Observing – Page 32 – Astronomy Now

See 2018’s largest supermoon on 2 January

31 December 2017 Ade Ashford

If skies are clear in Western Europe on the first evening of 2018, be sure to glance up at the almost full Moon in the constellation of Gemini. If it seems a bit larger than usual then you’d be right, for the lunar orb is at its closest for the year, making the full Moon of 2 January a supermoon.

See the Moon hide bright star Aldebaran on New Year’s Eve

20 December 2017 Ade Ashford

Observers in the UK with clear skies on the night of 30—31 December 2017 can see the 12-day-old waxing gibbous Moon glide through the Hyades cluster in Taurus, occulting a number of naked-eye stars along the way, culminating in the disappearance and reappearance of first-magnitude star Aldebaran in the small hours of New Year’s Eve.

Crescent Moon joins Jupiter and Mars at dawn on 14 December

12 December 2017 Ade Ashford

While looking for Geminid meteors, observers in Western Europe should also look to the southeast about 90 minutes before sunrise to see a beautiful conjunction of a 25-day-old Moon, Jupiter and Mars on Thursday, 14 December.

Best ever Geminid meteor shower around 14 December?

11 December 2017 Ade Ashford

Could we be in for a bumper crop of Geminid meteors just before the middle of December? There’s a good chance that we will given that their parent body, the mysterious crumbly “rock comet” 3200 Phaethon, is also making a close flyby of Earth this month.

See asteroid Phaethon, source of the Geminids, in a close brush with Earth

4 December 2017 Ade Ashford

As shooting-star devotees prepare for the naked-eye spectacle of the Geminid meteor shower in mid-December, owners of small telescopes can also witness the close passage of the meteors’ parent body — a curious “rock comet” known as 3200 Phaethon, galloping through the constellations of Auriga, Perseus, Andromeda, Pisces and Pegasus at a rate of up to 15 degrees/day.

Don’t miss the Leonid meteor shower on 17 November

16 November 2017 Ade Ashford

The maximum of the annual Leonid meteor shower, predicted to occur around nightfall on Friday, 17 November for observers in Western Europe and the UK, favourably coincides with a new Moon this year. However, observers in the British Isles may have to wait until around midnight to see about ten of the famously swift, bright Leonids per hour.

See Venus and Jupiter get close at dawn on 13 November

10 November 2017 Ade Ashford

At the beginning of civil twilight on Monday, 13 November, observers in Western Europe and the British Isles should seek out a viewing location offering an unobstructed view very low to the southeast horizon to see brightest planet Venus and largest planet Jupiter separated by little more than half the width of a full Moon.

See a lunar occultation bonanza on the night of 5—6 November

2 November 2017 Ade Ashford

Many will be looking skyward to see terrestrial pyrotechnics this Bonfire Night, but if you own a small telescope and can escape the light pollution, you can see the waning gibbous Moon hide three naked-eye stars in Taurus on the night of 5—6 November, culminating in first-magnitude star Aldebaran in the small hours of Monday morning.

See fragments of Comet Halley light up the night sky this weekend

21 October 2017 Ade Ashford

If skies are clear between midnight and the first glimmer of dawn this weekend, you may get to see up to 20 celestial fireworks per hour from the Orionid meteor shower. While far from the richest of the annual shooting star displays, the Orionids are particularly swift and have their genesis in particles strewn along the orbit of Comet Halley.

See the old crescent Moon meet Venus at dawn on 18 October

17 October 2017 Ade Ashford

Observers in the British Isles and Western Europe should look low to the east about an hour before sunrise on Wednesday, 18 October to see the slim crescent of a very old Moon close to the brightest planet, Venus. Mars is also nearby for the keen-eyed among you, but don’t leave it too late or the growing twilight will drown out the Red Planet.