Night Sky Guide for April 2020

Night Sky Guide for April 2020

April 1 – Moon at First Quarter – 10:21 UTC. The Moon will be prominent in the evening sky. At this time in its monthly cycle of phases, it appears almost exactly half illuminated. April 2 – M104 well placed for observation. The sombrero galaxy (M104, NGC 4594) will…

Night Sky Guide for March 2020

Night Sky Guide for March 2020

March 2 – Moon at First Quarter – 19:58 UTC. The Moon will be prominent in the evening sky, setting around midnight. At this time in its monthly cycle of phases, it appears almost exactly half illuminated. Over the coming days, the Moon will set later each day,…

Night Sky Guide for February 2020

Night Sky Guide for February 2020

February 1 – IC2395 well placed for observation. Across much of the world, the open star cluster IC2395 in Vela will be well placed for observation. It will reach its highest point in the sky at around midnight local time. At a declination of -48°09', it is…

Night Sky Guide for January 2020

Night Sky Guide for January 2020

January 3 – Moon at First Quarter – 04:46 UTC. The Moon will be prominent in the evening sky, setting around midnight. At this time in its monthly cycle of phases, it appears almost exactly half illuminated. January 4 – Quadrantid Meteor Shower. This is an…

Night Sky Guide for December 2019

Night Sky Guide for December 2019

December 2 – Pheonicid meteor shower. The Pheonicid meteor shower is active from November 28 to December 9, producing its peak rate of meteors around December 2. Over this period, there will be a chance of seeing Pheonicid meteors from anywhere where the…

Night Sky Guide for November 2019

Night Sky Guide for November 2019

November 1 – Fornax well placed for observation. Across much of the world, the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy will be well placed for observation. It will reach its highest point in the sky at around midnight local time. At magnitude 9.0, Fornax is quite faint, and…

Night Sky Guide for June 2019

Night Sky Guide for June 2019

June 1 – Conjunction of the Moon and Venus – 18:15 UTC. The Moon and Venus will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 3°14' to the south of Venus. The Moon will be 28 days old. The Moon will be at mag -8.9, and Venus at mag -3.9, both in the…

Night Sky Guide for May 2019

Night Sky Guide for May 2019

May 2 – Conjunction of the Moon and Venus – 11:41 UTC. The Moon and Venus will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 3°37' to the south of Venus. The Moon will be 27 days old. The Moon will be at mag -9.6 in the constellation Cetus, and Venus…

Night Sky Guide for April 2019

Night Sky Guide for April 2019

April 1 – M104 well placed for observation. The Sombrero galaxy (M104, NGC 4594) will be well placed for observation. It will reach its highest point in the sky at around midnight local time. At a declination of -11°37', it is easiest to see from the…

Night Sky Guide for March 2019

Night Sky Guide for March 2019

March 1 – Close approach of the Moon and Saturn – 18:28 UTC. The Moon, 25 days old, and Saturn will make a close approach, passing within 0°18' of each other. The Moon will be at mag -10.8, and Saturn at mag 0.4, both in the constellation Sagittarius. The…