In partnership with Raygill Astronomy Club
The glories of October’s night sky can at best be described as ‘Subtle’. The dull autumn constellations are already being challenged by the brilliant lights of winter. Spearheaded by the beautiful star cluster of the Pleiades. Ursa Major, or the Plough, is to all intents and purposes at its lowest in the North. The ‘W’ of Cassiopeia is not far...
Read MoreThe summer’s brilliant pageant of planets is now tarnishing, as Venus exits the stage and Mars continues to fade. This month the nights become longer and we move towards unsettled weather. The autumn constellations are starting to show. Ursa Major, or the Plough, can be found low in the North. The ‘W’ of Cassiopeia is not far from the overhead...
Read MoreAugust can be a spectacular month so far as the night sky is concerned. A picturesque parade of planets stretches across the southern sky in the early evening. From beautiful Venus in the west, through giant Jupiter and duller Saturn to the glorious red planet Mars. We also have one of the main meteor showers of the year, the Perseids. The Plough lies...
Read MoreThe only known image of Thomas Cooke The members Keighley astronomical society who attended the June monthly meeting learnt about Thomas Cooke. The man from East Yorkshire who by the end of his life, in 1868, he had put Britain at the forefront of optical engineering in Europe. The guest speaker was Mr Martin Lunn OBE, FRAS. Who researched the life and...
Read MoreAs we move into high summer, the sun turns southwards, our nights begin to lengthen and the moonless spell later in the month brings many of us our first dark skies of the summer. The Plough is in the north west as the Summer Triangle reaches the high meridian. Formed by the bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb, in the constellations Lyra, Aquila and Cygnus...
Read MoreSociety secretary Dominic Curran visited Armagh Observatory and Planetarium last week. Armagh Planetarium was established by the seventh director of Armagh Observatory, Dr. Eric Mervyn Lindsay, who, after twenty five years of effort, secured funding from local councils and the Ministry of Commerce of Northern Ireland in 1965. In the same year Patrick Moore...
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