Cotswold Astronomical Society

The CAS Coordinator’s annual report, the Treasurer’s written report and statement of accounts is now available for members to view in the member’s only part of this website. Any questions should be submitted to the Coordinator in advance of the AGM on Saturday 11th May 2024.

The lighter nights make astronomy more challenging now, especially as none of the planets are well placed. You may need to concentrate on the Moon.

Planets:

Mercury:  Mercury becomes a morning object, reaching elongation of -26^o on the 9^th May. However, it will be low in the sky and, although of magnitude +0.4, it will be difficult to find.

Venus:  Venus is technically a morning object but is not really observable as it approaches superior conjunction at the start of next month.

Mars: It remains a difficult morning object throughout at magnitude +1.1 and diameter of 4.8 arcsec. It continues to increase its declination to +7^o, so you may be able to view it.

Jupiter:  Jupiter reaches conjunction on the 18^th and so is not observable this month.

Saturn: Although Saturn rises well before the Sun in the morning sky, its southerly declination of -6^o and magnitude of only +1.2 will make it a tricky object.

Uranus: Uranus is not observable this month.

Neptune:  Neptune is not observable this month.

The Sun

Solar activity is still increasing, providing a good opportunity for solar observations.

Take great care to never look directly at the Sun, or directly through an optical instrument.

Aurora Borealis:  Increasing solar activity increases the chance of seeing an aurora. There are a number of Apps that can give you warnings and chances of seeing Aurorae. Mine is called Aurora Pro.

Meteor Showers:  There are no observable meteor showers this month but keep an eye out for sporadic ones.

Moon

1^st May:  Moon is at last quarter.                  8^th May:  New Moon**

15^th May:  Moon is at First Quarter               23^rd May:  Full Moon      

Comet 12P Pons-Brooks

This may still be visible at the start of the month, although it is moving southwards. Look online for updated expectations.

Deep Sky Objects:  This is becoming increasingly difficult with the lighter nights. By the end of the month, astronomical twilight will last virtually all night. Only objects in the southern part of the sky will be able to be photographed successfully.

To view this post in PDF format please CLICK HERE

Following on from the excellent talk last night (13 April 2024) by Owen Brazell, here are some links to sources of further reading that were given in the talk.

haroldcorwin.net globulars

British Astronomical Society Observing Programmes

astronomy-mall.com Adventures In Deep Space

faintfuzzies.com Globular Clusters PDF

There is more information in a PDF document, including some book titles, available to members. (The link is available when logged in to the website).

The change in the clocks and lighter nights become an increasing problem for observing.

Planets:

Mercury:  Mercury will still be visible in the evening sky at the very start of the month. This month, having reached greatest eastern elongation on the 24^th March. It starts the month with an elongation of +17^o, but rapidly drops to +11^o by the 5^th April. It will then rapidly be lost as it reaches inferior conjunction on 11^th April; therefore, look for it early in the month.

Venus:  Venus is still a morning object but is rather difficult to see. Its elongation drops to -10^o by the end of the month. Its magnitude remains at -3.8 as the phase increases to 98% by the end of the month as it approaches superior conjunction in June. The diameter remains around 10 arcsec during this month.

Mars: It remains a difficult morning object throughout at magnitude +1.1 and diameter of 4.7 arcsec. Its declination increases this month to +1^o putting it a bit higher in the sky.

Jupiter:  Jupiter is becoming difficult this month, being low in the western sky after sunset. It is approaching conjunction in mid-May.

Saturn is not observable this month as it is still too close to the Sun in the morning sky.

Uranus is no longer visible this month as it sets not long after the Sun.

Neptune. Neptune is not observable this month.

The Sun

Solar activity is still increasing, and solar observations are a good idea.

Take great care to never look directly at the Sun, or directly through an optical instrument.

Aurora Borealis:  Increasing solar activity increases the chance of seeing an aurora. There are a number of Apps that can give you warnings and chances of seeing Aurorae. Mine is called Aurora Pro.

Meteor Showers:  The Lyrid meteor shower occurs between the 14^th and 30^th April. The peak is on the 22^nd April, so the full Moon makes this rather unfavourable.

