Category Archives: News and Updates

News about Astronomy and Space Science. Find every news item and update here, in blog format. You can get these updates sent straight to your mailbox by subscribing here, or you can subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the link.

What we’ve been up to: Light Pollution, Solar Eclipse, Lunar Eclipse

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If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll know that Urban Astronomer has been doing a fair bit of astronomy outreach over recent months.  In July, I gave a presentation on Light Pollution for the Rhenosterspruit Conservancy, and in September I filmed the partial solar eclipse, and streamed it live for Slooh.com.  And without even realising it, we became a major source of news on a surprising superstition regarding the recent Lunar Eclipse! Light Pollution Talk On 19 July, … Continue reading →

Carnival of Space #418

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It’s been an impossibly busy few weeks at Urban Astronomer headquarters.  So busy that no astronomy has happened at all, apart from a few stolen glances upwards at the night sky while feeding the dog.  Thankfully, they’ve let me keep my Carnival hosting privileges, and so I still get to bring you the 418th Carnival of Space! I’m obviously not the only busy one, though, as we’ve had very few submissions this week, and only one from a regular contributor. … Continue reading →

Carnival of Space #410

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It’s almost the middle of June, which means that it’s mid-winter here at my home in the South and the much-delayed cold weather has finally arrived!  It’s an excellent time of year for stargazing with long crisp evenings, week-long stretches of cloudless sky, a spectacular range of objects to point our telescopes towards, and a shaky national power utility gifting us with repeated blackouts for extra-dark skies.  But what to do if you’re not blessed with such ideal observing conditions? … Continue reading →

Observer’s Guide – June 2015

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Well it took long enough but Winter finally started.  Here where I live, the evenings are finally cold, the air is finally clear, and the stars are back out in their finest, brightest glory.  It’s a fantastic time to observe, so here’s a quick rundown on what you can see: The month starts with the Moon.  It passes close by Saturn on the 1st, one day before Full Moon on the 2nd.  At this phase, the Moon is so bright … Continue reading →

Observer’s Guide – May 2015

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It’s a new month and here in the Southern Hemisphere we’re starting to enter into winter when the stargazing is at its best.  Cold dry air, with the best the southern skies have to offer all neatly presented, capped off with a nice selection of planets throughout the night makes for what should be an excellent month.I say “should be” because the weather doesn’t seem to realise what’s expected of it.  My home town’s rainy season should have stopped months … Continue reading →