tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24011950363001886002024-11-01T11:35:46.886+01:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-84394494883346828402010-08-06T13:18:00.003+02:002010-08-06T13:24:02.065+02:00

Advanced notice of an interesting international event, the "International Observe the Moon Night" to be held on September 18, 2010.InOMN is a community-based effort where everyone can share the excitement of lunar exploration with the public by hosting their own InOMN events. Public telescope observing events, lectures, school presentations and workshops, and even online events like TweetUps are

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-60213753463894625402010-04-23T13:20:00.002+02:002010-04-23T13:25:04.251+02:00

On Saturday, April 24, the Global Star Party gives you an opportunity to bring your community’s attention into sharp focus on the sky, in concert with your brother and sister astronomers all over the world. All are invited, all will be excited. It is amazing that when we turn our gaze upward, all religious, national, geographical, cultural and political barriers fade into the darkness.For more

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-21275881842731013252010-04-07T11:58:00.000+02:002010-04-07T11:59:41.724+02:00

This week is an excellent opportunity to see all the five “naked eye” planets in one night of observation.You need to start about an hour after sunset by looking relatively low on the western horizon, you should be able to make out both Mercury and Venus, Mercury being the lower and fainter of the pair. You then need to look almost directly above your head to spot Mars – with it’s reddish hue

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-81722458721156084672010-04-01T16:01:00.002+02:002010-04-01T16:04:38.027+02:00

The Sky literally brings together the Earth during GAM-be part of a global peace chain! Inspired by the idea of sharing the beauty of the sky across national borders, "Thirty Nights of StarPeace" is a worldwide-scale event that will join together astronomy groups in neighbouring countries, one patch of Earth at the time, on successive nights during the month of April.Using geographical longitude

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-10551008707899565002010-03-29T09:54:00.003+02:002010-03-29T09:59:36.300+02:00

If you happen to live in Ireland, here are some GAM 2010 events:April 2nd - First Friday's at the Castle Blackrock Castle Observatory Cork - 4 X Family friendly workshops Cosmic Calendar’s. Free EventApril 2nd - 2012 Is it really the end ? a talk by Tony O' Hanlon at Blackrock Castle Observatory Free EventApril 2nd One People One Sky -Public Star Party Cork Astronomy Club at Blackrock Castle

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-13885356073932336412010-03-22T20:43:00.004+01:002010-03-22T20:46:08.526+01:00

For the last of our late winter early spring constellations, let’s take a look at Leo, the Lion.Leo is one of the constellations that actually looks reasonably like what it’s supposed to represent.The brightest star of this constellation, alpha Leo, is called Regulus (meaning: the little king), it’s a blue-white star and when viewed with binoculars or small telescopes a fainter companion star of

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-26471950193935934652010-03-13T18:12:00.005+01:002010-03-13T18:19:46.211+01:00

For the second of our late winter early spring constellations let’s take a look at Cancer.Cancer is best noted among stargazers as the home of Praesepe (Messier 44), an open cluster also called the Beehive Cluster or the Gate of Men. The smaller, denser open cluster Messier 67 can also be found here.The constellation of Cancer is a difficult one to recognize even when you are looking right at it,

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-23090457431451442502010-03-11T20:50:00.002+01:002010-03-11T20:51:47.510+01:00

If you are looking for something interesting today this coming weekend why not try a Messier Marathon. A Messier marathon is an attempt, usually organized by amateur astronomers, to find as many Messier objects as possible during one night. The Messier catalogue was compiled by French astronomer Charles Messier during the late 18th century and consists of 110 relatively bright deep sky objects (

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-50294787967327421562010-03-10T15:47:00.004+01:002010-03-10T15:54:10.385+01:00

For the first of our late winter early spring constellations let’s take a look at Gemini. The constellation is dominated by Castor and Pollux, two bright stars that appear relatively close together, encouraging the mythological link between the constellation and twin-ship. The twin to the right is Castor, whose brightest star is α Geminorum (more commonly called Castor) and the twin to the left

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-31324511634114751992010-03-03T15:39:00.001+01:002010-03-03T15:41:41.962+01:00

Now that the moon is out of the way in the evening sky, take the opportunity to find some of the late winter, early spring constellations. If you have been looking at the sky regularly and at the same time each night (21h00 is a good time), you will have noticed that Orion has slowly “drifted” to the right (west) and its position has been replaced by other stars. The constellations that will

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-42612045419797454242010-02-19T13:41:00.006+01:002010-02-19T13:47:09.899+01:00

If you enjoy worldwide astronomy events, watch out for Global Astronomy Month (GAM), running throughout April of this year. The GAM motto is “One People, One Sky” and it’s an opportunity to connect with people around the world.For more information take a look here: www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=99&layout=blog&Itemid=149Image

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-5153751993342384652010-02-18T19:16:00.001+01:002010-02-18T19:17:48.686+01:00

If you have a pair of binoculars or even a small telescope, you could try and follow an asteroid, Vesta, as it slowly move across the sky. The asteroid can be found in the constellation of Leo, not too far from Gamma Leo.Happy HuntingImage credit: Sky & Telescope

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-38799775748304880972010-02-07T21:32:00.002+01:002010-02-07T21:35:08.566+01:00

