Author Archives: Derek

Mars is stationary – the second bend occurs in the constellation Gemini on 24th February 2025, when the planet reverses direction and heads east again.

Antares, often referred to as the “heart” of the Scorpion, is a bright red supergiant star and a key feature in the constellation Scorpius.ooooThe sight of the Moon near Antares and Messier 4 during the morning twilight must be quite … Continue reading →

When Venus reaches perihelion, it is at the closest point in its orbit to the Sun ~ this event occurs roughly every 225 Earth days, as Venus completes its orbit around the Sun. At perihelion, Venus is approximately about 66.5 … Continue reading →

Gamma Virginis , officially named Porrima is a binary star system in the constellation Virgo ~ it consists of two almost identical main sequence stars at a distance of about 38 light-years.

The “greatest illuminated extent” of Venus shows its largest illuminated area is the moment when the illuminated portion of the planet appears largest as seen from Earth ~ it’s at a point in its orbit where the illuminated portion visible … Continue reading →

The Sickle in Leo looks like a backward question mark and represents the head and shoulders on the lion in the constellation Leo – Regulus is the brightest star in Leo and the Sickle.

The moon will pass the Beehive Cluster or Praesepe, a collection of stars also known as Messier 44 (M44). Guides to the night skyDeep Sky Object: M44 (Messier 44 / NGC2632 / Beehive Cluster / Praesepe)Constellation: Cancer (Cnc) How to sign open … Continue reading →

From Milton Keynes, the Moon & Mars will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, but will be visible to the naked eye or through a pair of binoculars in the constellation Gemini … Continue reading →

Good news for the deaf people Live subtitles – that’s fantastic to hearIt’s heartening to see steps being takento make such events more inclusive. For the first time, they provided live subtitles for the talks, making the event more accessible … Continue reading →