We dont just sell Telescopes, we use them! This regularly updated section explains what can be seen from the UK with a variety of instruments as well as showcasing new ideas in astronomy.
Stargazing Live 2012
The superb BBC series Stargazing Live returns on January 16th 2012. The program first shown in 2011 will again host numerous events and star parties up and down the country. For more details visit the Stargazing Live website. Highly recommended.
Christmas 2011 Sky Guide
The darkest time of the year is upon us again and if we are blessed with clear skies there is as much to see as at any other time.
The planet JUPITER still dominates the sky throughout the night and as ever is one of the most rewarding objects for study in any size telescope. Fast making it's presence felt, however, is MARS, clearly visible by midnight and distorting the familiar shape of the constellation LEO rising in the east. Mars' steady orange glow shines brightly at around magnitude 0.5 and makes it very distinctive. Telescopically, as the planet is still a long way off, it's apparent diameter is still only around 8 arcseconds; this will improve gradually until March of next year. Also becoming conspicuous in the early evening sky is VENUS, which will also brighten considerably into the first part of next year.
Turning to the realm of the stars, the unmistakable constellation of ORION holds court from the middle of the evening onwards. Use binoculars or a telescope to pick up the stark colour contrast of BETELGEUSE in the upper left hand corner against the bluish white of RIGEL in the lower right, which is a stunning double star. A high quality small telescope, working at a high power, should pick up Rigel's 6.7 magnitude companion although less than good seeing is likely to result in it's light being swamped by the brilliance of the primary.
Below Orion's famous three star belt, the Great Nebula in Orion needs no introduction. A beautiful sight in any telescope, this is one of the highlights of the entire sky. Note the beautiful "Trapezium" of four stars embedded in the light of the nebula.
Overhead is the bright yellowish star CAPELLA, the brightest object in the constellation of AURIGA. Sweeping through the southern section of the constellation with binoculars or a small telescope will pick up three distinctive star clusters, the loose M36, the cross shaped M38 and the beautifully densely populated M37.
Make the most of the dark nights over the holiday period if weather permits. Clear skies!
Thanks to Chris Campbell for contributing the above superb article.
Jupiter visible for the UK
Jupiter is visible in the South once again revealing it's cloud belts and moons through telescopes from 60mm or larger. Even modest binoculars will show the moons strung out in a line close to the giant planet.
Jupiter is a favourite for new astronomers and old with the ever changing cloud structure and the clearly visible moons circling the giant planet.
Jupiter will remain prominent throughout the Winter and is at its best during October 2011.
Mars 2012 opposition
The red planet makes a welcome return to the night sky during this winter, Mars is only visible well for a short few Months every two years so make the most of this opposition.
Mars will not reach opposition until early March but prior to this it will gradually increase in apparent diameter showing colour in even the smallest instrument.
A few weeks either side of the opposition the polar ice caps and dark markings will be visible in telescopes 60mm and larger, Mars even shines a red colour to the naked eye.
International Space Station Sighting Information
The International space station has been a bright naked eye object from the UK regularly, moving quite slowly from west to east outshining all the stars visible. Timings vary of sightings but pre dawn and after dark passes are very common.
We managed to see the solar panels Friday 20th November through an 80mm refractor at just 50x magnification and the shuttle Atlantis could be seen in close proximity for a couple of days after.
There are many satellites visible to the naked eye, even the shuttle itself can be spotted but most move too fast to catch in a telescope. Many modern goto telescopes use a system that allows you to see them pass through by means of a countdown timer. To check sighting information in your location please visit the NASA website Click here
The Pleiades - great in binoculars
The seven sisters or Pleiades (M45) is an easy naked eye object but at around 2 degrees in size too big for most telescopes. Easy to find this time of year, look up high in the south, if you know the Orion constellation the belt stars point to the Pleiades.
If you have a pair of binoculars take a look over the next month or so at this fantastic bright open cluster, even small binoculars will show it very well.
As a test see how many stars you can count with naked eye, it's usually six?
Full Moon Dates 2012
The full Moon is interesting to view as the Sun shines directly on the Lunar surface and we see Tycho rays stretching hundreds of miles.
For astronomers interested in deep sky observing the full Moon tends to wash out views of fainter objects, below are the dates for the full Moon which should help you plan your observing over the coming year.
Friday 10 December 2011 Monday 9 January 2012 Tuesday 7 February 2012 Thursday 8 March 2012 Friday 6 April 2012 Sunday 6 May 2012 Monday 4 June 2012 Tuesday 3 July 2012 Thursday 2 August 2012 Sunday 30 September 2012 Monday 29 October 2012 Wednesday 28 November 2012 Friday 28 December 2012
Celestronimages.com - new interactive images for the astronomer
