing and will be Full on Wednesday. This month’s moon is being called the Super-Blue-Blood moon! This is because it is near perigee and thus closer in its orbit, so will appear a little brighter and bigger than usual and also on Wednsday it is the second Full Moon in the month and these have become known as Blue moon (hence the expression, though they are not that rare) and to top it all the Moon passes into the Earth’s shadow at 13.00 UT (so not visible at all in the UK) for a Total Lunar Eclipse, where the deepest shadow is blood red
• The Sun is currently blank
• The ISS returns making good evening passes this week: Monday at 18.27.59 from SW to ESE reaching 37 degrees altitude and 20.04.04 W to W to 13 degrees. Tuesday at 17.36.04 SSW to E to 25 degrees and 19.11.44 WSW to WSW. Wednesday 18.19.27 WSW to E to 59 degrees and 19.55.50 W to W to 18 degrees. Thursday 17.27.16 SW to E to 42 degrees and 19.03.27 W to W to 80 degrees. Friday 18.11.04 WSW to E to 82 degrees and 19.47.34 W to W to 23 degrees. Saturday 18.55.09 W to ENE to 85 degrees and Sunday 18.02.44 W to E to 85 degrees and 19.39.13 W to W to 31 degrees
• There are three bright Iridium flares this week: Monday at 17.03.07 at 15 degrees in SW. Tuesday at 17.20.21 at 20 degrees in W and Thursday at 24 degrees in W

 

Week of 22nd January

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.37 UT at the start of the week and 18.46 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be First Quarter on Wednesday
• The Sun has one small inactive spot
• The ISS returns with evening passes from Friday: Friday at 19.28.33 from SW to SSW reaching 14 degrees. Saturday 18.36.45 SSW to SSE to 22 degrees and Sunday 17.45.20 S to ESE to 14 degrees and 19.19.56 SW to SW to 29 degrees
• There are three bright Iridium flares this week: Monday at 17.17.03 at 23 degrees altitude in SSW. Wednesday at 17.10.25 at 22 degrees in SSW and Friday at 18.20,09 at 10 degrees in WNW

 

Week of 15th January

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.28 UT 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 one small inactive spot
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week<br.
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• There are no bright Iridium flares this week

 

Week of 8th January

• Astronomical twilight ends at 18.19 UT at the start of the week and 18.26 UT at the end
• The Moon is waning and will be Last Quarter on Monday
• The Sun is blank again
• The ISS makes no evening passes this week
• There are no bright Iridium flares this week