Written by Mars has continued its eastward progression, crossing from Gemini, the twins, into Cancer, the crab. On the night of 20 November, it will be joined in the night sky by a waxing gibbous moon. The chart shows the view looking east from London at 23.00 GMT. As the night progresses into the early hours of […]
The Leonids have a reputation for being a reliable meteor shower with fast, bright meteors that can number up to 15 an hour. The dust grains that we see burning up to form the Leonids have come from the tail of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, which can strike our planet’s atmosphere with speeds of up to 70km […]
We will start the month with a look at one of the night sky’s mythical creatures: Pegasus, the winged horse. According to Greek myth, Pegasus was ridden by the hero Perseus in his quest to save the beautiful Andromeda from the dreaded sea monster Cetus. The constellation is one of 48 listed by Ptolemy in […]
Illustration of Orionids This week the Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak on the night of 20-21 October. The chart shows the view looking south-east from London at 3am BST on the morning of 21 October, by which time the meteor shower’s radiant point will have risen high into the sky. At their best, the […]
Starwatch graphic What on earth is T Coronae Borealis playing at? We’ve been on alert for it to explode since April, when we confidently expected it to go boom some time before September. But we are still waiting. The star is a recurrent nova. This means it actually consists of two stars: a red giant […]
Map As September nights cool and lengthen, the constellation of Pisces, the fishes, emerges in the eastern sky. The chart shows the view looking east from London at 9.30pm BST on 30 September, shortly after the full constellation has risen above the horizon. As the autumn proceeds, the constellation will rise earlier and earlier. Pisces […]