Moon

2^nd   April:  Moon is at last quarter.              8^th April:  New Moon**

15^th April:  Moon is at First Quarter             23^rd April:  Full Moon      

**There will be a total solar eclipse on the 8^th April. This will not be visible at all in the UK.

Comet 12P Pons-Brooks This comet reaches perihelion on 21^st April but may be visible low in the west after sunset. It could reach magnitude 4 and be visible to the naked eye, or at least in binoculars. Its brightness is unpredictable and prone to outbursts. I recommend you look online for the latest up to date information.

To view this post in PDF format please CLICK HERE

Planets:

Mercury:  Mercury moves into the evening sky this month, having passed through superior conjunction on the 28^th February.  It also moves north of the celestial equator and becomes well placed later in the month.  It reaches greatest eastern elongation of 19^o on 24^th March when it will be visible in the west after sunset. A week either side of the 24^th may also see it relatively easy to find.

Venus:  Venus is still a morning object, but is less well placed.  Its elongation drops to 17^o by the end of the month.  Its magnitude remains at -3.8 as the phase increases to 96% by the end of the month.  The diameter decreases to around 10 arcsec during this month.  Also, it remains well south of the celestial equator and so is low in the morning sky. 

Mars: It remains a difficult morning object throughout at magnitude +1.2 and diameter of 4.4 arcsec. Being well south of the equator renders it hard to find.

Jupiter:  Jupiter is still visible in the western sky after sunset and early evening.  It is quite high in the sky and unmistakeable. Look out for the 4 Galilean moons. Various websites will help you to identify them, www.shallowsky.com is worth using as it also shows the position of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and when it is visible.

Saturn is not observable this month as it has only just passed through conjunction.

Uranus is still observable.  It is situated roughly half way between Jupiter and the Pleiades and so is fairly easy to find.  R.A. 03h 05m, Dec +17^o.  It lies to the west of the Pleiades. If anyone wants more details, please email Neil at coord@cotswoldas.org.uk

Neptune is not observable this month.

The Sun

Solar activity is still increasing and solar observations are a good idea.  Take great care to never look directly at the Sun, or directly through an optical instrument.

Aurora Borealis:  Increasing solar activity increases the chance of seeing an aurora.  There are a number of Apps that can give you warnings and chances of seeing Aurorae.  Mine is called Aurora Pro.

Meteor Showers:  There are no prominent meteor showers this month, but watch out for sporadic ones at any time

Moon

3^rd March:  Moon is at last quarter.              10^th March:  New Moon

17^th March:  Moon is at First Quarter            25^th March:  Full Moon**       

**There will be a penumbral eclipse of the Moon on the 25^th March.  This occurs when the Moon passes through the fainter outer part of the Earth’s shadow.

It enters the penumbra at 04:53m UT. The Moon sets at 06:01 UT and the end of the eclipse, at 09:32, is therefore not visible in the UK.

Deep Sky Objects:  The Orion Nebula is an easy target throughout the night.  It is the middle ‘star’ in the sword, below the belt of three stars. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is well placed as is our other neighbour, the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).

Astrophotography Challenge: Try to get a really good photo of the Double Cluster in Perseus. RA: 2h 20m Dec: +57.08, almost overhead. You don’t need a powerful telescope, just a zoom lens as each cluster covers nearly 0.5^o.

To view this post in PDF format please CLICK HERE

Planets:

Mercury:  Mercury is very poorly placed this month and reaches superior conjunction on the 28^th February. 

Venus:  Venus is still a morning object. Its elongation drops to 25^o by the end of the month.  Its magnitude remains at -3.9 as the phase increases to 90% by the end of the month.  The diameter decreases to around 11 arcsec during this month.  Also, it remains well south of the celestial equator and so is low in the morning sky. 

Mars: On the 22^nd Mars will 0.6^o S of Venus. That should make it easier to find.

Jupiter:  Jupiter is still fairly well placed and visible throughout the evening.  It is quite high in the sky and unmistakeable. Look out for the 4 Galilean moons. Various websites will help you to identify them, www.shallowsky.com is worth using as it also shows the position of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and when it is visible.

Saturn is not observable this month as it reaches conjunction on the 28^th February.

Uranus  is well placed throughout February.  It is situated roughly half way between Jupiter and the Pleiades and so is fairly easy to find.  R.A. 03h 05m, Dec +17^o.  It lies to the west of the Pleiades. If anyone wants more details, please email Neil at coord@cotswoldas.org.uk

Neptune.  Neptune is not really observable as it sets by 7pm.  You may be able to find it on the 12^th as it will be 0.7^oN of the crescent Moon.

