Observing – Page 48 – Astronomy Now

14 August 2026

The Moon’s two-night encounter with Jupiter

29 March 2015 Ade Ashford

The waxing gibbous Moon passes close by the Solar System’s largest planet, Jupiter, on the nights of March 29th and 30th. Jupiter was at opposition last month, but it’s still big, bright and offers much to see in a telescope.

See the crescent Moon glide through Taurus over two nights

24 March 2015 Ade Ashford

As twilight fades to dark on the evenings of March 24th and 25th, observers in the British Isles can see the waxing crescent Moon’s passage through Taurus, passing some of the constellation’s highlights.

A 2-day-old crescent Moon meets Venus in the evening sky

22 March 2015 Ade Ashford

Nearly 60 hours after its starring rôle in Friday morning’s spectacle, the crescent Moon has an attractive conjunction with planet Venus, the second brightest nighttime body, low to the west at dusk on Sunday, March 22nd.

Bright nova in the heart of Sagittarius — still erratically variable

16 March 2015 Ade Ashford

Australian astronomer John Seach discovered a nova in Sagittarius on March 15th that’s still an easy binocular object for Southern Hemisphere observers and a challenge worth attempting in the dawn twilight of southern counties UK.

Boldly gone, but we can still see your asteroid, Mr. Spock

13 March 2015 Ade Ashford

As a nice way to celebrate the memory of the late Leonard Nimoy, over the coming week astrophotographers have a chance to image the 13-mile-wide minor planet named after Mr. Spock, the Star Trek character he shall always be most closely associated with.

The Moon meets Saturn in the claws of the Scorpion

11 March 2015 Ade Ashford

The 20-day-old waning gibbous Moon has a close encounter with ringed planet Saturn in northern Scorpius in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, March 12th.

Planets Mars and Uranus meet in the evening sky

11 March 2015 Ade Ashford

Exactly a week after its close encounter with dazzling Venus, outer planet Uranus lies close to Mars on the evening of Wednesday, March 11th — but you’ll need to time your observation carefully in the dusk twilight twilight to ensure success.

See the smallest Full Moon of 2015 tonight

5 March 2015 Ade Ashford

If you feel that tonight’s rising Full Moon is that bit smaller than usual then you’d be right, for this is a so-called Micromoon — one that occurs close to the point in the Moon’s orbit where it is furthest from the Earth.

Planets Venus and Uranus in close conjunction

4 March 2015 Ade Ashford

On Wednesday, March 4th, planets Venus and Mars will be easy naked-eye objects in the western sky at dusk, but in a telescope you’ll have the added bonus of spotting gas giant Uranus very close to Venus.

The Moon meets Jupiter in the evening sky

2 March 2015 Ade Ashford

The waxing gibbous Moon passes close by the Solar System’s largest planet, Jupiter, on the nights of March 2nd and 3rd. Jupiter was at opposition last month, but it’s still big, bright and offers much to see in a telescope.