March 2026 – News

21st March

Messier Marathon: After three years of poor weather thwarting the event, the Messier Marathon finally took place, with 13 pupils and 6 members of staff (GKWJ, DGR, AL, KAH, IIAM and SCB) gathering at the Dome at 7pm under a spectacularly clear and still dusk sky. The 2 day old Waxing Crescent Moon with superb Earthshine, and the bright dot of Venus were sinking in the west; both were viewed with the 10-inch and the 8-inch Newtonian. The 8-inch Cassegrain was also used throughout the night. The event was a huge success with the clearest sky for quite some time allowing observing to run through to dawn. All observed until 11pm, when the pupils split into two groups. The first group continued observing to 2am, while the second group camped at the XI Pavilion. At 2am the groups swapped round and observing continued until 5am. Observing was at a steady pace with the suggested observing list followed by all three instruments. The final tally was 98 out of the 110 Messier objects observed – a new school record – consisting of 4 planetary nebulae (highlight – M27), 1 supernova remnant (M1), 7 diffuse nebulae (highlight – M42), 21 globular clusters (highlight M13), 26 open clusters (highlight – M38), 26 spiral galaxies (highlight – M51), 11 elliptical galaxies (highlight – M87), 1 irregular galaxy (M82) and 1 double star (M40). The objects not found were all very close to the horizon and obscured by terrain, trees or buildings. The new Seestar was also used to capture ‘holiday snaps’ of highlight targets as the evening progressed, including a stunning capture of M16, the Eagle Nebula with the Pillars of Creation visible at its heart. An excellent event that was enjoyed by all, despite tired heads by the end!

19th March

Radcliffe Society Observing: The sky was a little hazy, but clear enough for GKWJ to open the Dome for Radcliffe Society members and Common Room. 7 pupils and 7 staff attended through the evening. The session started outside with a sky tour and a high ISS pass, though it was eclipsed by Earth’s shadow at about 80° altitude. Jupiter was the first target in the 10-inch, where its belts, 4 Galilean moons and a Ganymede shadow transit were all visible. A deep sky tour then started with the following objects: Castor, M37, M36, Tegmine, M81, M82, and M51, though M51 was not immediately visible on slewing, so a recalibration was done on Mizar, showing as a tight double, with its optical double partner, Alcor, visible at the edge of the field of view.

18th March

GCSE Observing: It was the turn of the 4 Hundred Astronomy pupils as the clear spell continues. They joined GKWJ under a wonderful sky and started with a refresher Sky Tour. They then worked together to plan and carry out observations to map the path of the Milky Way through the Winter Wreath using stellar densities measured through binoculars.

17th March

GCSE Observing: 4 Remove Astronomy GCSE pupils came to the Dome on a wonderfully clear evening. GKWJ started with a revision session around the sky. They then completed a worksheet on Jupiter, sketching the naked eye view of the Winter Wreath and Jupiter in Gemini, estimating Jupiter’s horizontal and equatorial coordinates, and calculating its Hour Angle. The pupils moved to the 10-inch to sketch the planet at 140x magnification; 2 moons were visible, along with a shadow transit of Io and a transit of Callisto. They estimated the planet’s apparent size. The session finished with a view of M42.

15th March

Friends Observing: Following a day of sunshine and showers, the annual Friends Double Stars observing session was given the go ahead, with fingers crossed for a clear patch of sky! On early arrival at the Dome under a beautiful clear sky, GKWJ slewed the 10-inch to Algieba, Gamma Leonis, a lovely double at 4.8″ separation, and the few early attendees caught a glimpse before cloud spoiled the show. A total of 9 Friends came to the Dome and thankfully their patience paid off as the cloud bank started to pass over. The 10-inch was slewed to Jupiter which was cutting through the thinning cloud, and looked magnificent with its 4 Galilean moons. The sky cleared completely and Castor, Alpha Geminorum, at 5.2″ separation, was viewed, followed by Wasat, Delta Geminorum, at 5.3″ separation, but it was a really tough challenge as the two members of the binary are mag +3 and +8, so difficult to spot the fainter partner. Next up was Tegmine, Zeta Cancri, an easy split at 5.9″ separation. The 10-inch was sent on a meridian flip for the next target and the group went outside for a Sky Tour, including a look at the double star Alcor & Mizar, Zeta Ursa Majoris, in the handle of the Plough. A Friend set up a live view system outside and created a detailed image of Alnitak, Zeta Orionis, with the surrounding Horsehead and Flame nebulae. Unfortunately, clouds gathered and the session was cut short.

9th March

Outreach Visit: The final group from Hardenhuish School, consisting of 9 pupils and their teacher, joined GKWJ on a cloudy evening. They followed the meteor detector live stream, seeing multiple satellites and meteor events, and looked at a range of meteorites from the Wetton collection.

5th March

Outreach Visit: The second group from Swindon Academy were not so lucky… the 12 pupils and 2 teachers visited the Dome on a completely cloudy evening. GKWJ showed them around the Observatory, they looked at a selection of images, and handled the Wetton Meteorite collection.

4th March

Outreach Visit: The first group from Swindon Academy, consisting of 13 pupils and two teachers accompanied by TJD, joined GKWJ at the Dome on a clear evening. The session started with a Sky Tour around the darkening sky, pointing out the main asterisms, many satellites and the rising Full Moon, an impressive sight! M45, the Pleiades were viewed through binoculars before moving inside to the 10-inch. The first target was Jupiter with 4 moons visible, then on to Castor, then to M42, the Orion Nebula. The SeeStar was operational outside, imaging M42; GKWJ showed the group around the 10-inch the live photo on the app, looking similar in shape, though of course more detailed in colour and structure than the view through the eyepiece. The session ended with a view of the Full Moon through the 10-inch as it had risen to a suitable altitude.

2nd March

GCSE Observing: A wonderful clear sky, but drowned with light from the Full Moon, allowed the 4 Hundred GCSE pupils to join GKWJ at the Observatory to continue their Aided Observing Tasks. M45, the Pleiades, was sketched as seen through binoculars. M1, the Crab Nebula, was hunted, but to no avail in the 10-inch. M40, the double star in the Messier Catalogue was found in the 10-inch and sketched by all. The recently acquired SeeStar S50 was put into action with great success, first with the Globular Cluster, M3, and then finally, M1 was found and a 30 minute exposure obtained.