Astronomy News 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.
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 Mars Visible this MonthMars is set to be quite well placed this winter and is visible now in the evening sky. Already in smaller telescopes it shows as a red tiny disk and shows white polar ice caps and dark markings as it approaches the earth.
Mars is only visible well for a few weeks every two years so make the most of January and February for the red planet.
Mars even appears reddy coloured with the naked eye and through January will outshine most stars in the night sky visible high in the South.
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 Saturn visible againSaturn is now visible again late in the South East once again revealing it's ring system through telescopes from 60mm or larger.
Saturn is a favourite for new astronomers and old with the ring system opening and closing through the years, last years edge on rings are now starting to open.
Saturn will remain prominent throughout the Summer this year and passes closest to us in late March.
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 Norwegian Lights in the SkyThe strange lights seen December 9th in the skies over Norway sparked theories of UFO activity, the spectacular light show was seen by thousands and was widely reported by news organisations worldwide.
Russia have confirmed that a missile test had taken place and is the likely cause for the phenomenon, Norway and many Scandanavian countries are often subject to natures own lights in the sky with the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis.
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 International Space StationThe International space station has been a bright naked eye object from the UK recently, 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 regular.
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.
Click here to visit the NASA ISS website for sighting predictions.
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 Winter Favourite - The Orion NebulaMany deep sky objects are faint and difficult to find but the Orion Nebula (M42) is both bright and easy to locate. Visible through the darker winter nights it can be found in the "sword" of Orion easily found with modest binoculars when facing south.
Through a telescope the nebula will reveal shape and tenuosity even from suburban skies, at higher magnifications the four stars of the trapezium can be resolved in the centre. It is these four stars in the trapezium that light up the gas that forms the nebula itself. |
 The Pleiades - great in binocularsThe seven sisters or Pleiades 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? |
