Useful Links – Bath Astronomers

What are we up to?

Sep30

Talk by Mark Radice, Observing the Planets

30 SepHerschel Museum of Astronomy

Our monthly meeting enjoys a wonderful talk by Mark Radice on "Observing the Planets". “Observing the Planets” describes the joy of observing the planets and includes Mark’s images and sketches from many years of practical observing. It also includes images when Mark observed every planet in the solar system (and the Moon, Sun, Earth and numerous moons) in 1 night during a club trip to the IAC Observatory on Mt Teide, Tenerife with a telescope that had been dragged through aircraft security in hand luggage. Mark has been an active observer since first comet Hyakutake and then Hale Bopp graced the skies in the 1990s. Having observed 2 stunning comets through binoculars, he remains profoundly disappointed as he waits for the next bright comet to appear. He now observes from his garden observatory near Salisbury when not visiting star parties and dark skies in the UK and overseas. He has had articles and images published in Astronomy Now and output of a decidedly lesser quality on his own website http://RefreshingViews.com. Bath Astronomers' monthly meeting is open to newcomers and members alike to meet up, enjoy an interesting topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street, Bath or online based on the latest government advice. The format is open and comprises an update for the month and a talk on an astronomy topic within the reach of amateurs. All visitors welcome and there is a charge of £5. Reduced to £2 for juniors, students or Herschel Society members. Bath Astronomers members enter for free. Picture: Mark Radice

Oct28

Talk by Stephen Tonkin, Two Eyes are Better than One

28 OctHerschel Museum of Astronomy

Wednesday 28th October – Monthly meeting. A talk by Stephen Tonkin on binocular astronomy. Two Eyes are Better than One. Steve Tonkin has been an amateur astronomer since childhood and now spends most of his time doing astronomical outreach; he leads public observing sessions at BBC Stargazing Live events. He has taught astronomy to adults and children for over 35 years and has authored many articles and several books on practical aspects of astronomy. He writes equipment reviews and a monthly Binocular Tour for BBC Sky at Night magazine. Steve is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a past-chairman of the Wessex Astronomical Society and a founder member of Fordingbridge Astronomers. Bath Astronomers monthly meeting for all members and new comers to meet up, enjoy perhaps a new topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street. The format is open and comprises an update for the month and a talk on an astronomy topic within the reach of amateurs. All visitors welcome and there is a charge of £5. Reduced to £2 for juniors, students or William Herschel Society members. Bath Astronomers members get free entry. Picture: Stephen Tonkin

Nov18

Getting to Grips with the Night Sky: Introduction to astronomy

18 NovHerschel Museum of Astronomy

A talk on the night sky, how to get more involved in stargazing and ideas for enjoying astronomy. All are welcome from beginners upwards. It is intended to show you the simple science of the night skies above your head and how that knowledge can help you observe. The location for the talk if the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street, Bath. BA1 2BL. There is a charge of £5 per head for adults. Accompanied young people can attend for free. For those that decide to join Bath Astronomers by end of November, the £5 will be deducted from the membership subscription payment due. Credit: NASA, Juno

Nov25

A Life on Mars. Talk by Bud Martin

25 NovHerschel Museum of Astronomy

A Life On Mars by Bud Martin We take a look at the personalities, speculations and theories that have contributed to our changing views of the Red Planet over the last 150 years. From the sublime to the ridiculous, we examine what it takes to visit our near neighbour. About Bud Bud first became interested in astronomy at 8 years old after seeing a bright meteor flash across the night sky. Determined to learn more, he avidly read all the astronomy books in the local Public Library then set about making his first telescope from spectacle lenses and cardboard tubes. At the same time, he developed a love for music and by the age of 13 had made his own electric guitar. Nearly 60 years later, Bud is still performing at gigs on his equally old Gibson 345. Astigmatism in his right (dominant) eye began to make observation at the telescope eyepiece a troublesome experience so Bud developed a system using a modified web-cam to view the heavens. Naturally, this paved the way to enable him to capture the images he was seeing on the computer screen. Constantly improving camera sensor technology meant that before long he was seeing objects – especially on the Lunar surface – in such detail impossible with his naked eye. Bud is an internationally published Lunar Astrophotographer. The event: Bath Astronomers monthly meeting for all members and new comers to meet up, enjoy perhaps a new topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street. Bath Astronomers' members and under 18s enter for free. All visitors welcome and there is an entry charge of £5. Reduced to £2 for Herschel Society members and students. Picture: Bud Martin