Note: this post is adapted from Weekend SkyWatcher's Forecast by Tammy Plotner on Universe Today, http://www.universetoday.com/If you are ready for a challenge why not try spotting 11.8 magnitude Comet Tritton! Now cruising through the constellation of Aries (RA 1h 53.5m Dec 17° 39'), this faint fuzzy won't be the easiest of targets to spot – but then it wouldn't be a challenge, would it? Comet

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-26229550994621724612010-02-03T21:57:00.001+01:002010-02-03T21:59:26.021+01:00

If you have been out looking at the sky between about 8h00 pm and 9h00 pm, you may have noticed a particularly bright orange/red star slightly to your west (to your left when looking south) and quite “high” in the sky - this is not a star, it’s the planet Mars, the red planet!If you have a pair of binoculars you may be able to make out the “disc” of the planet and with even a small telescope you

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-74763175570788295592010-01-29T12:24:00.002+01:002010-01-29T12:27:18.709+01:00

If your skies are clear tonight, January 29, take advantage of one of the sky watching highlights of the year. A full Moon and Mars will be putting on a show, and the pair will be prominently close to each other in the sky. Plus, this Friday night's full Moon is the biggest and brightest full Moon of the year. It's a "perigee Moon," as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than other full Moons

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-72683021484901857902010-01-28T16:23:00.001+01:002010-01-28T16:25:13.992+01:00

A couple of days either side of the full moon is a good opportunity to try and take a look at all the moon’s seas or lunar maria. What you are looking at are, of course, not seas in the conventional sense of the word, they are in fact large, dark, basaltic plains. The plains are less reflective than the mountains or "highlands" as a result of their iron-rich compositions, and hence appear dark (

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-8904357183668661622010-01-27T09:44:00.001+01:002010-01-27T09:46:31.555+01:00

In a previous posting we looked at the fact that not all stars are the same colour, this time we’ll take a look at their brightness. You will have noticed (I hope) that when looking at Orion, not all the stars are of the same brightness. Betelgeuse (top left) and Rigel (bottom right) are much brighter than the stars top right and bottom left which are in turn brighter than the three stars that

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-1852959222310967282010-01-25T20:48:00.004+01:002010-01-25T20:57:00.488+01:00

If you managed to find the two double stars we talked about in an earlier post, here are a couple of double stars a little more difficult to locate, but with some “wow” factor.Among the best of all double stars and relatively easy to find is the last star of the string of bright stars that helps make the constellation of Andromeda. The second magnitude star, Gamma (γ)Andromeda (Almach), is

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-50605174761352582242010-01-23T17:15:00.001+01:002010-01-23T17:17:06.714+01:00

If you have been following the moon this week you should have noticed some interesting things, firstly it has “grown” from a very small crescent to a now “half moon”. Hopefully you will have also noticed that at the same time each night the moon was “higher” and further to the west (to your left when looking towards the moon), you may also have spotted that the moon was not in the same position

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-65530571128143466572010-01-22T10:48:00.003+01:002010-01-22T10:51:37.639+01:00

Find the constellation of The Plough (also known as the Big Dipper, the Saucepan or the Wagon depending on which country you are in) and take a look at the second star of the “handle” of the saucepan; you should be able to make out a second, fainter, “companion” star. The two stars are sometimes called the "Horse and Rider," in fact the ability to resolve the two stars with the naked eye is

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-19807229620225153622010-01-19T11:12:00.005+01:002010-01-19T11:29:55.232+01:00

This is an excellent week to follow the moon as it travels across the sky, if you take a look at its shape and position over a number of nights (to the end of the week for example), you should notice some interesting changes. Here's what you need to do:Take a look at the moon at the same time each evening (between 8pm and 9pm would be good) and note the following:The shape or form of the moonThe

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-44940664703728580092010-01-18T20:19:00.002+01:002010-01-18T20:35:04.026+01:00

Did you get to take a look at the stars? Here's what you should have seen, Betelgeuse (top left of Orion) is a reddish star, Rigel (bottom right of Orion) is a bluish star, Aldeberan (found by the following the imaginary line through the "belt" upwards to the right) has a distinct orange tint to it and Sirius (found by the following the imaginary line through the "belt" downwards to the left) is

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-30628147069820695892010-01-16T18:44:00.005+01:002010-01-16T18:59:18.537+01:00

If you asked someone what colour stars are, they would probably say white, and they wouldn't be wrong; however, not all stars are white.Go and take a look at the stars we have been talking about in previous postings; Betelgeuse (top left of Orion), Rigel (bottom right of Orion), Aldeberan (found by the following the imaginary line through the "belt" upwards to the right) and Sirius (found by the

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-179823110420155412010-01-13T16:02:00.003+01:002010-01-13T16:10:00.967+01:00

Orion is an excellent constellation to use as a starting point to find some interesting objects in the sky. Draw an imaginary line through the three stars that make up the belt; now follow this line downwards (bottom left) and you should come to an extremely bright star – in fact it’s the brightest star in the sky and it’s name is Sirius or “the dog star”, it is in the constellation of The Great

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2401195036300188600.post-33592153492440230342010-01-11T17:54:00.002+01:002010-01-11T17:59:05.688+01:00

This is a great time of the year to see one of the largest and most spectacular constellations in the sky – Orion, the hunter. It is extremely easy to locate, simply go outside at about 9 pm, face south, look up to about 45° degrees above the horizon and there it is! The first thing that should strike you is the three bright stars in a row from “bottom left to top right”, this is the hunter’s

Bob Larcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15394005426934712493noreply@blogger.com0