© Galloway Astronomy Centre 2019                                   All images are copyright – M Alexander unless otherwise stated

Made with Xara

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 will be posted here. As they are observed further details will be posted on the Events Page. If you are planning a trip to the Galloway Astronomy Centre the following astronomical events may help in deciding when to book. 2019 Jan 4     Quadrantid Meteor Shower (02.00UT) Jan 6     Venus at Greatest Western Elongation (AM) Jan 21   Total Lunar Eclipse (start 03.40UT mid              05.10UT ends 06.45UT) Jan 22    Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter              (morning low in SE) Feb 12   Conjunction of Mars and Uranus in Piscies Feb 27   Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (PM) Apr 11   Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation (AM)   Apr 22   Lyrid Meteor Shower              (moon effected until midnight 21st Apr) Jun 23   Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (PM) Jul 16    Partial Lunar Eclipse             (Moon rises eclipsed 21.00UT mid 22.48UT) Aug 9    Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation Aug 12  Perseid Meteor Shower (Moon effected) Oct 20   Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (PM) Oct 21   Orionid Meteor Shower             (moon effected after midnight) Nov 5    S Taurid Meteor Shower (18.00UT) Nov 11  Transit of Mercury             (start 12.35UT mid 15.20UT sunset 16.20UT) Nov 12  N Taurid Meteor Shower (17.00UT) Nov 17  Leonid Meteor Shower maximum             (Moon effected) Nov 24  Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter (evening) Dec 14  Geminid Meteor Shower maximum             (Moon effected) Dec 22  Ursid Meteor Shower (21.00UT) As a scale 30 arcmins is the size of the full Moon For BST time add 1 hour to UT when applicable (31st March to 27th Oct) 2019 Comets Mostly comets do not show much of a tail and look like round fuzzy blobs. In dark skies with little light pollution a 7th magnitude (mag) comet should be visible in binoculars or small telescope. A 5th mag comet or brighter will be visible to the unaided eye. A comet is highly unpredictable and can brighten or fade rapidly so it is worth watching it on a regular basis. Comet 46P Wirtanen This comet is know to be a very active comet so should put on a good display. 28th Nov the comet is 5 mag but very low on the southern horizon between Eridanus (River) and Cetus (Whale). 6th Dec the comet passes Eta Eridanus at 4.3mag so any easy naked eye object. 12th Dec passes close to Omicron Taurus at 3.9mag 17th Dec the comet passes 3 deg west of the Pleiades at its brightest of 3.8mg 22nd to 28th Dec bright moonlight makes it difficult to see. 23rd Dec the comet is less than 1 deg south of Capella in Auriga at 4.2 mag slowly fading. 31st Dec the comet is 5 mag and 1 deg below the star 15 Lynx. On the same day Comet 38P Stephan / Oterman at 9 mag is in the same constellation 3 deg below 31 Lynx. 11th Jan 2019 the comet passes Omicron Ursa Major (the nose of the Great Bear) at 6mag. 17th Jan 2019 is the 71st anniversary of discovery by Carl Wirtanen it will still be an easy object in small telescopes. 14th Feb 2019 passing Theta Ursa Major the comet fades to 9 mag It should remain visible in larger telescopes until mid March 2019. Comet 2018 Y1 Iwamoto Masayuki Iwamoto who was one of 3 discoverers of comet C2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto) hs found another on the 18th Dec. Designated C2018 Y1, it is a rather faint 12th mag now, but expected to brighten to 7th mag in the next few weeks. There is no Moon to effect viewing from 27th to 11th Feb which should allow good binocular views as the comet moves through Leo, Cancer and Gemini. Further details on these comets and track maps can be found on the COMETS page Moon Phases 2019 New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Last Quarter Jan 6        Jan 14 Jan 21 Jan 27 Feb 4        Feb 12 Feb 19 Feb 26 Mar 6 Mar 14 Mar 21 Mar 28 Apr 5 Apr 12 Apr 19 Apr 26 May 4 May 12 May 18 May 26 Jun 3 Jun 10 Jun 17 Jun 25 Jul 2 Jul 9 Jul 16 Jul 25 Aug 1 Aug 7 Aug 15 Aug 23 Aug 30 Sep 6 Sep 14 Sep 22 Sep 28 Oct 5 Oct 13 Oct 21 Oct 28 Nov 4 Nov 12 Nov 19 Nov 26 Dec 4 Dec 12 Dec 19 Dec 26 - - 5 Days either side of the New Moon will always give the darkest skies. This is needed for seeing fainter nebulae and galaxies. Planets (when visible) and brighter star clusters can be viewed at any phase of the Moon.

