Meade have very generously donated another telescope to raffle at the Astronomy Festival. This year ...
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20th Jul 2010 15:47
The Centre will open from 8pm on the 12th August for a chance to spot the Perseids Meteor Shower as ...
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20th Jul 2010 15:40
A new gallery has been launched on the web site to showcase some of the amazing photos taken during ...
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29th Apr 2010 15:57
The Observatory Science Centre
Herstmonceux
Hailsham
East Sussex
BN27 1RN
Herstmonceux
Hailsham
East Sussex
BN27 1RN
Tel: 01323 832731
Fax: 01323 832741
Fax: 01323 832741
What to see on Open Evenings
What to see on 13th March 2010
The Sun will have set at 6.01pm so it will be quite dark when The Centre opens at 6.30pm. The phase of the Moon is 2 days before NEW MOON and 6 days after last quarter so it will be a waning crescent and will have already set at 5pm. On this occasion therefore we will be unable to look at the Moon through the telescopes.
The planet Mars will be visible all night being well positioned at the moment high in the night sky in the constellation of Cancer, next door to Gemini (see sky chart below). The MAGNITUDE of Mars will be -0.2 so even though it is getting dimmer now as it moves further from Earth it is still nice and bright. Mars reached OPPOSITION on the 29th January when it was at its closest to Earth and therefore at its brightest.
The Sun will have set at 6.01pm so it will be quite dark when The Centre opens at 6.30pm. The phase of the Moon is 2 days before NEW MOON and 6 days after last quarter so it will be a waning crescent and will have already set at 5pm. On this occasion therefore we will be unable to look at the Moon through the telescopes.
The planet Mars will be visible all night being well positioned at the moment high in the night sky in the constellation of Cancer, next door to Gemini (see sky chart below). The MAGNITUDE of Mars will be -0.2 so even though it is getting dimmer now as it moves further from Earth it is still nice and bright. Mars reached OPPOSITION on the 29th January when it was at its closest to Earth and therefore at its brightest.
Sky Chart for 13th March at 9pm from Heavens Above
The planet Saturn will rise at approximately 6.45pm, just after The Centre opens and will be low in the eastern sky. It will however rise higher and higher as the evening progresses and we will be able to look at it through the historic telescopes before The Centre closes at 11pm. At the moment it is in the constellation of Virgo which is next door to Leo (see sky chart above). Saturn will have a MAGNITUDE of +0.5 which is brighter than it has been due to the fact that the rings are now beginning to open up again following the edge on position they were in last September. See RINGS OF SATURN for further details. Saturn reaches OPPOSITION on the 22nd March.
Because there will not be a bright Moon to drown out the fainter objects in the sky, the telescopes will also be trained on other interesting deep sky celestial objects such as the ORION NEBULA, as well as the 2 planets mentioned.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to the centre by Meade.
The planet Saturn will rise at approximately 6.45pm, just after The Centre opens and will be low in the eastern sky. It will however rise higher and higher as the evening progresses and we will be able to look at it through the historic telescopes before The Centre closes at 11pm. At the moment it is in the constellation of Virgo which is next door to Leo (see sky chart above). Saturn will have a MAGNITUDE of +0.5 which is brighter than it has been due to the fact that the rings are now beginning to open up again following the edge on position they were in last September. See RINGS OF SATURN for further details. Saturn reaches OPPOSITION on the 22nd March.
Because there will not be a bright Moon to drown out the fainter objects in the sky, the telescopes will also be trained on other interesting deep sky celestial objects such as the ORION NEBULA, as well as the 2 planets mentioned.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to the centre by Meade.
What to see on 20th March 2010
The Sun will have set at 6.13pm so it will still be twilight when the centre opens at 6.30pm. The phase of the Moon is 3 days before FIRST QUARTER so it will be a waxing crescent. It will have risen at 10.32am and will set at 8.34pm so will be visible through the telescopes at the very start of the evening.
The planet Venus will be in the twilight sky as The Centre opens but will be low in the western sky and will set at 7.45pm. It is a bright object at magnitude -3.8.
