Comet 289P (Blanpain) is heading northwards and should become a better placed object for us in the UK during December and January.

It will at it’s brightest on the on the 10th of January when it could potentially become a predicted brightness of magnitude +4.8 on the 10th of January. This makes it potentially visible to the naked eye (Fingers crossed).
But don’t forget just how unpredictable comets can be in the way that they behave.

Update 5th December 2019.
This comet is now only likely to only reach a maximum brightness of around 15th magnitude now.
Oh well! However, I’ll leave this as it stands anyway.

289P is currently in Aquarius and has a 5.36 year orbital period. It is currently a very faint magnitude 19.9, so will be very difficult to spot visually, but could be captured photographically if you have good equipment, technique and fairly dark skies. This task will get easier as it gets higher in our skies and brightens.

It starts moving faster and brightens rapidly as it approaches The Sun.

The comet reaches perihelion (closest to the Sun) on the 20th of December, still in Aquarius.

Towards the end of the year, it moves quickly through Pisces and onward into The Square of Pegasus where we will find it in the new year.

It continues heading northwards.
By the end of the first week of the new year, the comet should be found amongst the stars of Andromeda.
It approaches within a few degrees of The Andromeda Galaxy on the 8th of January.

On the 10th of January it should reach peak brightness of a predicted magnitude +4.8 when it will be about 0.1 Astronomical Units from Earth.

The week after sees the comet moving through the stars of Cassiopeia, passing fairly close to a few nice star clusters, The Owl Cluster NGC 457, being one of them, on the 12th January.
It will also pass close to Delta Cas and M103 over the next day.

A few days later we will find the comet within the constellation of Camelopardalis, but should be starting to slow down and fading rapidly.

The comet  reaches the head of Ursa Major by the end of January.

Happy hunting.
Let’s hope it gives us a flipping good show.

 

On November the 11th,  Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched the second cluster of Starlink satellites.

This launch saw another 60 satellites go into orbit, making it “largest commercial telecommunications satellite constellation in orbit”.

See my blog entry below about the first launch:
https://www.star-gazing.co.uk/WebPage/starlink-spectacle

So we now have 120 of these in orbit. SpaceX plan to perform at least another 22 launches to reach a point where it will be able to offer global Internet access. It aims to achieve this by the end of next year. This will be 1,300 in orbit. The plan is to launch at least 10 times this amount in the future, so I was keen to get out and see how bright this new batch of satellites were, and how much impact they might be having in our skies this time.

Unfortunately, it has been cloudy or foggy each time the cluster was predicted to pass over my location, until this morning.

Predictions of passes can be obtained from the very useful Web page heavens-above.com
https://www.heavens-above.com

The main cluster wasn’t expected until around 6:15am, but I went out with my camera to set up well before time to set up the camera and take some test shots. Some bright Starlink satellites were already visible with the naked eye crossing the sky almost overhead, passing very close to The Plough.

Test shots done, I waited a few more minutes and watched a few ahead of the pack race through the field of view. As the minutes ticked away, the time of the main cluster approached. The increase in rate was very rapid and noticeable.

One after another the stream of moving lights moved across the sky fairly close together. The satellites were easily second magnitude, so were as bright as most of the stars within The Plough. They approached from the west, becoming visible as they moved into sunlight, close to Capella. They were at their brightest as they passed overhead near The Plough.

My image of the Starlink Satellites taken this morning.
The satellite tracks are shown close together.

Here’s my animation made from the individual images.
Each image was 7 seconds long, so satellite trails show movement in seven seconds.

The satellites brightness faded as they quickly moved towards the eastern horizon passing through Corona Borealis. They did not flare in the same way as I observed the the first cluster to do so. Maybe that’s because these were observed much later after launch. They were stringing out away from one another and getting into higher orbits when I observed them.

I have heard that some ground-based radio meteor detectors have picked up a lot of interference as they pass over.

Want to get out and observe them yourself?
There are two passes in the morning, ~4:50 and ~6:25 UT.
The times will change and as they spread out in their orbits will be further apart from one another over time.
They will also hopefully fade.

The first cluster of satellites seem to have faded from view since they were launched, but the jury is still out on that one.

