Derekscope – Page 4 – UK Astronomical highlights and a guide for binoculars, and telescope deaf owners, compiled by Derek Rowley

Northern Lights at Norfolk

Posted on 21 March 2026 by Derek

Astronomers were given a little extra treat over the Spring Equinox as the Northern Lights appeared off the Norfolk coast.
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Posted on 20 March 2026 by Derek

The pair becomes visible shortly after sunset, low in the western sky.
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Venus and the Moon come together in the evening sky tonight, forming a lovely evening conjunction.
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The Moon will be a very thin crescent, only one day old after the New Moon.
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Both will sit in the constellation Pisces (The Fishes).
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Posted on 20 March 2026 by Derek

Everyone on Earth gets almost exactly the same amount of daylight and darkness.
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The March equinox marks the start of spring in the northern half of the world.
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Posted on 19 March 2026 by Derek

A shadow transit occurs when a moon passes between the Sun and Jupiter, causing its shadow to fall on Jupiter’s cloud tops.
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Through a telescope, the shadow appears as a small, sharp black dot moving steadily across the planet’s bright surface.
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Posted on 17 March 2026 by Derek

Both Io and Callisto transit together across Jupiter ~ a beautiful and relatively uncommon double-moon event.
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Io transits Jupiter’s between 19:43pm and 22:01pm, meanwhile Jupiter’s Io is appearing on the Jupiter surface at 20:58pm till 23:13pm.
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Callisto starts to transits at 19:43pm (same time as Io at 19:43pm) till 23:38pm.

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Posted on 12 March 2026 by Derek

The Moon appears half-illuminated, with the left side 50% lit ~ it’s the final quarter of the lunar cycle, leading toward the New Moon on Thursday 19th March 2026.
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Posted on 11 March 2026 by Derek

Jupiter’s retrograde from 11 November 2025 to 11 March 2026 – Why it happens?
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Here an explained in simple;
– Earth moves around the Sun faster than Jupiter.
– When Earth undertakes Jupiter, our view makes Jupiter seem to go backward direction.
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This’s like a trick of perspective;
– Another car next to you slows down.
– For a moment, it looks like that car is moving backwards, even though it’s still going forward.
– That’s what happens with Jupiter in the sky.
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Posted on 10 March 2026 by Derek

2026 Apogee Dates
(Moon Furthest from Earth)

2026 Perigee Dates
(Moon Closest to Earth)

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Posted on 7 March 2026 by Derek

Venus is the brighter guide, shining at around magnitude -3.9, so it becomes visible first as the sky deepens.
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Saturn around magnitude +0.9, sits nearby, usually within a few degrees, appearing as a steady, pale point.
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The two planets share the same region of sky in Aquarius, creating a compact pairing low in the west after sunset.
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Posted on 7 March 2026 by Derek

Mercury does reach inferior solar conjunction today, when it passes directly between the Sun and Earth.
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This marks the end of its evening visibility and the start of its transition into the morning sky.
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After 7 March, Mercury moves into the dawn sky, but remains very low and difficult to see from the United Kingdom for much of the month.
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