Astronomy – Astronomy Now

South America’s annular ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse

26 September 2024 Mark Armstrong

The breathtaking majesty of a total eclipse of the Sun is unrivalled. However, an annular eclipse of the Sun is a very special event in and of itself. Parts of South America are the lucky ones on 2 October.

Observe Mercury at its morning best

27 August 2024 Mark Armstrong

The elusive, innermost planet pulls to maximum elongation from the Sun to put on its best showing of the year in the pre-dawn sky.

Open clusters Messier 29 and 39: Cygnus’ star cities

26 August 2024 Mark Armstrong

Amid all the wonderful nebulae that Cygnus has to offer lie Messier 29 and 39, two fine open clusters which are both easily visible through a pair of binoculars against a marvellous Milky Way backdrop as they ride high on late summer nights.

Moon pesters the Pleiades

23 August 2024 Mark Armstrong

Some of the most spectacular observing events tale place when the Moon’s around, most gloriously when it lines us perfectly over the Sun, producing a total eclipse of the Sun.

The brilliant Wild Duck Cluster

21 August 2024 Steve Kelly

The Wild Duck Cluster in Scutum, known also Messier 11 and NGC 6705, is a deep-sky showpiece of the summer sky as one of the most spectacular open clusters in the heavens.

Watch as the Moon hides Saturn

20 August 2024 Mark Armstrong

Let’s hope for some clear skies on the morning of 21 August, so we can observe the beautiful ringed planet Saturn being occulted by the Moon.

The Perseids: the return of summer’s shooting star spectacular!

7 August 2024 Mark Armstrong

The annual Perseid meteor shower has been underway since last month and it predicted to reach its usual eagerly-anticipated maximum early next week, on 12 August between 13h and 16h UT.

Giant moon Titan occulted by Saturn

6 August 2024 Mark Armstrong

Presently, there are a number of events taking place involving Saturn’s moons. Saturn’s moons revolve in the plane of Saturn’s equator, so the outline of their orbits matches that of the ring system. This means when the rings are closed up sufficiently we can see Saturn’s moons undergoing ‘Galilean-type’ phenomena.

Head south for a Messier globular duo

30 June 2024 Mark Armstrong

The southern constellation of Scorpius hosts two splendid globular clusters, M4 and M80, both of which provide good viewing despite their lowly presentation at mid-northern latitudes.

Inspect impressive Mare Imbrium

15 March 2024 Steve Kelly

In and around the vast Imbrium Basin is a very fertile area for lunar observers. For our Imbrium expedition let’s zero in on its magnificent mountain ranges and great selection of impact craters.