So will these new satellites fade and their interference become less over time? Or will they continue to cause us problems on the ground, either as us amateurs or even the professionals? I guess we will soon find out.

 

 

On Tuesday the 3rd of December, The Flat Tim and Dave roadshow will be bringing fun and games for all ages once again for my very last evening presentation of the year.

This time it’s another visit to a very friendly and fun group, Lincoln Astronomical Society.

I shall be inflicting on them my ever popular audience-participation presentation:
“Celebrate Tim Peake’s Principia Mission”.

I am looking forward to meeting up with this group yet again and having lots of pre-Christmas fun with the audience participation bits. I’m sure that they will really enjoy the fun evening @Flat_Tim and I have planned for them.

All are very welcome, especially children as this presentation is aimed at all kids with any level of knowledge, at all ages from 10 – 110.
So bring along your children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents to find out what Tim got up to during his 6-month stay in The International Space Station, enjoy the presentation and say “Hello”.
If you don’t want to talk to me then at least come along and speak to @Flat_Tim as he can get very flat if no-one notices him.

The meeting starts at 7.30pm.

Lincoln Astronomical Society meetings are held at their observatory and lecture facility at:
23 Westcliffe Street Lincoln.
Click on the link above for a map.

My very last free monthly sky diary for December 2019 showing the events of the night sky visible from the UK is now available in a printable pdf version for download.
Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.

After 32 years of doing my sky diary, I will stop producing this after this month.
It’s been a sad, and big decision for me to do this, but it is getting difficult to fit it in with my many other commitments.

However, it’s all not bad news.
All my sky diary events are currently and will in future be added to the UK Cloud Magnets online calendar.
I will still keep this as up to date as I can and add new information as I hear about it.
Click here to view the UK Cloud Magnets online calendar.

I will also be updating my blog (www.star-gazing.co.uk/Blog.html) with any new information on sky calendar events as appropriate.

Keep Looking Up!

 

After a recent astronomy event, I heard some people were making comments about people not being serious about the hobby and their attitudes dumbing it down. Added to this, a long time ago in an online forum, I remember someone commenting “Not another Orion Nebula Image!” when someone proudly uploaded their hard earned picture.

By the way, here’s my latest image of M42. 🙂

This has made me think about this in some detail and made me question whether or not, I’m a “Serious” astronomer?

Let’s take a long hard look at that.

When I do my astronomy, what exactly is it that I do?

I absolutely adore astronomy and have done throughout my life. I don’t specialise in anything at all and am willing and able to dabble in all things. I particularly love taking images and sharing those with others online. In fact I am quite prolific, when the weather allows. As some online friends and followers might be getting tired of them appearing in their social media feeds, but is what i do really “Serious” astronomy?

Is anything I do really considered serious?

I am deadly serious about educating people in astronomy and sharing what skills I have in my workshops and talks, but what about my own observing / imaging?

Yes, I am happy to stay up for long periods of the night, or get up early to capture something of interest to me.
I love capturing challenging objects, comets, asteroids and man made objects. The more challenging the object the better.

I also like looking and imaging the good old lolly-pops, the Messier Objects and the like.

But is this really serious astronomy?

Some people in the astronomy clubs I attend probably think that I am the most serious astronomer that they know.
But that really isn’t the case. Yes, I do take my challenges seriously, but only because I find these great fun to do.

Others in my clubs and societies take images or observe and measure positions or the brightness of objects as accurately as they can. They then use that data to draw lots of graphs and submit their results into observing organisations. I am always wowed and impressed by people who show such dedication to collecting scientifically useful data. Now that’s a bit more serious than my efforts, isn’t it?

However that sort of observing really isn’t for me. Working in a scientific environment, since 1988, where I had to do this, made this sort of project seem too much like work. I just love getting out there, looking at something beautiful, or imaging a faint object to hopefully produce a really pretty picture. I post all my images online but only infrequently submit them to any of the more serious observing organisations. Is this not serious enough?

Like any hobby, we all do it because we love doing it.