The planet Mars will be visible all night being well positioned at the moment high in the night sky in the constellation of Cancer, next door to Gemini (see sky chart below). The MAGNITUDE of Mars will be -0.1 so even though it is getting dimmer now as it moves further from Earth it is still nice and bright. Mars reached OPPOSITION on the 29th January when it was at its closest to Earth and therefore at its brightest.
The Sun will have set at 6.13pm so it will still be twilight when the centre opens at 6.30pm. The phase of the Moon is 3 days before FIRST QUARTER so it will be a waxing crescent. It will have risen at 10.32am and will set at 8.34pm so will be visible through the telescopes at the very start of the evening.
The planet Venus will be in the twilight sky as The Centre opens but will be low in the western sky and will set at 7.45pm. It is a bright object at magnitude -3.8.
The planet Mars will be visible all night being well positioned at the moment high in the night sky in the constellation of Cancer, next door to Gemini (see sky chart below). The MAGNITUDE of Mars will be -0.1 so even though it is getting dimmer now as it moves further from Earth it is still nice and bright. Mars reached OPPOSITION on the 29th January when it was at its closest to Earth and therefore at its brightest.
Sky Chart for the 20th March 2010 at 7.30pm from Heavens Above
The planet Saturn will rise at approximately 6pm, just before The Centre opens and will be low in the eastern sky. It will however rise higher and higher as the evening progresses and we will be able to look at it through the historic telescopes before The Centre closes at 11pm. At the moment it is in the constellation of Virgo which is next door to Leo (see sky chart above). Saturn will have a MAGNITUDE of +0.5 which is brighter than it has been due to the fact that the rings are now beginning to open up again following the edge on position they were in last September. See RINGS OF SATURN for further details. Saturn reaches OPPOSITION on the 22nd March.
Although the main features of the evening will be the Moon, Mars and Saturn the telescopes will also be trained on other interesting celestial objects.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will also be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to The Centre by Meade.
The planet Saturn will rise at approximately 6pm, just before The Centre opens and will be low in the eastern sky. It will however rise higher and higher as the evening progresses and we will be able to look at it through the historic telescopes before The Centre closes at 11pm. At the moment it is in the constellation of Virgo which is next door to Leo (see sky chart above). Saturn will have a MAGNITUDE of +0.5 which is brighter than it has been due to the fact that the rings are now beginning to open up again following the edge on position they were in last September. See RINGS OF SATURN for further details. Saturn reaches OPPOSITION on the 22nd March.
Although the main features of the evening will be the Moon, Mars and Saturn the telescopes will also be trained on other interesting celestial objects.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will also be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to The Centre by Meade.
What to see on 24th April 2010
The Sun will not set until 8.12pm so it will still be light when The Centre opens at 6.30pm. However the phase of the Moon is 3 days after FIRST QUARTER so as a waxing gibbous Moon it will have risen at 3.47pm and will be visible even in daylight. It will not set until 2.53am so will be in the sky throughout the evening.
The planet Venus will be in the sky as The Centre opens even though it will not be visible until twilight. It will not set until 22.45pm so will be visible through the telescopes from twilight until it sinks too low in the western sky. It is a bright object at MAGNITUDE -3.8.The planet Mars will be visible all night being well positioned at the moment high in the night sky in the constellation of Cancer, next door to Gemini (see sky chart below). The MAGNITUDE of Mars will be +0.6 so very much dimmer now that it has moved further from Earth. However it is still relatively. Mars reached OPPOSITION on the 29th January when it was at its closest to Earth and therefore at its brightest.
The Sun will not set until 8.12pm so it will still be light when The Centre opens at 6.30pm. However the phase of the Moon is 3 days after FIRST QUARTER so as a waxing gibbous Moon it will have risen at 3.47pm and will be visible even in daylight. It will not set until 2.53am so will be in the sky throughout the evening.
The planet Venus will be in the sky as The Centre opens even though it will not be visible until twilight. It will not set until 22.45pm so will be visible through the telescopes from twilight until it sinks too low in the western sky. It is a bright object at MAGNITUDE -3.8.The planet Mars will be visible all night being well positioned at the moment high in the night sky in the constellation of Cancer, next door to Gemini (see sky chart below). The MAGNITUDE of Mars will be +0.6 so very much dimmer now that it has moved further from Earth. However it is still relatively. Mars reached OPPOSITION on the 29th January when it was at its closest to Earth and therefore at its brightest.