© Galloway Astronomy Centre 2019                                    All images are copyright – M Alexander unless otherwise stated

Made with Xara

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 will be posted here. As they are observed further details will be posted on the Events Page. If you are planning a trip to the Galloway Astronomy Centre the following astronomical events may help in deciding when to book. 2019 Jan 4     Quadrantid Meteor Shower (02.00UT) Jan 6     Venus at Greatest Western Elongation (AM) Jan 21   Total Lunar Eclipse (start 03.40UT mid              05.10UT ends 06.45UT) Jan 22    Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter              (morning low in SE) Feb 12   Conjunction of Mars and Uranus in Piscies Feb 27   Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (PM) Apr 11   Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation (AM)   Apr 22   Lyrid Meteor Shower              (moon effected until after midnight 21st Apr) Jun 23   Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (PM) Jul 16    Partial Lunar Eclipse             (Moon rises eclipsed 21.00UT mid 22.48UT) Aug 9    Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation Aug 12  Perseid Meteor Shower (Moon effected) Oct 20   Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (PM) Oct 21   Orionid Meteor Shower             (moon effected after midnight) Nov 5    S Taurid Meteor Shower (18.00UT) Nov 11  Transit of Mercury             (start 12.35UT mid 15.20UT sunset 16.20UT) Nov 12  N Taurid Meteor Shower (17.00UT) Nov 17  Leonid Meteor Shower maximum             (Moon effected) Nov 24  Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter (evening) Dec 14  Geminid Meteor Shower maximum             (Moon effected) Dec 22  Ursid Meteor Shower (21.00UT) As a scale 30 arcmins is the size of the full Moon For BST time add 1 hour to UT when applicable (31st March to 27th Oct) 2019 Comets Mostly comets do not show much of a tail and look like round fuzzy blobs. In dark skies with little light pollution a 7th magnitude (mag) comet should be visible in binoculars or small telescope. A 5th mag comet or brighter will be visible to the unaided eye. A comet is highly unpredictable and can brighten or fade rapidly so it is worth watching it on a regular basis. Comet 46P Wirtanen This comet is know to be a very active comet so should put on a good display. 28th Nov the comet is 5 mag but very low on the southern horizon between Eridanus (River) and Cetus (Whale). 6th Dec the comet passes Eta Eridanus at 4.3mag so any easy naked eye object. 12th Dec passes close to Omicron Taurus at 3.9mag 17th Dec the comet passes 3 deg west of the Pleiades at its brightest of 3.8mg 22nd to 28th Dec bright moonlight makes it difficult to see. 23rd Dec the comet is less than 1 deg south of Capella in Auriga at 4.2 mag slowly fading. 31st Dec the comet is 5 mag and 1 deg below the star 15 Lynx. On the same day Comet 38P Stephan / Oterman at 9 mag is in the same constellation 3 deg below 31 Lynx. 11th Jan 2019 the comet passes Omicron Ursa Major (the nose of the Great Bear) at 6mag. 17th Jan 2019 is the 71st anniversary of discovery by Carl Wirtanen it will still be an easy object in small telescopes. 14th Feb 2019 passing Theta Ursa Major the comet fades to 9 mag It should remain visible in larger telescopes until mid March 2019. Comet 2018 Y1 Iwamoto Masayuki Iwamoto who was one of 3 discoverers of comet C2018 V1 (Machholz-Fujikawa-Iwamoto) he found another on the 18th Dec. Designated C2018 Y1, it is a rather faint 12th mag now, but expected to brighten to 7th mag in the next few weeks. There is no Moon to effect viewing from 27th to 11th Feb which should allow good binocular views as the comet moves through Leo, Cancer and Gemini. Further details on these comets and track maps can be found on the COMETS page Moon Phases 2019 New Moon First Quarter  Full Moon Last Quarter Jan 6        Jan 14  Jan 21 Jan 27 Feb 4        Feb 12  Feb 19 Feb 26 Mar 6 Mar 14    Mar 21 Mar 28 Apr 5 Apr 12  Apr 19 Apr 26 May 4 May 12  May 18 May 26 Jun 3 Jun 10  Jun 17 Jun 25 Jul 2 Jul 9  Jul 16 Jul 25 Aug 1 Aug 7  Aug 15 Aug 23 Aug 30 Sep 6  Sep 14 Sep 22 Sep 28 Oct 5  Oct 13 Oct 21 Oct 28 Nov 4  Nov 12 Nov 19 Nov 26 Dec 4  Dec 12 Dec 19 Dec 26 - - 5 Days either side of the New Moon will always give the darkest skies. This is needed for seeing fainter nebulae and galaxies. Planets (when visible) and brighter star clusters can be viewed at any phase of the Moon.