Author Archives: Derek

Mercury reaches its greatest eastern elongation – that’s meaning it will be most visible in the evening sky, so at these times ~ Mercury will be at its farthest apparent distance from the Sun as viewed from Earth.

Earth at aphelion Earth reaches aphelion ~ its farthest point from the Sun in its yearly orbit. At that moment, Earth will be about 94.5 million miles (or 152.1 million kilometres) from the Sun.oDespite being farther away, it’s still summer … Continue reading →

Lunar X is optional features on the moon, visible through a telescope for several hours around the time of the first quarter moon (See my pervious photos of Lunar X). The next one for Lunar X again will be on … Continue reading →

The landscape was illuminated by the noctilucent clouds over the city at Milton Keynes that remained low in the sky between northwest and northeast. At midnight, Noctilucent clouds are thin, wispy clouds that glow with a silvery hue at night when illuminated … Continue reading →

On Thursday 26th The Moon and Mercury will share the same right ascension – the pair will be too widely separated to fit within the field of view of a telescope, but will be visible to the naked eye or … Continue reading →

You’ll likely see the Moon and Pleiades very close together in the early morning sky, low on the north-eastern horizon, but not a full occultation – still, it’s a beautiful sight – binoculars will better the view unexpectedly. How to … Continue reading →

Stonehenge at Milton KeynesFamously, Midsummer Boulevard at the Central Milton Keynes shopping centre, is aligned with the path of the sun at summer solstice every year, so this year 2025 the sunrise will be 04:42am at altitude 48 degree in … Continue reading →

This year’s Full Strawberry Moon is the lowest full moon in UK skies since 2006.

Why the Strawberry Moon is so special this year?The Strawberry Full Moon will be very low in the southern sky ~ making it the lowest Moon in its 18.6-year lunar cycle, and it will appear bigger than it because it … Continue reading →

The Moon can indeed help in identifying the constellation Libra (The Scales) – its brilliance makes it easier to locate Libra, especially in the early evening, but the moonlight also makes it harder to see the faint constellation’s stars.