Eagleseye

by Dave Eagle

KEEP LOOKING UP

For a printable PDF version of this page, click here.

LATEST SPACE-FLIGHT NEWS
The ISS will be visible in the evening sky until the 11th of September.
It will then be unobservable from our location until the beginning of October, when it will be visible in the early morning sky.

The last two scheduled shuttle Missions are:
Discovery – November 1st 2010.
Endeavour – February 26th 2011.

Visit Heavens-Above for more details of ISS and other satellite spotting opportunities.

Any questions, comments or have I made a mistake?
E Mail me: (Dave@eagleseye.co.uk).

I always try and keep this page as up to date as I can, so kee p visiting regularly for the latest information.

Sky condition prediction for Higham Ferrers.

ALL TIMES Universal Time (UT) (=GMT) Unless stated.

The Stars (22:00h on the 1st, 21:00h on the 15th and 20:00h on the 31st of the month).

The Equinox occurs on the 23rd, so we are now well into the new observing season with dark skies now much earlier in the evening.
Cygnus reaches its highest point almost overhead with Aquila and Scutum lower in the southern sky.
The top of the Sagittarius “Tea-Pot” may be spotted low down just above the southern horizon.
Can you spot the bright nebula M8 (The Lagoon nebula) and M22, a bright globular cluster in binoculars?
Arcturus is now getting low down in the western sky, followed by the two giants Hercules and Ophiuchius.
In the eastern sky Aries and Perseus are rising.
At the foot of Perseus lies M44, The Pleiades star cluster. How early does your horizon enable you to see them?

Algol – This variable star can be seen fading from magnitude 2.1 to 3.4 at the following times: 11th — 03:58h, 14th – 00:47h.

The Moons and its phases this month.

Moon phase calendar generated using Graphdark By Richard Fleet. Click here to download.

1st Last Qtr.
8th  New
15th First Qtr.
23rd Full.

As an aid to identifying the planets and stars, the Moon will be close to:

Mars & Venus on the 11th.
Neptune on the 20th.
Jupiter & Uranus on the 23rd.

The Planets.

Mercury
Reaches inferior conjunction on the 3rd, so is unlikely to be seen at the beginning of the month.
However as Mercury orbits the Sun very rapidly, it soon moves away from the Sun, reaching greatest elongation on the 19th.
At this time it will be visible as a 0.8 magnitude object in brightening dawn in the eastern sky before sunrise.

Venus
Brilliant at magnitude -4.3 low in the western sky soon after sunset.
This bright planet will soon be lost in the evening twilight.
Venus is close to Mars on the 29th and helps point the way to the much fainter Red Planet.

Mars
Extremely difficult to see as it is small and faint at magnitude 1.5 low in the western sky after sunset.
Use the much brighter Venus to find it as it when it passes close by on the 29th.

Jupiter
Reaches opposition on the 21st. It is extremely bright (mag. -2.8) in Pisces so is sufficiently high up to see great detail in the cloud belts.
Jupiter and Uranus are within 1 degree of one another on the 22nd.

Saturn
Too lost in the evening twilight and too close to the Sun to be seen this month.

Uranus
Also reaches opposition on the 21st in Pisces.
Jupiter acts as a guide to finding this +5.7 magnitude planet when it passes by at less than a degree on the 22nd.

Neptune
At magnitude +7.9 in  Aquarius, but will require binoculars or a telescope to identify amongst the background stars.

The Sun
A new solar cycle has started, and the Sun has had a recent flurry of sunspot activity with some nice large spots groups now appearing.
Click here for latest news.
There have also been some large prominences visible from time to time, so if you have access to a Ha solar scope, take a look.

All times UT (GMT) Unless otherwise stated.

Thank you for visiting my site, I hope you have found it of interest.

If you have, or even if you have not, please let me know so I can improve: dave@eagleseye.co.uk

Dave Eagle

Eagles Eye On The Sky.

Keep Looking Up!

Images of wildlife I have seen both at home and abroad.

12►

Images of our solar system companions.

Images of the star clouds in our own galaxy.

A selection of images showing some beautiful visitors to our solar system.

A selection of images of Space Hardware taken by Dave Eagle.

Flyby Of the ISS - July 2008

I am well known on the amateur astronomy scene and am willing to attend local clubs and other organisations to give talks on astronomy and spaceflight.

