- The winter sky is in full swing with the magnificent hour glass shaped constellation of Orion dominating the southern sky.
- This next decent meteor shower is the Lyrids – 22 April. Last hurrah before the long summer days kick in and dark skies vanish.
- The 3rd Dark Sky Festival takes place 9 to 25 February 2018 with scores of events. This year it’s bigger than ever with the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors, South Downs and Northumberland national parks all taking part! www.darkskiesnationalparks.org.uk/
- Click the blog thoughts tab above for advice on buying telescopes.
- Jupiter will be at its best from April onwards – look for a brilliant bright “star” in the east. Binoculars will show its biggest moons. Saturn’s best show is in June when it will appear as a yellow star-like object low in the south. A small telescope will reveal its rings.
- A total eclipse of the moon takes place on 27 July and is visible from the UK – it will rise in the east already in totality and will look very red. Partial eclipse from about 10pm. Great event – don’t miss it, but you will need a low eastern horizon to make the best of it.
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- Lyrids Meteor Shower 22/04/2018 The shower is the only one of note in the spring produced by dust left behind by comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. It peaks on this night running into to the wee small hours. Moon sets soon after midnight, which is good as otherwise it would wash out the fainter shooting stars. Best seen from dark…
- Jupiter at its best 09/05/2018 The biggest planet in the solar system will be at its closest approach to Earth and brighter than any other time of the year. Look in the southern sky for dazzlingly bright star-like object. Brightest object in the night sky apart from the moon and (when visible) Venus. Binoculars will show up to four of…
- Summer Solstice 21/06/2018 Today the sun reaches its highest point in the sky in the northern hemisphere. It's also the first day of summer. This event has a Google Hangouts video call. Join: https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/richarddarn.com/summer-solstice?hceid=cmljaGFyZGRhcm4uY29tX3MzYXJmNnE2aGVuN2RuZ2E2ZTFlazdnMHZrQGdyb3VwLmNhbGVuZGFyLmdvb2dsZS5jb20.3le2q21rnsbfptlhq9b2fhg76i&hs=121
- Saturn at closest 27/06/2018 The ringed planet is at its closest to the earth this year. But it is low down in the south and reaches its highest (and therefore best) visibility at 1am. Even though we'd like the planet to be higher, you will still see its famous rings in a telescope - a magnification of 35x plus…
- Total Lunar Eclipse 27/07/2018 One of the greatest spectacles in the night sky - the earth will come between the moon and the sun to create a total lunar eclipse. Even though the moon is blocked off from the sun's brilliance, light seeps around the Earth's atmosphere causing it to shift to a red colour and this is projected…
- Perseid Meteor Shower 13/08/2018 – 14/08/2018 The Perseids is one of the best meteor showers. It is produced by comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862. The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24. It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13. The thin crescent moon will set early in the…
- Venus looking good 17/08/2018 This is the best time to view Venus since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the evening sky. Look for exceptionally bright planet in the western sky after sunset. This event has a Google Hangouts video call. Join: https://plus.google.com/hangouts/_/richarddarn.com/venus-looking?hceid=cmljaGFyZGRhcm4uY29tX3MzYXJmNnE2aGVuN2RuZ2E2ZTFlazdnMHZrQGdyb3VwLmNhbGVuZGFyLmdvb2dsZS5jb20.3fm1io04uvg0klsp788aqndl5d&hs=121
- Neptune at its best 07/09/2018 The furthest planet reaches it closest approach to Earth. Due to its extreme distance (over two billion miles away) it will only appear as a tiny blue dot in all but the most powerful telescopes. Binoculars will see it as a blue/green star. Just beyond naked eye visibility. This event has a Google Hangouts video…
- Orionid meteor shower 21/10/2018 – 22/10/2018 The lovely Orionids meteor show reaches its peak - up to 20 meteors per hour may be visible from very dark locations. It is produced by dust grains left behind by Comet Halley.. The nearly full moon will block some of the fainter meteors. Best viewing will be after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the…
- Uranus at its best 23/10/2018 The blue-green planet will be at its closest to Earth. Just on the edge of naked eye viability binoculars will show it as a green star like object. Larger telescopes will be needed to see it as a small disc. Look to the southern sky. Use an app or star map to track it down.…