I looked up the meaning of the word Amateur and found this:

“1784, “one who has a taste for some art, study, or pursuit, but does not practice it,” from French amateur “one who loves, lover” (16c., restored from Old French ameour), from Latin amatorem (nominative amator) “lover, friend,” agent noun from amatus, past participle of amare “to love”.

Meaning “one who cultivates and participates (in something) but does not pursue it professionally or with an eye to gain” (as opposed to professional) is from 1786, often with disparaging shades, “dabbler, dilettante,” except in athletics, where the tinge formerly shaded the professional. As an adjective, by 1838.

In fact the word amateur comes from the French Amour – To Love.”

Source: https://www.etymonline.com/word/amateur

So that sort of backs up my feeling about why I do what I do. I Love It!

The past year has seen me become a little bit semi-professional in that I have started to earn something from going around tutoring and educating, be it from my books, workshops or schools. Unfortunately, I still have to earn something to keep paying the bills. Were I to win a gob-smacking amount on the lottery tonight, or given a really generous donation (anyone?) I would probably do it all for nothing. And only because I love it so much.

Part of what i do in Schools is voluntary, as a STEM Ambassador. I love going in and encouraging the next generation to do STEM subjects, especially girls. I drove over an hour and half recently, to spend a morning in a school, to hold a full school assembly and bottle rocket workshop. I received not a penny for doing this, but I made sure that I gave the children a very enjoyable few hours of learning. On the way back, despite me also enjoying the event, I did ask myself “Why do I do this?” A few weeks later, I got a massive wadge of letters and drawings in the post from the children. That was worth more than any payment and I must admit that it did make me very emotional. That was much more rewarding than any payment.

So maybe I am a little bit serious in how I do my astronomy, but not quite that serious it seems to some others.

How about other people who are just dipping their toes in the hobby?
Are they really serious about astronomy if they only dabble a tad and don’t do any “Serious” stuff at all?
Is the real impact of the science lessened?

To me, everyone has a right to take whatever approach they have into a hobby.
It really does not matter how you dabble. As long as you keep on dabbling, who gives a damn?

We all do this hobby to get away from all the stress and frustrations in the world, of which there are far too many these days. If you feel pressured to do things, this, that or the other, just because other “serious” astronomers say that’s how it should be done, then you’re just not going to enjoy it and will give up on the hobby. And we want to avoid that at all costs.

Encourage as many people in as possible to ensure a rich mix of abilities and ages.
Youngsters are sadly lacking in astronomy clubs these days.

As long as you keep interested in the subject, continue to just get out there and enjoy our night (and day) sky.
Do what it is that you really enjoy, even if it is taking “yet another” image of M42.

Ignore the idiots that say what you might do isn’t really serious astronomy.

Just keep getting out and enjoying the sky in just the way that you love.

We’re all loving this hobby together in our own ways.

KEEP LOOKING UP!

Dave

 

50 years ago today is the day the three Apollo 12 astronauts, Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean return to Earth.

Unfortunately, I am not able to produce any 3D images from the pictures.

In the early hours there was a TV transmission before preparations for re-entry.

A midcourse correction was made at 17:43 UT to make sure reentry was spot on.

At 20:29 UT, the command capsule separated from the service module.

Reentry started at 20:44.

Radar contact established by the recovery ship US Hornet less than 2 minutes later.

Contact with the command module Yankee Clipper established by rescue aircraft at 20:50 UT.

20:52 UT. Command module drogue parachute deployed.

20:53 UT. Main parachute deployed.

20:58 UT. Splashdown in Pacific Ocean.

21:08 UT. Recovery swimmers deployed.

21:15 UT. Flotation collar inflated on command module.

21:36 UT. Command module hatch opened for respiratory transfer.

21:40 UT. Hatch opened for crew egress.

21:58 UT. Crew arrive at US Hornet.

22:06 UT. Crew enter quarantine facility.

22:46 UT. Command module lifted from ocean.

Command module recovery completed and quarantined at 00:15 UT tomorrow morning.

 

50 years ago today the three Apollo 12 astronauts continue their coast back home today.

They perform a mid-course correction to keep their angle towards Earth correct for a perfect re-entry on Sunday evening. So they are almost home.

Not much more to say until Sunday when the astronauts do lots of general housekeeping. It will all kick off again on Sunday as they approach re-entry and splashdown.