Jan27

Talk by Nick Howes, Oh My God, We're all gonna die

27 JanHerschel Museum of Astronomy

Wednesday 27th January – Monthly meeting. Nick Howes has sixteen years' experience working at the cutting edge of Research and Development. Formerly Deputy Director of Kielder Observatory, Sci-Comms for ESA, software development for the SKA Telescope, and Pro-Am Programme Manager for the Faulkes Telescopes, helping to discover dozens of new asteroids. Nick is both a fellow of the BIS and of the Royal Astronomical Society, and works now as the Lead Specialist for BMT's Space R&D team. BMT Defence and Security were the architectural design team behind the QEC Aircraft Carrier, and have offices all over the world, including Bath. His Talk "Oh My God...We're all gonna die" takes us through the perceived threats in space, and hones in on the ones that could truly change the face of our planet forever. Bath Astronomers monthly meeting for all members and new comers to meet up, enjoy perhaps a new topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street. The format is open and comprises an update for the month and a talk on an astronomy topic within the reach of amateurs. All visitors welcome and there is a charge of £5. Reduced to £2 for juniors, students or William Herschel Society members. Bath Astronomers members get free entry. Picture: Nick Howes

Feb24

Talk by Nora Eisner, University of Oxford

24 FebHerschel Museum of Astronomy

Wednesday 24th February – Monthly meeting. This month's talk will be given by Nora Eisner, Department of Physics, University of Oxford. She is a DPhil student working under the supervision of Professor Chris Lintott and Professor Suzanne Aigrain. Bath Astronomers monthly meeting for all members and new comers to meet up, enjoy perhaps a new topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month online or at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street. The format is open and comprises an update for the month and a talk on an astronomy topic within the reach of amateurs. All visitors welcome and there is a charge of £5. Reduced to £2 for juniors, students or William Herschel Society members. Bath Astronomers members get in for free.

Mar31

Talk by Pete Williamson FRAS

31 MarHerschel Museum of Astronomy

Wednesday 31st March – Monthly meeting. Topic to be confirmed: Observing the Moon, or From Herschel to Hawkwind Bath Astronomers monthly meeting for all members and new comers to meet up, enjoy perhaps a new topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street. The format is open and comprises an update for the month and a talk on an astronomy topic within the reach of amateurs. All visitors welcome and there is a charge of £5. Reduced to £2 for juniors, students or William Herschel Society members. Bath Astronomers members get free entry. Picture: Peter Williamson

Apr28

Talk by Mary McIntyre

28 AprHerschel Museum of Astronomy

Wednesday 28th April – Monthly meeting. This month's talk will be given by Mary McIntyre. Mary is a well reknown astro artist and astrophotographer. Bath Astronomers monthly meeting for all members and new comers to meet up, enjoy perhaps a new topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month online or at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street. The format is open and comprises an update for the month and a talk on an astronomy topic within the reach of amateurs. All visitors welcome and there is a charge of £5. Reduced to £2 for juniors, students or William Herschel Society members. Bath Astronomers members get in for free.

Jun30

Talk by Chris Starr, Cassini and Saturn

30 JunHerschel Museum of Astronomy

Wednesday 30th June – Monthly meeting. Bath Astronomers monthly meeting for all members and new comers to meet up, enjoy perhaps a new topic and a cup of tea and a biscuit. Held on the last Wednesday of every month at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, 19 New King Street. The format is open and comprises an update for the month and a talk on an astronomy topic within the reach of amateurs. All visitors welcome and there is a charge of £5 which helps cover the cost of the venue. Reduced to £2 for juniors, students or Bath Astronomers members. Picture: Simon Holbeche

The Moon

First Quarter (Illumination: 40.9%)
Age: 6.52 days (Phase: 22.1%)
Size: 32.2' (Distance: 371,069km)
Moon rise: 13:47
Moon set: 21:37

New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Last Quarter
Thu 17 Sep	Thu 24 Sep	Thu 1 Oct	Sat 10 Oct
Fri 16 Oct	Fri 23 Oct	Sat 31 Oct	Sun 8 Nov
Sun 15 Nov	Sun 22 Nov	Mon 30 Nov	Tue 8 Dec
Mon 14 Dec	Mon 21 Dec	Wed 30 Dec	Wed 6 Jan

The Sun

Sunset: 18:05
End twilight: 19:57
Begin twilight: 04:07
Sunrise: 05:59

Current Meteor Showers

Shower	Start	Peak	End	ZHR
Daytime Sextantids	9 Sep	28 Sep	9 Oct	5
Southern Taurids	10 Sep	10 Oct	20 Nov	5

Current Missions

Past Missions

Mythology

Constellation Mythology- A nice little page with links to more details on the mythology behind certain constellations

Exoplanets

Sun

Mercury

BepiColombo

The Moon

Moon Phases and Libration 2019
Apollo- NASA's overview of the Apollo programme to land people on the Moon

