Tag Archive for: moon

It’s 2017, the year the Sun goes out

Happy New Year! We hope you’re still flattened under the burden of gifts and groaning with the tonnage of mince pies you’ve consumed, but let’s get straight to the important stuff: this year, the Sun is going dark. August 21st 2017, mark our words.

Sorry, what’s that? Oh, you’ve heard of total solar eclipses, have you? Drat.

OK, so:

That last point is quite impressive, when you think about it. And it’s the subject of the NASA video posted above, which is even more impressive than you might expect. It doesn’t just show the ground track, it factors in (as the video explains) the effects of the angle of the Sun, the elevation of the observer at each point, and the bumpiness of the moon’s surface. The combined result is that the shadow of the sun isn’t elliptical as you might expect, but more… well, watch the film and see.

The next total solar eclipse visible from the UK mainland won’t be until 23rd September 2090. There’ll be a pretty good partial eclipse in 2026, but having seen both partial and total eclipses I can personally vouch that there’s no comparison to witnessing totality. If you ever have the chance to travel to see one, absolutely take it. It’s a (literally) phenomenal experience. You might remember the partial solar eclipse of 2015, which looked like this:

…but seriously, that was nothing like as impressive as a total eclipse.

Come to think of it, I have a friend in Boise, Idaho…

More information: List of solar eclipses visible from the UK; NASA’s site about the 2017 US eclipse.

 

Kielder Observatory trip – Friday 15th January

On Friday we took a group of about 30 students from four different schools up to Kielder Observatory. Yes, there was snow. Yes, it was cold. But, oh my, was it glorious.

Here’s a photo story of the evening, with captions and everything. Enjoy – and I very much look forward to my next trip up.

Huge thanks to the tremendously professional Observatory staff for wrangling a bunch of us through the maximum possible observing time. This was my first visit, and I was hugely impressed with how slickly-run the whole thing is. We’re heading back with another school group next month, but if you’d like to visit yourself keep an eye on Kielder’s Events page (or this handy availability checker) and book yourself into a session. It’s always a gamble with the weather, but if you’re lucky, as we were, the views are magnificent – and all the better for the expert guides who’ll show you around the universe.

The drive up takes about 90 minutes, give or take faffing about with Land-Rovers for the final stretch if the track is snowy or muddy. So it’s quite an expedition for an evening, but well worth it. Our group were buzzing all the way back, which is always lovely to hear.

Tag Archive for: moon

Tag Archive for: moon

Make a moon flipbook

Have you ever wondered why the Moon seems to be different shapes on different nights? Make this flipbook to track the Moon phases over a month using a print out, scissors and staples, tape or a clip.

Lunar diaries

Explore the moon from your back yard with our handy downloadable observation diary.