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  • Brightening our skies in November and December
  • Meteor outburst “likely” – but for 15 minutes
  • Your chance to spot two outer planets

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Top stories

New satellite threat to visual observing

Robin Scagell Top stories 26th May 20193rd June 2019
New satellite threat to visual observing

The first of a major series of satellites produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX corporation have been launched, and are already causing consternation among astronomers (see update below). A string of 60 satellites have been seen crossing the night sky, and the plan is eventually to launch 12,000 such satellites. Read more

Your exclusive tour of the new SKA HQ

Robin Scagell Top stories 10th May 201912th May 2019
Your exclusive tour of the new SKA HQ

If you thought that SKA was a style of Jamaican music, think again. It’s an amazing new radio telescope with a collecting area of a whole square kilometre – the Square Kilometre Array, geddit? – that is currently being built across Australia and South Africa. Read more

Find a distant galaxy

Robin Scagell Top stories 29th April 201929th April 2019
Find a distant galaxy

With no bright planets easily visible in the evening sky at the moment, we need to turn to fainter objects. This is a great time to try your hand at observing galaxies millions of light years away. Read more

Catch asteroid Pallas

Robin Scagell Top stories 9th April 201910th May 2019asteroid, Pallas
Catch asteroid Pallas

There may be a dearth of major planets in the night sky at the moment – Mars is now getting lost in the evening twilight over in the west, and Jupiter doesn’t rise until the early hours of the morning – but there’s a minor planet around that is well worth a look. Read more

The ISS returns to our skies

Robin Scagell Top stories 19th March 201921st March 2019
The ISS returns to our skies

Another series of evening passes of the International Space Station over the UK starts on Wednesday, 21 March, and continues until 7 April. Read more

Comet Iwamoto fades

Robin Scagell Top stories 19th February 201921st March 2019
Comet Iwamoto fades

Comet Iwamoto is still high in the evening sky, but if you’re hoping to see a blazing object with a fine tail, you will be disappointed.  Read more

Iwamoto is coming

Robin Scagell Top stories 3rd February 201919th February 2019
Iwamoto is coming

Comets get people excited, and even a faint one provides a new target for us to search for. Comet Iwamoto promises to be just such a comet, a fleeting visitor to our skies that will prove a challenge to many people, but with the great advantage that it’s accessible at a good time in the evening and high up in the sky, in Leo. Read more

Observers catch flash on Moon during eclipse

Robin Scagell Top stories 21st January 20192nd February 2019
Observers catch flash on Moon during eclipse

Clouds interfered with viewing of  Monday morning’s total eclipse of the Moon across much of the UK, but some northern areas and the south-eastern corner of England had clear skies. Read more

How to observe the eclipse of the Moon

Robin Scagell Top stories 14th January 201918th January 2019
How to observe the eclipse of the Moon

There’s a total eclipse of the Moon on Monday 21 January 2019. Great news, but there’s one slight problem – it occurs in the wee small hours of the morning.  Read more

Join the world in 100 hours of astronomy

Robin Scagell Top stories 7th January 20197th January 2019
Join the world in 100 hours of astronomy

From Thursday 10 to  Sunday 13 January 2019, people all over the world will be turning their eyes, binoculars and telescopes on the skies to take part in 100 Hours of Astronomy. And anyone in the UK (with clear skies!) can join in using our guide to the sky. Read more

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Society for Popular Astronomy

Patron: Professor Sir Arnold Wolfendale FRS

President: Stephen Serjeant
Vice president: Robin Scagell

All content copyright the Society for Popular Astronomy. Founded in 1953.

Recent news

  • Brightening our skies in November and December
  • Meteor outburst “likely” – but for 15 minutes
  • Your chance to spot two outer planets
  • Spot those Orionid meteors
  • Mira brightens and R Crb fades

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