Here’s my 3D image of The Moon.
I created this from two separate images taken by the crew as they receded from The Moon and could view it getting smaller and smaller through Yankee Clippers windows.

21st of November 1969.
50 years ago today, in orbit around The Moon, the three Apollo 12 astronauts performed a great deal of landmark tracking and photography from within the Command module Yankee Clipper.

Below is my 3D image created from one of their amazing pictures of the lunar surface.

At 20:49 UT tonight, they performed their transearth injection ignition, by firing the single SPS engine.

This would take them out of lunar orbit, sending them back towards Earth.

Less than 40 minutes later, they began a TV transmission as they started their 3 day coast back home.

 

Today is the last day of Apollo 12 exploring the surface of Oceanus Procellarum.

There was a second EVA (Moonwalk) in the early hours of this morning.

The nearby Surveyor 3 spacecraft was inspected and samples taken to see how it had fared in the vacuum of space for over two and a half years.

The EVA finished at 07:44 UT.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image below shows landing site.
Evidence of the astronauts EVA can be clearly seen as well as the equipment and experiments left on the surface.

Alan Bean and Pete Conrad then prepared to lift off from The Moon.

Launch of ascent stage of the lunar module Intrepid was at 14:25 UT.

They docked with the command/service module at 17:58 UT.

The astronauts and their precious rock and dust samples then transferred themselves over.

The lunar module ascent stage was jettisoned at 20:21 UT.

It crashed onto the lunar surface at 22:17 UT.

The three astronauts will stay in orbit around The Moon until tomorrow, when they will begin their journey back to Earth in the evening.

This is my 3D image of the Davey crater chain, made by a string of possibly cometary particles hitting the surface one after the other, similar to Comet Shoemaker Levy 9 that hit Jupiter in July 1994.

50 years ago today, Alan Bean and and Pete Conrad successfully landed the lunar module Intrepid onto the surface of Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms).
Dick Gordon continued to orbit 60 miles above The Moon in the Command (Yankee Clipper) / Service module.

Unlike Neil’s landing on Apollo 11, they achieved a pinpoint landing close to Surveyor 3, which landed over two and a half years previously.

My image of the landing area (just) below, shows the landing site/s marked with a cross on the left hand side of the image.

During the EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity. Moon walk to you and me!), as well as collecting Moon rocks and dust, they also removed parts of Surveyor to see how it had fared during its stay on the Moon.

Explore Lunar Sample 12038 collected by the Apollo 12 astronauts by following this link:
https://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/projects/astromaterials-3d/apollo-12.html

In the early hours of tomorrow morning, they will perform a second EVA.

Here’s my composite 3D image of one of them on the Moon.
Was that a step too far adding in the Earth? 🙂

 

50 years ago today, the day before landing, in the early hours  the 18th of November 1969, Apollo 12 met The Moon and the engine was fired to place the Apollo 12 spacecraft into lunar orbit.

The astronauts then set about preparing the Lunar Module called Intrepid for tomorrow’s landing.

The un-docking of Intrepid from the command module Yankee Clipper will be in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

As Neil Armstrong had missed his landing site when Eagle Landed in The Sea of Tranquillity, they really wanted to prove the capability of accurately landing the lunar module.

Their intention was to land close to the lunar probe Surveyor 3 which landed on the surface of Oceanus Procellarum over two and a half years before.

Here’s my 3D image of Intrepid a little while before starting its descent towards the surface.

 

 

 

 

It’s a busy day for the 3 astronauts aboard Apollo 12, 50 years ago today – 14th November 1969.

The crew are:
Pete Conrad – Commander.
Dick Gordon – Command Module Pilot.
Alan Bean – Lunar Module Pilot

The launch of the mighty Saturn V rocket was at 16:22 from Cape Canaveral.

36.5 seconds after launch there was an electrical disturbance, followed by another one 52 seconds after launch.
The Saturn V had been struck by lightning. Twice!

Luckily all systems were still functioning normally, so the ascent towards Earth orbit continued.

At 2m 41s into mission, the first stage cut off, separation occurring one minute later.