I have lectured to local business groups and social groups as well as schools and youth organisations.
I have a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and can adapt my talks to suit any audience.

How about arranging star party for your group?
We will stand out under the sky where I can point out some of our wonderful heavenly objects and show you them through a portable telescope. If its cloudy I have plenty of slides to show.

All my multimedia talks last for about an hour. and usually charge only expenses.
(Ask me about special rates for local Astronomical Societies).

Current titles include:

Astronomy Is Looking Up: Finding your way around the sky.

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

Piazzi Smyth and his High Altitude Tenerife Observatory.

In the Footsteps of Piazzi Smyth: Amateur Observing in Tenerife.

The Cape Crusaders (The American Space Program).

The Apollo Moon Missions.

The Great Apollo Lunar Hoax (Did they really land on the Moon?).

The History of Space Exploration Using Robots.

The History of Manned Spaceflight (The Space Race).

Duffers guide to Astrophotography: How not to do it.

Astronomical Photography.

Digitally Enhancing Astronomy Images.

Please contact me to arrange your talk, or for further information.

dave@eagleseye.co.uk

Dave Eagle.

Eagleseye Observatory is a private observatory dedicated to viewing and imaging the night sky (or even the day sky) when the British weather system allows.

The Observatory is situated in the town of Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, England.

Despite being situated on a housing estate and coupled with light pollution from nearby Wellingborough and Kettering, a surprising amount of astronomy and imaging is still possible from this location.

The observatory has excellent horizons towards the South and West being situated as it is on the side of a valley.

Eagleseye Observatory is dedicated to bringing the universe to the public.

Dave Eagle, the owner of the observatory, has for decades written a monthly guide to the night sky called “Eagles Eye On The Sky”.
This web-based guide is written from a British perspective, but is visited and enjoyed by observers from around the globe.

Its origin is due to the regular contribution to Bedford Astronomical Societies Newsletter, being the regular center spread article, since 1987.

Eagles Eye On The Sky.

I have been interested in astronomy since I can remember. I used to gaze up at the night sky and wonder how it all fitted together. That puzzle didn’t start to unravel properly until the age of 9 when I suddenly “discovered” The Plough for myself. Once I had a start on the sky I gradually learnt my way around the visible constellations and learning the positions of all the “Celestial Lollypops” like the Messier objects. I started observing with some old 10×50 binoculars gradually moving onto a small refractor bought by my parents for Christmas. Living in North London I first met other kindred souls at South West Herts Astronomy Society but the distance of their meetings and being too young to drive, meant I could only attend a few meetings. One look at Saturn through their large reflector had me hooked even more. I was also a member of Hampstead Scientific Society for a while and was an assistant at their observatory on the heath using a fabulous 6″ Cooke refractor. From my time here I learnt a lot from other members. As a teenager my attention was directed elsewhere but my interest in astronomy was rekindled in 1985 when, as a newly married man and with my daughter well on the way, Halley’s comet returned and I bought my first serious scope, a 3 inch refractor.
In 1987 I established the Bedford Astronomical Society which has been a successful and flourishing society ever since.

I was Editor of the Handbook of the Federation of Astronomical Societies for a few years and I was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1996. I have a degree in Biology, recently training as a science teacher, obtaining a PGCE. I am currently working as a Research Scientist for a small diagnostics company in Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire and also look after their IT infrastructure.

I spend a lot of my spare time observing and imaging as well as concentrating on my other hobbies of Natural History and Photography as well as learning how to use software to process my images. I am also a member of Northampton Natural History Society.
I have now established my own permanent observatory where the convenience of opening up and almost instantly observing makes the hobby even more enjoyable. Unfortunately living where I do provides me with a constant battle against the scourge of light pollution. Two street lights that shine directly into the garden give me lots of grief.

I have written articles for many of the British astronomy publications and supplied images to illustrate astronomy articles for photographic magazines and appeared on local radio discussing many aspects of astronomy.

I also give talks and lectures on astronomy and spaceflight to schools, social groups, youth groups and astronomical societies or anyone else who is interested in finding out more about the night sky.

I especially enjoy trying to get others to get out and appreciate the sky and all its wonders.

Astronomy like all hobbies should be fun. So just get out and enjoy it.

Want to get in touch?

E Mail me dave@eagleseye.co.uk

Eagles Eye On The Sky.