Tag Archives: What’s Up

African Solar Eclipse of 2016

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There is an enormous amount of publicity being built up for the Great American Eclipse next year, but there’s another eclipse coming up much sooner, and closer to home (for me, at least): The Great African Solar Eclipse of 2016! Sure, it’s only an annular eclipse and I won’t be anywhere near the path of totality (yes I know that strictly speaking, annular eclipses don’t ever reach totality. But you know what I mean!), but it’s tomorrow so you don’t … 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 →

Observer’s Guide – March 2015

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Urban Astronomer has been running for almost five years, and yet we’ve never published a guide to what you can expect to see in the sky.  Shocking.  So starting today, we’ll be posting a monthly guide to things worth looking for, with a bias towards the view from the Southern Hemisphere (because that’s where I live). This month is dominated by close encounters and conjunctions.  First, on the 2nd and 3rd day of the month, the Moon will be passing … Continue reading →