The five-engine second stage cut off at 9m 12s, separating at 9m 13s.

The single-engined third stage  (S-IVB) burned from 9m 16s until 11m 33s into the mission.
This placed the Apollo spacecraft into an elliptical Earth orbit.

The orbit of the Apollo stack was adjusted and trimmed by the third stage by firing a second time from 2m 47s until 2m 53s.

Now a big decision had to be made.
Had the lightning strike affected the Apollo spacecraft on launch?
Could the parachute deployment system at the nose of the Command module have been damaged?
Could the heat shield on the back of the command module have also been compromised?

As they were already in orbit, the only way to test these out were by using them.
This would involve aborting the mission and bringing the astronauts home now.

The other option of course was to send them onto the Moon and test these once they got back to Earth 10 days later.
Thankfully all extensive checks on the spacecraft now made while safely in Earth orbit showed that everything was working nominally.

As a result clearance was then given to “go for TLI” (Tran-Lunar Injection).

2 hours and 50 minutes into the mission, the third stage engine was fired for a third time to increase the velocity to about 25,000 mph.
This will send them into a highly elliptical orbit around Earth, sending them towards a spot in space, passing close to where The Moon will be in 3 days time.

At 3h 18s The Command Module Pilot Dick Gordon un-docked the Command Module (Yankee Clipper) / Service Module from the third stage to performed the transposition, docking and extraction procedure to remove the Lunar Module called Intrepid from atop the third stage. This was revealed when the panels fell away.

Once the Lunar Module was extracted the Command/Service Module moved away from the spent third stage.

After separation most third stages were crashed into the Moon’s surface.
This enabled them to test the instruments left my Apollo 11 which measured Moonquakes.
In Apollo 12’s case, the third stage entered into a strange solar orbit.
This orbit periodically brings it back towards Earth.
It was last spotted in 2002. It is due to come back near to Earth in 2032 and may be bright enough to be visible to amateur observers / imagers. Also catalogued as asteroid J002E3, its Apollo origin was confirmed when spectroscopic studies showed a signature matching that of the titanium oxide paint used on the rocket.

At 4h 20m into the mission an avoidance manoeuvre was performed to ensure they separated from the third stage.

The three astronauts then started their coast towards an area of space where they will meet up with The Moon in 3 days time.

They performed a TV transmission and at the end of the day The Lunar Module Pilot, Alan Bean entered the Lunar Module to start checking all its systems were OK in anticipation of the landing.

It was a great start to yet another lunar adventure for the second Moon landing.

 

 

 

Well today could be a great day (or not). But it could be a day of two halves.

If the rain clouds flooding the country relent, we could hopefully view the transit of Mercury which starts just after 12:35 today until Sunset. That’s good, as long as the clouds part so we can view it.

See my details of that event here:
https://www.star-gazing.co.uk/WebPage/mercurytran-20191111

However, there is another event taking place today which doesn’t appear to be getting a lot of attention at the moment.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is launching another Starlink cluster today.
This might not be as good.

The launch is scheduled for 14:56 UT, while the transit is in progress.
A backup launch windows is scheduled for 14:34 UT tomorrow (12th).

The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket can be viewed live here: spacex.com/webcast.

60 new Starlink satellites will be put into Earth orbit.

Once the satellites are in orbit, you may want to produce predictions for visibility from your location at:
https://n2yo.com/passes/?s=74001

It could look spectacular as the cluster catch the sunlight if the last launch is anything to go by.
But is the launch of these satellites going to be a really bad thing for us observers / imagers going forward?

See my previous blog entry about what this new constellation of satellites could mean for our night sky:
https://www.star-gazing.co.uk/WebPage/starlink-spectacle

Dave

 

 

On the evening of the 7th of November I will be re-visiting Walsall Astronomical Society.

http://www.walsallastronomy.co.uk

Nicely timed just before the Mercury Transit next Monday (11th November) I will be talking about Solar Astronomy.

This will show what an amateur can achieve these days with the correct and safe solar equipment.
It will also give lots of details about the upcoming transit event and what we are likely to see from the UK (Probably clouds!).

