Night sky guide for October 2018

Night sky guide for October 2018

October 1 – M110 well placed for observation. M110, the brightest satellite galaxy of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) will be well placed for observation. It will reach its highest point in the sky at around midnight local time. At a declination of +41°41', it…

Night sky guide for September 2018

Night sky guide for September 2018

The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky on September 9. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere. The…

Partial solar eclipse of August 11, 2018

Partial solar eclipse of August 11, 2018

A partial solar eclipse will take place from 06:40 to 12:38 UTC on August 11, 2018. While it will be visible in parts of northeast Canada, Greenland, extreme northern Europe, and northern and eastern Asia, the best place to see it will be northern Russia with 68%…

Night sky guide for August 2018: Partial solar eclipse, Perseid meteor shower

Night sky guide for August 2018: Partial solar eclipse, Perseid meteor shower

A partial solar eclipse will take place from 06:40 to 12:38 UTC on August 11. It will be visible in parts of northeast Canada, Greenland, extreme northern Europe, and northern and eastern Asia. It will be best seen in northern Russia with 68% coverage. At 09:59 UTC…

Total lunar eclipse of July 27, the longest of 21st century

Total lunar eclipse of July 27, the longest of 21st century

A total lunar eclipse will take place on July 27, 2018, and be visible throughout most of Europe, Africa, western and central Asia, the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. This will be the longest total lunar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting 1 hour and 43…

Partial solar eclipse of July 13, 2018

Partial solar eclipse of July 13, 2018

A partial solar eclipse will take place on Friday, July 13, 2018, but will only be visible in extreme southern Australia and Antarctica. This eclipse belongs to Saros 117 and is number 69 of 71 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the…

Night Sky Guide for June 2018

Night Sky Guide for June 2018

The summer of 2018 in the northern hemisphere will officially begin on June 21 with June Solstice at 09:54 UTC. On this day, Earth's North Pole will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over…

Night sky guide for May 2018

Night sky guide for May 2018

Eta Aquariids meteor shower, a strong shower when viewed in the southern tropics, will peak on the night of May 6 and the morning of May 7. While this shower is capable of producing 60 meteors per hour at its peak, the waning gibbous moon will block most of the…

Night sky guide for April 2018

Night sky guide for April 2018

Three meteor showers will mark April 2018, with Lyrids on April 21 and 22 the most promising one. The first quarter moon will set shortly after midnight, leaving dark skies for the what could be a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. …