Happy New Year!
Weather permitting, astronomers in the UK can start the new year by observing both RZ Cassiopeiae and U Cephei on the same night.
There will be two eclipses visible from the UK on the evening of January 1st 2019. RZ Cassiopeiae will be in mid-eclipse at the start of the evening, mid-eclipse is at 17:30 UT, so you can watch RZ Cassiopeia brighten as the evening progresses. The duration of a RZ Cassiopeiae eclipse is almost five hours.
U Cephei will be in mid-eclipse at around 23:00 UT, so you can watch the eclipse over the course of the night, if it stays clear. The duration of an U Cephei eclipse is around nine hours.
These two light curves, produced by Tracie Heywood will give you some idea of what to expect.
