Keep your eyes peeled for ghostly, electric blue noctilucent clouds from late May to early August. These swirling clouds glow in the dark and are the highest that can form in the atmosphere. The effect is caused by ice particles being illuminated by the sun’s modest distance below the northern horizon during summer nights at mid northern latitudes. Suffice to say the UK is one of the best places in the world to see them. Look north one hour after sunset, or before sunrise.
The biggest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, still dominates the southern sky. Visible all night long, it will be rather low for UK observers. But it is very bright and binoculars will reveal its four largest moons as starlike points of light.
The ringed world of Saturn is also low in the south. Looking like a bright yellow star, a small telescope with 36x magnification will begin to show its show-stopping rings. It stays just to the left (east) of the much brighter Jupiter during the summer – a real treat!
The second week of August sees truly dark skies return to much of Britain. That means we see many more stars and get a good view of the well placed Milky Way overhead at nightfall.
Coinciding with a return to starry skies is the Perseids Meteor Shower, which peaks overnight on 12/13 August. The waning moon rises late so hopefully we will see plenty of shooting stars. Best viewed from a dark location. Recent showers have been excellent, so it is one to look out for.
Mars puts on its best show since 2012 with a very close approach to earth on 13 October. It’s also reasonably high in the sky. Of course it will be visible many months before and after this date, but the prime viewing slot is mid September to the end of October. It really does look red and will become very bright – outshining even Jupiter – and unmistakable in the night sky. Modest telescopes will reveal dark markings on the Martian surface. A fleet of space probes is set to launch in the summer to take advantage of the Red Planet’s proximity. At a mere 38 million miles away, Mars won’t come this close to the earth again until 2035.
The superb Orionid Meteor Shower peaks on 22/23 October. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Halley entering the earth’s atmosphere and burning up. The crescent moon sets before midnight, which is perfect as the wee small hours are the best time to view the display. As always the darker your location, the more you will see.
The fantastic North Pennines Dark Sky Festival runs from 23 October to 1 November. This is one of the best dark sky locations in England. There’ll be scores of events for all the family run by the North Pennine AONB, energetic supporters of dark sky conservation. Exmoor International Dark Sky Reserve (uber dark!) is also hosting a dark skies festival from 16 to 31 October 2020.
The final two meteor showers of 2020 are the Leonids (17/18 November) and the Geminids 13/ 14 December. The latter is the best of the year and if you only have inclination to see one meteor shower make it this one. Plenty of shooting stars should be visible with the moon largely absent. Wrap up warm, be patient and ideally go somewhere dark.
Jupiter and Saturn have been close to each other in the sky all year, but on the 21 December they surpass themselves. They will come within one tenth of a degree and easily fit into the field of view of a telescope. Technically this is called a Great Conjunction and the last time the two giants of the solar system appeared this close was 1623! However, the dynamic duo will be low down in the west so it’s best glimpsed soon after the sun sets and the sky is reasonable dark, say 16.30 GMT. But be quick as both will be heading below the horizon soon after. For the record, this conjunction is a line of sight effect. Saturn is much more distant from the sun than Jupiter.
Alway expect the unexpected! Naked eye comets are rare, but this summer we had a real treat in the form of Comet NEOWISE, seen in the image below, taken from North Yorkshire in northern England. No one knows when the next one will come along to match its vibrant display. So it pays to be alert.
Moon at Last Quarter11/08/2020 at 16:45 – 17:45The Moon rises in the east at around midnight and appears high in the sky at sunrise. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200811_08_100
Perseid meteor shower12/08/2020 at 13:13 – 14:13Coinciding with a return to starry skies in northern Britain is the Perseids Meteor Shower, which peaks overnight on 12/13 August. The waning moon rises late so hopefully we will see plenty of shooting stars. Best viewed from a dark location. Recent showers have been excellent so it is one to look out for. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200812_10_100
New Moon19/08/2020 at 02:42 – 03:42The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200819_08_100
Moon at First Quarter25/08/2020 at 17:58 – 18:58The Moon appears high in the sky at sunset and sets in the west at around midnight. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200825_08_100
Full Moon02/09/2020 at 05:22 – 06:22The Moon is visible for much of the night. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200902_08_100
Moon at Last Quarter10/09/2020 at 09:26 – 10:26The Moon rises in the east at around midnight and appears high in the sky at sunrise. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200910_08_100
Neptune at its best11/09/2020 at 20:10 – 21:10You will need binos or a telescope to see it, but Neptune is at its best. It's 2.6billion miles away so will look fairly star-like and blue/green in colour. . https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200911_12_100
New Moon17/09/2020 at 11:00 – 12:00The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200917_08_100
September equinox22/09/2020 at 13:15 – 14:15Day and night have equal length, marking the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200922_07_100
Moon at First Quarter24/09/2020 at 01:55 – 02:55The Moon appears high in the sky at sunset and sets in the west at around midnight. https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20200924_08_100
