The Night Sky

[Bunnylump]

I was going to post a comparison picture but sadly I don't have one.

[MBH]

OK.... That is seriously scarey....

Anti-Equine Glamour working well

Comparison.JPG (35.97 KiB) Viewed 2198 times

[Bunnylump]

OK sorry, Scurra, you know we love you really. But you must admit there is a bit of a hair and beard thing going on there? I couldn't testify to the existence of grey chest hair though...

[Redfraggle]

Im laughing out loud that. Sorry Scurra - I love you really!!!

[Redfraggle]

Talking of the night sky - Carmen loves to point at the sky so I named a star for her for her first birthday on Valentines Day because she's my wee star. I named it the Carmen Ellis star.

[Bunnylump]

Good choice!!

[LAT]

What a lovely idea!

[Redfraggle]

I thought you might see something familiar in that Bunny!

[Wulfruna]

OK.... That is seriously scarey....

Just shown it to Scurra's Dad
Yes, we love him too (most of the time...) but disclaim all knowledge of the twin brother who must have been spirited away at birth.....

[Bunnylump]

During March, the planet Mars will continue shining among the stars of Cancer. It is still bright enough red for its colour to be easily spotted. Saturn reaches opposition on March 22 and is visible all night long in the constellation of Virgo. Also visible at the end of the month are Mercury and Venus. Both will be visible after sunset, low in the western sky.

Here's hoping these nice clear skies continue and we should be able to see them!

Oh, and here's where you find them...

[Bunnylump]

Crikey how is it part way through April already??

You should be able to see Saturn to the naked eye - it's in Leo this month. To find Leo, start from the Plough (or "saucepan"), take the two stars that make up the side of the pan nearest the handle. Following the line they make downwards toward the southwestern horizon brings you to Regulus, the brightest star in Leo.

[MBH]

Thanks for doing this each month. I keep promising I'll make good use of it, but nights seem to vanish very quickly

It's interesting that the Plough can be used to point to so many different things

[chazzie]

Yes - thanks Bunny.... I've printed the latest one off....so hopefully - depending on cloudless skies I might be able to see something and make sense of if.....

[Bunnylump]

Well, I don't always remember to look. But if you've got this somewhere handy and just happen to be staggering back from the pub on a clear night, it's quite nice to know what you're looking at, isn't it? I do on occasions, make a point of looking if it's something spectacular. But sadly, more often than not, I forget. The things which have really blown me away are:
the Leonid meteor showers, seeing Mars looking fabulous and brick red, and the Hale Bop comet. But I also love to try to spot the other planets, even if they just look like a vague speck. Speaking of comets, 103P Hartley should be visible to the naked eye in October to Nov this year. I'll try to remind you if we're all still here and haven't been spirited away by the Boojum...

[anagram]

What's this about people being spirited away by a Boojum?
Is it anything to do with 'the Boojum', the puzzle in the back of Cenwulf's puzzle book? It was one of the unfinished ones - I found a solution, and I also found a nearly-solution, where there wasn't a square which could be labelled '0'.

Just wondering...
Sam Ragan

[Bunnylump]

Huh? I'd suggest directing your query to Scurra via pm.

[Bunnylump]

OK, somehow I've managed to let May and June pass me by...
July - we should be able to see the Summer triangle. The triangle is made up of the stars Vega, in Lyra, the harp; Deneb in Cygnus, the swan; and Altair in Aquila, the eagle.

Apparently, the easiest constellation to identify is Cygnus, with Deneb at the swan’s head forming the tip of a cross. Moving down the main stem of the cross you should reach gamma, chi and Albireo, which is a double star, which those lucky people who can see through binoculars (I can't ) can apparently see a blue star and a yellow star next to each other.

You should also be able to see Jupiter on the southern horizon from about 10pm at the beginning of the month, and earlier as the month progresses.

[MBH]

Travelled home from the club tonight with a beautiful rose-coloured full moon hanging in the sky. There have been some amazing sunsets these past few evenings as well

[Bunnylump]

21st October (and week around it) look out for the Orionid meteor showers. These are debris from the Halley Comet.

Also, here are the various stars and constellations to look out for...

http://www.jodrellbank.manchester.ac.uk ... ctober.jpg

[clvrlad]

a photo thats a few days old
and sorry i have to say.....

“He’s heading for that small moon…”
“That’s no moon, it’s a space station.”

http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/eclipse1101 ... sit_33.jpg

and for the story behind the pic
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badas ... e-picture/