See Mars pass the Pleiades star cluster this month
See Mars pass the Pleiades star cluster this month
February 15, 2021 at 10:36 am
Over February – March 2021, the planet Mars will be passing south of the beautiful, blue open cluster M45, also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters, making for a fantastic night-sky observing or astrophotography target.
Advertisement
The best time to see it will be 1-5 March, with closest approach on 3 March and the Moon nearby on 19 March, but you can start observing the two as we approach the end of February. Mars appears next to the Pleiades, 30 March 2019. Photo by Alan Dyer/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Christmas night astronomy: what to see in the night sky on 25 December
December 21, 2020 at 11:30 am
Aside from the turbulent year that was 2020, many people have discovered the joy of looking up at the night sky for the first time this year, and will have asked for a telescope this Christmas. Every year as the Sun sets at the end of Christmas Day, turkey-stuffed astronomy newcomers unpack their first telescope and head outside.
Advertisement
Yet as new telescope owners stand there beneath the winter sky, their wacky Christmas jumpers hidden beneath thick coats and mighty Orion staring down at them, many may be disappointed – especially if the expectation was to see breathtaking views through their new telescope as good as the Hubble and Voyager images printed on its box.