Walsall Astronomical Society meet every Thursday at:

Rushall Olympic Football Club,
Dales Lane (off Bosty Lane),
Rushall,
Walsall.
WS4 1LJ

Cost: 
Members £2:00
Visitors £1:00

 

 

My penultimate free monthly sky diary for November 2019 showing the events of the night sky visible from the UK is now available in a printable pdf version for download.
Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.

After 32 years of doing my sky diary, I will stop producing this after December.
It’s been a sad, and big decision for me to do this, but it is getting difficult to fit it in with my many other commitments.

However, it’s all not bad news.
All my sky diary events are currently and will in future be added to the UK Cloud Magnets online calendar.
I will still keep this as up to date as I can and add new information as I hear about it.
Click here to view the UK Cloud Magnets online calendar.

I will also be updating my blog (www.star-gazing.co.uk/Blog.html) with any new information on sky events as appropriate.

On Monday the 28th of October I will be visiting Abington Camera Club https://wpsite.clubabington.org.uk to present:

A Whistle-Stop Tour of the Universe (Hitch-Hiking on a Ray of Light).

So let’s hope that they strap themselves in and brace themselves for a journey that really is out of this world.
Of course, it’s just a really fantastic excuse to show lots of beautiful images of our wonderful universe.

So if you are in the area come along and say “Hello”.

Abington Camera Club meet at:
The Community Centre,
Wheatfield Road South,
Abington,
Northampton

Meeting Starts at 7:30pm.

On the 7th of October I will be re-visiting Aylesbury Astronomical Society.
Talking about:

Aylesbury AS meet at the 9th Aylesbury Scout Hut.
Oakfield Road, Aylesbury.
HP20 1LJ

Meeting starts at 7:30pm.

More details about Aylesbury AS are on their Web site:
http://www.aylesbury-astronomy.org.uk

 

My free monthly sky diary for October 2019 showing the events of the night sky visible from the UK is now available in a printable pdf version for download.
Click here, or on the image below to download the pdf.

Just to let keep you informed, after 32 years of doing my printable sky diary, I will stop producing my printable sky diary after December. It’s been a sad, and big decision for me to do this, but it is getting difficult to fit it in with my many other commitments.

However, it’s all not bad news.
All my sky diary events are currently and will in future be added to the UK Cloud Magnets online calendar.
I will still keep this as up to date as I can and add new information as I hear about it.
Click here to view the UK Cloud Magnets online calendar.

This and my Blog (www.star-gazing.co.uk/Blog.html) is where I will put any new information on sky events as they become known to me.

Tonight, I will be visiting the Open University Astronomy Club in Milton Keynes to present my:

Whistle-Stop Tour of the Universe (Hitch-Hiking on a Ray of Light).

So let’s hope that they strap themselves in and brace themselves for a journey that really is out of this world. Of course, it’s just a really fantastic excuse to show lots of beautiful images of our wonderful universe.
Unfortunately, Flat Tim won’t be attending this time!

So if you are in the area, come along and say “Hello”.
They meet at The Open University in The Robert Hooke Room.

Meeting starts at 7:30pm.

Details on how to find the venue are on their Web Page:
http://www.shindles.co.uk/ouastro/Where.htm

This weekend is the main Kelling Equinox Starcamp weekend organised by Loughton Astronomical Society.

Hundreds of like-minded astronomers meet up at Kelling Heath Holiday Park.

Some of them stay for more than a week to make the most of clear skies and a companionable weekend.

I can’t make it this year, so sending everybody attending fine weather for the event.

If you have been unable to get a pitch for this starcamp, there are many other across the UK.

Visit my Web page here for a list.
http://www.star-gazing.co.uk/WebPage/resources/list-uk-star-parties

If I have missed any out, please let me know.

If you are in Kidderminster on the 1st of November, I am presenting two Apollo 50 events for both Kidderminster Arts and Food Festival (KAFF) and Go Space Watch.

The day starts with the KAFF event with an afternoon of fully-immersive planetarium shows.
These will tell you all about the Apollo 11 landing. Hold your breath as you sit on the Moon watching Neil Armstrong land The Eagle lunar module, with landing fuel running low.