Sky Chart for the 24th April 2010 at 8pm from Heavens Above
The planet Saturn will be visible all night from twilight onwards. It will be well positioned in the evening sky so you will be able to look at it through the historic telescopes before The Centre closes at 11pm. It will be between the constellations of Virgo and Leo (see sky chart above) and will have a magnitude of +0.8. Saturn reaches OPPOSITION on the 22nd March so by the 24th April it will have moved further away from Earth thus becoming dimmer all the time. The rings are now beginning to open up again following the edge on position they were in last September. See RINGS OF SATURN for further details.
Although the main features of the evening will be the Moon, Venus, Mars and Saturn the telescopes will also be trained on other interesting celestial objects.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will also be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to The Centre by Meade.
The planet Saturn will be visible all night from twilight onwards. It will be well positioned in the evening sky so you will be able to look at it through the historic telescopes before The Centre closes at 11pm. It will be between the constellations of Virgo and Leo (see sky chart above) and will have a magnitude of +0.8. Saturn reaches OPPOSITION on the 22nd March so by the 24th April it will have moved further away from Earth thus becoming dimmer all the time. The rings are now beginning to open up again following the edge on position they were in last September. See RINGS OF SATURN for further details.
Although the main features of the evening will be the Moon, Venus, Mars and Saturn the telescopes will also be trained on other interesting celestial objects.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will also be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to The Centre by Meade.
What to see on the Perseids Metoer Shower Evening
The Perseids meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the outskirts of a cloud of debris from comet Swift-Tuttle. The dust and bits of rock left behind are called meteors. As they enter the Earth's atmosphere they burn up with the larger pieces producing bright streams that you can see with the naked eye before they fade away. These bright burning streams are also known as shooting stars and can be seen from 23rd July until 20th August. However, the maximum is on the 12th August at around midnight when you may see approximately 60-80 shooting stars per hour. The radiant (or the part of the sky from where the meteors appear to come from) is in the constellation of Perseus. Although Perseus cannot be seen on the sky chart below the direction is from the North East.
Sky chart for 12th August 2010 at midnight from Heavens Above
The Perseids meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the outskirts of a cloud of debris from comet Swift-Tuttle. The dust and bits of rock left behind are called meteors. As they enter the Earth's atmosphere they burn up with the larger pieces producing bright streams that you can see with the naked eye before they fade away. These bright burning streams are also known as shooting stars and can be seen from 23rd July until 20th August. However, the maximum is on the 12th August at around midnight when you may see approximately 60-80 shooting stars per hour. The radiant (or the part of the sky from where the meteors appear to come from) is in the constellation of Perseus. Although Perseus cannot be seen on the sky chart below the direction is from the North East.
Sky chart for 12th August 2010 at midnight from Heavens Above
The evening starts at 8pm when it will still be light. The Sun will set at 8.29pm. The phase of the Moon will be 2 days after NEW MOON so will be a waxing crescent. It will not set until 9.33pm which will give you the opportunity to have a look at it through the historic telescopes (weather permitting). It is a beautiful sight and although it is only 2 days old you will still be able to see some seas and craters.
Another feature of the evening will be the planet Jupiter which will rise at about 9.45pm. It will rise higher and higher during the evening and should be visible through the telescopes before The Centre closes at 1am on the 13th August. Jupiter will have a MAGNITUDE of -2.8 so will be quite bright.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to The Centre by Chris Morrison from Meade.
Another feature of the evening will be the planet Jupiter which will rise at about 9.45pm. It will rise higher and higher during the evening and should be visible through the telescopes before The Centre closes at 1am on the 13th August. Jupiter will have a MAGNITUDE of -2.8 so will be quite bright.
The smaller telescopes of Wealden Astronomical Society will be available for you to look through as will the centre's own Meade 8-inch LX90 which was kindly donated to The Centre by Chris Morrison from Meade.
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