Future Events
The night sky here at any time of the year is full of beautiful sights and some surprises. Events such as
auroras or comets are unpredictable, but when visible will be highlighted on the Home Page and full details
If you are planning a trip to the Galloway Astronomy Centre the following astronomical events may help in
deciding when to book.
2012
Jan 3rd / 4th - Quadrantid Meteor Shower
Jan 16th to 18th - BBC Stargazing Live
Jan 16th Asteroid 433 Eros near M95 - reaches opposition on 31st Jan
Jan 28th to 31st Mar - Comet 2009 P1 Garradd. (See below for more details)
Feb - Comet 2006 T1 Levy (See below for more details)
Feb 9th - Venus and Uranus conjunction 30' apart (18.30UT)
Feb 22nd to 27th - Planet gathering Moon, Mercury, Uranus, Venus and Jupiter
Mar 3rd - Mercury and Uranus conjunction (18.30UT)
Mar 3rd - Mars closest to Earth (Moon effected)
Mar 12th - Venus and Jupiter conjunction (19.30UT)
Mar 27th Venus at greatest eastern elongation
April 11th to 27th - Mars and Saturn visible all night
April 24th - Moon and Venus close together
May 22nd - Moon and Venus close together - both thin crescents (20.30UT)
June 1st - Mercury and Venus conjuncion 13’ apart (20.50UT)
June 6th - Venus transit - rises out of sea (04.52 UT)
July 6th - Venus and Jupiter conjunction (04.30UT)
July 15th - Jupiter and Moon conjuction almost occultation (02.00UT)
Aug 12th - Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Moon (04.00UT)
Aug 12th - Perseid Meteor Shower Max
Aug 16th - Mercury furthest from Sun (05.00UT) plus thin crescent Moon
Aug 20th - Mercury, Venus and Jupiter gathering (04.00UT)
Oct 8th - Draconid Meteor Shower - major storm expected - peak at 20.00UT (Moon effected)
Oct 12th - Moon and Venus conjuncton (05.00UT)
Oct 20th – Orionids Meteor Shower Max
Nov 11th - Moon and Venus conjuncton (06.00UT)
Nov 5th - Taurid Meteor Shower Max
Nov 17th – Leonids Meteor Shower Max
Nov 27th - Venus and Saturn conjunction 40’ apart plus Mercury nearby (06.00UT)
Dec 3rd - Mercury, Venus & Saturn conjunction (08.00UT)
Ded 13th - Geminid Meteor Shower Max (in 2010 we had over 100 meteors per hour)
Dec 21st - Doomsday (not really)
Dec 22nd - Normal service resumes
Dec 25th - Happy Christmas
Comet 2006 T1 Levy was expected to be visible by end of 2011 it is currently much fainter than expected so may not
brighten enough by February.. Updates will be posted.
Moon Phases 2012
First Quarter – Jan 1
Full Moon – Feb 7
First Quarter – Mar 1
Full Moon – Jan 9
Last Quarter – Feb 15
Full Moon – Mar 8
Last Quarter – Jan 16
New Moon – Feb 21
Last Quarter – Mar 15
New Moon – Jan 23
New Moon – Mar 22
First Quarter – Jan 31
First Quarter – Mar 30
Full Moon – April 6
Full Moon – May 6
Full Moon - June 4
Last Quarter – April 13
Last Quarter – May 12
Last Quarter – June 11
New Moon – April 21
New Moon – May 20
New Moon – June 19
First Quarter – April 29
First Quarter – May 28
First Quarter – June 27
Full Moon – July 3
Full Moon – Aug 2
Last Quarter – Sept 8
Last Quarter – July 11
Last Quarter – Aug 9
New Moon – Sept 16
New Moon – July 19
New Moon - Aug 17
First Quarter – Sept 22
First Quarter – July 26
First Quarter – Aug 24
Full Moon – Sept 30
Full Moon – Aug 31
Last Quarter – Oct 8
Last Quarter – Nov 7
Last Quarter – Dec 6
New Moon – Oct 15
New Moon – Nov 13
New Moon – Dec 13
First Quarter – Oct 22
First Quarter – Nov 20
First Quarter – Dec 20
Full Moon – Oct 29
Full Moon – Nov 28
Full Moon – Dec 28
Jupiter Events
Jan 5th - Europa and Io occultaions 21.30 & 23.30
Jan 7th - Europa transit io occ 18.30
Jan 14 - Ganymede, Europa & Io occultation and transit 20.00
Jan 16 - Io and Europa close together 17.30
Comet Garradd Events
Visible times not effected by Moonlight
1st to 6th Jan 04.30UT
17th Jan to 31st Jan 03.30UT
1st to 6th Feb 03.30UT
13th to 29th Feb 22.00UT
1st to 6th Mar 04.30UT
9th to 27th Mar 21.30UT
28th to 31st Mar 00.30UT
Comet Garradd will fade rapidly after this date.
3rd Feb close to M92 in Hercules
13th to 25th Feb Comet at its brightest
22nd March close to M81 & M62
All times are UT add 1Hr for BST
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