The Sun

Solar activity is still increasing and solar observations are a good idea.  Take great care to never look directly at the Sun, or directly through an optical instrument.

Aurora Borealis:  Increasing solar activity increases the chance of seeing an aurora.  There are a number of Apps that can give you warnings and chances of seeing Aurorae.  Mine is called Aurora Pro.

Meteor Showers:  There are no prominent meteor showers this month, but watch out for sporadic ones at any time

Moon

2^nd February:  Moon is at last quarter.          9^th February:  New Moon

16^th February:  Moon is at First Quarter       24^th February:  Full Moon.       

Deep Sky Objects:  The Orion Nebula is an easy target throughout the night.  It is the middle ‘star’ in the sword, below the belt of three stars. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is well placed as is our other neighbour, the Triangulum Galaxy (M33).

Astrophotography Challenge: Try to get a really good photo of the Double Cluster in Perseus. RA: 2h 20m Dec: +57.08, almost overhead. You don’t need a powerful telescope, just a zoom lens as each cluster covers nearly 0.5^o.

To view this post in PDF format please CLICK HERE

By Alan Turton

Excerpt:

One February, about 10 years ago, we took a short break to Iceland staying in Reykjavik and taking trips out around the island. We did all the tourist trips that included visiting the hot pools where you can bathe in the open air where the temperature was about freezing, yet the water was as warm as a bath. We also took the Golden Circle coach tour visiting the spectacular rift valley where Europe touches America, the original named Geyser and the magnificent Gullfoss Falls that were frozen at that time. The highlight of the tour for me was an evening coach trip to a car park at a service station about 10 miles outside Reykjavik. There was nothing special about the site, it was quite unspectacular, yet the sky was dark enough to see a spectacularly clear night sky. On time, as predicted by the tour guide, the sky changed colour and was filled with wonderful dancing curtains of green and red.

The full article can be read in the members area under Mercury Articles.

Planets:

Mercury:  Mercury is in the morning sky and reaches greatest western elongation of 23^o on the 12^th January.  You might be able to pick it up if you have a really clear eastern horizon.  However, it is well south of the celestial equator and won’t be an easy object.

Venus:  Venus is still a morning object. Its elongation drops to around 30^o throughout the month.  Its magnitude drops from -4.1 to -3.9 as the phase increases to 85% by the end of the month.  The diameter decreases to around 13 arcsec during this month.  Also, it is well south of the celestial equator and so is much lower in the sky. 

Mars: Although moving into the morning sky, it is still a very difficult object this month.

Jupiter:  Jupiter is still fairly well placed and visible throughout the night.  It is quite high in the sky by mid evening and unmistakeable. Look out for the 4 Galilean moons. Various websites will help you to identify them, www.shallowsky.com is worth using as it also shows the position of the Great Red Spot (GRS) and when it is visible.

Saturn is still observable in the early evening, but sets around 7 pm.  It is low in the sky, but is well worth viewing.  The rings are at a shallow angle and it is a beautiful sight if you have a clear evening and a clear western horizon.  There is an interactive map of the moons available at skyandtelescope.org

Uranus is well placed throughout December.  It is situated roughly half way between Jupiter and the Pleiades and so is fairly easy to find.  R.A. 03h 02m, Dec +17^o.  If anyone wants more details, please email Neil at coord@cotswoldas.org.uk

Neptune.  Neptune is still just observable, but sets mid evening. It is at R.A. 23h 42m and Dec. -3.3^o.  Contact your Coordinator if you want more ephemeris to find it.

The Sun

Solar activity is still increasing and solar observations are a good idea.  Take great care to never look directly at the Sun, or directly through an optical instrument.

We reach Perihelion (closest to the Sun) on the 4^th January.

Aurora Borealis:  Increasing solar activity increases the chance of seeing an aurora.  There are a number of Apps that can give you warnings and chances of seeing Aurorae.  Mine is called Aurora Pro.

Meteor Showers:  The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on the 4^th of January, but some may be seen a few days either side of this.  The radiant is in Draco, just above the handle of the Plough.  This shower has sometimes produced huge numbers in the past, but there is no guarantee.  One to watch out for.

Moon

4^th January:  Moon is at last quarter              11^th January:  New Moon

18^th January:  Moon is at First Quarter          25^th January:  Full Moon

To view this post in PDF format please CLICK HERE

By James Weightman

Objects include W-Orionis, Vesta and Uranus.