Booking available using Paypal from my Web site:
http://www.star-gazing.co.uk/WebPage/planetarium/kaff-planetarium-shows

£4:00 per person.

Comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) has crashed into astronomical news.

It is the second object known to have originated from outside our solar system, make a dive in towards The Sun and then speed it’s way out once again.

The first known interloper Oumuamua (Formerly 1I/2017 U1) was discovered in 2017, and got people all excited.
Many observations of the object determined that it was a highly elongated object, essentially cigar shaped, prompting many people to propose it may have been artificial and built by aliens (Ha Ha!). It is composed of metal-rich rock and reddened by compounds called tholins laying on it’s surface. These are the same compounds which also give the red colours seen on Pluto, Charon and Ultima Thule (2014 MU69), which the probe New Horizons visited in July 2015 and New Years day 2019 respectively.

Comet Borisov was discovered in August at a distance of 3 Astronomical Units from The Sun.
It appears to have approached our solar system from an area of sky located slightly to one side of the double cluster in Perseus.
The comet was magnitude +18 at discovery.
Unlike Oumuamua, Comet Borisov was found long before perihelion, when it will be at it’s closest to The Sun.
This occurs on the 28th of December.

This very interesting object will be studied intensely during its apparition by lots of professional astronomers.

But as an amateur observer / imager, what are we likely to be able to see or image?

The comet currently lies in the northern part of Cancer, and heading steadily south.
It moves past the Sickle of Leo during October, passing very close to Regulus on the 4th of November.

So some early mornings are required if you want to catch the comet.

The comet continues southwards bound, passing almost directly through the centre of the constellation Crater mid-December.
Perihelion is reached on the 28th of December. The comet will still be quite a long way from Earth at this time, so don’t expect miracles.

It is unlikely to become much brighter than +15th magnitude, so observations are unlikely with very dark skies and a decent sized telescope. Astrophotographers are more likely to be able to capture the comet and I will look forward to seeing some of these images as they are released.

Sounds like a great little project for me to try my hand at over the coming weeks.

Use the map below to work out where the comet is.
Positions shown at 5 day intervals at 0h on the dates shown.
(Please note, the comet’s path may change as the ephemeris is re-defined. I will update if I see any changes).

Click on the map below to see a bigger version.

Click here to download a printable copy.

Tonight I will be re-visiting one of my closest astronomy clubs to talk about astrophotography.

It will be good to catch up with my friends at Nene Valley Astronomical Society.

Nene Valley AS meet at the Village Hall in Chelveston.
Caldecott Road, Chelveston. NN9 5AT.

The doors will open at 7:30pm to start at 8pm.
Please use the door at the rear of the building.

£3:00 per person.

On Saturday the 14th of September the Federation of Astronomical Societies (FAS) are holding their annual convention.

This will be held at The Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road in Cambridge.

The FAS Convention is a great day of interesting astronomy talks:

• Dr Mark Clilverd, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge.
  “Solar storm effects on ground-based infrastructure”.
• Dr Richard Ghail, Royal Holloway, University of London.
  “New insights from our closest Earth-sized exoplanet: Venus”.
• Jenny Lister, 2018 RAS Patrick Moore Medal Winner, Wetherby Preparatory School, London.
  “Astronomy for all: its place in education”.
• Dr Floor van Leeuwen, Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge.
  “Details of the HR diagram as revealed by the second Gaia data release”.
• Prof Carlos Frenk, University of Durham.
  “Everything from nothing: how our universe was made”.

There is also a chance to tour the historic telescopes and be tempted to buy some nice astro gear from some of the trade stands.

The event starts at 09:45, finishes 18:00.

£8 for FAS members
£10 for non-members
£4 for juniors (members and non-members).

Another comet that will be good to go out and watch is 260P (McNaught).
It is currently heading northwards in the constellation of Aries.

Images taken of the comet show it sporting a short but very distinct tail.

By the end of September the comet is in Perseus at about 11th magnitude, but still slowly brightening.
But it is not predicted to get very much brighter.

On the 8th and 9th of October the comet passes close to the open cluster M34.

The map below shows the path of the comet during September.

At the end of October and into November, the comet starts to trace out a retrograde loop.

The map below shows the path of the comet during October and November.