Mars

Jupiter

Juno

Saturn

Cassini-Huygens- Great mission that rewrote the book on Saturn

Asteroids

Space Ideas

Space Elevators and Astronomy

Astro Clubs and Observing

Go Stargazing- Listings of UK observing events
Bath Astronomers- Meets last Wednesday of the month
Beckington AS- Meets 3rd Friday of the month
Bristol AS- Meets once a week
Starquest Astronomers
Wells and Mendip Astronomers
Wiltshire AS- Meets first Tuesday of the month

School Outreach Ideas

Telescopes

Guide to Telescopes by Stargazing Live- A 6 page guide from the BBC on buying your first telescope

Software

Solar System Scope- A great tool for exploring the Solar System in both enlarged and realistic modes. You can use it online or pay a small sum to download and use it offline.
Worldwide Telescope- The American Astronomical Society's Worldwide Telescope available as a web application or a Windows download

The Planets

Planet	Rises	Sets	Constellation	Disk Size	Sun separation
Mercury	Wednesday 08:26:37	Wednesday 18:31:37	Vir	6.0" (46%)	24.4°
Venus	Wednesday 02:03:38	Wednesday 16:44:05	Leo	16.4" (26%)	41.8°
Mars	Tuesday 19:11:12	Wednesday 08:19:47	Psc	21.8" (85%)	153.3°
Jupiter	Wednesday 15:17:52	Wednesday 23:09:21	Sgr	40.6" (82%)	107.1°
Saturn	Wednesday 15:41:53	Wednesday 23:51:11	Sgr	16.8" (84%)	114.9°
Uranus	Tuesday 19:15:08	Wednesday 09:47:19	Ari	3.7" (90%)	140.3°
Neptune	Wednesday 17:43:57	Thursday 04:53:05	Aqr	2.3" (105%)	167.7°

Rise and Set times are with respect to Bath, UK. (%) indicates size compared to maximum possible. As Separation with the Sun approaches 0°, we have Conjunction. As it approaches 180°, we have Opposition. Planets will not be visible between Sunrise(05:58) and Sunset(18:06)

Messier objects due South now

Messier	Name	Type	Magnitude	Constellation
M1	Crab Nebula	Planetary Nebula	8.4	Taurus
M35	NGC2168	Open Cluster	5.1	Gemini
M36	NGC1960	Open Cluster	6	Auriga
M37	NGC2099	Open Cluster	5.6	Auriga
M38	NGC1922	Open Cluster	6.4	Auriga
M41	NGC2287	Open Cluster	4.5	Canis Major
M42	Great Orion Nebula	Nebula	4	Orion
M43	De Mairan’s Nebula	Nebula	9	Orion
M50	NGC2323	Open Cluster	5.9	Monoceros
M78	NGC2068	Nebula	8	Orion
M79	NGC1904	Globular Cluster	8	Lepus

Click on the Messier number for the finders guide for the deep sky object.

Spot the Space Station from Bath

Date	Mag	Start	Max	End
Wed 23 Sep	-2.7	19:55:04 look WSW alt 10°	58°	20:01:21 look E alt 12°
Wed 23 Sep	-2.2	21:31:56 look W alt 11°	49°	21:34:25 look W alt 49°
Thu 24 Sep	-2.9	20:47:05 look W alt 11°	86°	20:51:15 look E alt 49°
Thu 24 Sep	-0.2	22:24:09 look W alt 11°	13°	22:24:26 look W alt 13°
Fri 25 Sep	-2.9	20:03:46 look W alt 11°	88°	20:09:38 look E alt 18°
Fri 25 Sep	-1.6	21:40:57 look W alt 11°	34°	21:42:54 look W alt 34°
Sat 26 Sep	-2.8	20:59:12 look W alt 11°	89°	21:02:34 look N alt 89°
Sun 27 Sep	-2.8	20:18:49 look W alt 11°	85°	20:23:54 look E alt 29°
Sun 27 Sep	-0.7	21:56:08 look W alt 10°	19°	21:57:15 look W alt 19°
Mon 28 Sep	-2.9	19:39:44 look W alt 11°	84°	19:46:16 look E alt 13°
Mon 28 Sep	-2.0	21:17:10 look W alt 11°	43°	21:19:42 look WSW alt 43°
Tue 29 Sep	-2.6	20:39:25 look W alt 11°	68°	20:43:24 look SE alt 56°
Wed 30 Sep	-2.8	20:02:49 look W alt 11°	76°	20:08:15 look ESE alt 24°
Wed 30 Sep	-0.6	21:40:34 look W alt 10°	19°	21:41:54 look WSW alt 19°
Thu 01 Oct	-2.9	19:27:16 look W alt 11°	83°	19:34:10 look ESE alt 11°
Thu 01 Oct	-1.4	21:05:07 look W alt 11°	30°	21:07:51 look SW alt 30°
Fri 02 Oct	-1.7	20:30:36 look W alt 12°	36°	20:34:47 look S alt 28°

Latest Starlink Satellites - 13th June

Date	Satellite	Rise	Max	Set
Wed 23 Sep	STARLINK-1477	20:39:10 look W alt 11°	35°	20:44:59 look SSE alt 21°
Thu 24 Sep	STARLINK-1477	20:33:57 look W alt 11°	28°	20:39:57 look SSE alt 15°
Fri 25 Sep	STARLINK-1477	20:28:24 look W alt 10°	23°	20:34:49 look S alt 10°
Sat 26 Sep	STARLINK-1477	20:23:08 look W alt 10°	18°	20:28:45 look S alt 10°
Sun 27 Sep	STARLINK-1477	20:18:06 look W alt 10°	15°	20:22:23 look SSW alt 11°
Mon 28 Sep	STARLINK-1477	20:13:30 look WSW alt 10°	11°	20:15:45 look SSW alt 10°

This is a satellite from the 9th batch of 58 of the Starlink constellation launched on 13th June 2020

Prior Starlink Satellites - L7 - 4th June

Date	Satellite	Rise	Max	Set
Thu 24 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:45:27 look ESE alt 19°	19°	03:46:56 look E alt 11°
Thu 24 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	05:20:57 look WSW alt 31°	80°	05:27:01 look ENE alt 10°
Fri 25 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:40:11 look E alt 20°	20°	03:41:42 look E alt 10°
Fri 25 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	05:15:46 look WSW alt 37°	90°	05:21:31 look ENE alt 10°
Sat 26 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:34:56 look E alt 19°	19°	03:36:11 look ENE alt 11°
Sat 26 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	05:10:36 look W alt 44°	82°	05:16:01 look ENE alt 10°
Sun 27 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:29:42 look E alt 18°	18°	03:30:39 look ENE alt 11°
Sun 27 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	05:05:25 look W alt 51°	76°	05:10:32 look ENE alt 10°
Mon 28 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:24:29 look ENE alt 16°	16°	03:25:07 look ENE alt 12°
Mon 28 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	04:59:56 look WNW alt 50°	72°	05:04:43 look ENE alt 12°
Tue 29 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:19:16 look ENE alt 14°	14°	03:19:35 look ENE alt 12°
Tue 29 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	04:54:46 look WNW alt 58°	69°	04:59:14 look E alt 12°
Tue 29 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	06:31:00 look WNW alt 10°	52°	06:34:11 look WNW alt 52°
Wed 30 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:14:03 look ENE alt 12°	12°	03:14:22 look ENE alt 10°
Wed 30 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	04:49:36 look NNW alt 65°	69°	04:53:45 look E alt 12°
Wed 30 Sep	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	06:25:28 look WNW alt 10°	78°	06:33:45 look ESE alt 10°
Thu 01 Oct	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	03:08:51 look ENE alt 10°	10°	03:08:51 look ENE alt 10°
Thu 01 Oct	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	04:44:26 look N alt 69°	69°	04:48:15 look E alt 12°
Thu 01 Oct	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	06:20:15 look WNW alt 12°	68°	06:27:53 look ESE alt 12°
Fri 02 Oct	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	04:39:15 look NE alt 68°	68°	04:43:05 look E alt 10°
Fri 02 Oct	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	06:14:43 look WNW alt 12°	57°	06:22:17 look SE alt 12°
Sat 03 Oct	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	04:34:04 look ENE alt 61°	61°	04:37:34 look E alt 10°
Sat 03 Oct	STARLINK-1436 (VISORSAT)	06:09:47 look W alt 15°	47°	06:16:40 look SE alt 11°

This is one of the satellites from the 8th batch of 60 of the Starlink constellation launched on 4th June 2020

ISS Transits Mars

Tom Glenn

Yes, but have you ever seen the space station do this? If you know when and where to look, watching the bright International Space Station (ISS) drift across your night sky is a fascinating sight -- but not very unusual. Images of the ISS crossing in front of the half-degree Moon or Sun do exist, but are somewhat rare as they take planning, timing, and patience to acquire. Catching the ISS crossing in front of minuscule Mars, though, is on another level. Using online software, the featured photographer learned that the unusual transit would be visible only momentarily along a very narrow stretch of nearby land spanning just 90 meters. Within this stretch, the equivalent ground velocity of the passing ISS image would be a quick 7.4 kilometers per second. However, with a standard camera, a small telescope, an exact location to set up his equipment, an exact direction to point the telescope, and sub-millisecond timing -- he created a video from which the featured 0.00035 second exposure was extracted. In the resulting image capture, details on both Mars and the ISS are visible simultaneously. The featured image was acquired last Monday at 05:15:47 local time from just northeast of San Diego, California, USA. Although typically much smaller, angularly, than the ISS, Mars is approaching its maximum angular size in the next few weeks, because the blue planet (Earth) is set to pass its closest to the red planet (Mars) in their respective orbits around the Sun. Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator