Derekscope

The Moon at perigee

• The Moon will reach perigee, its closest point to Earth, at 13:27 BST today.
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• This October Harvest Moon is the first and largest supermoon of the year, appearing as the biggest and brightest full Moon of 2025
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Rising supermoon

• A supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth in its orbit called perigee.
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• This makes the Moon appear larger and brighter than usual in the night sky.
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• We will have three supermoons in a row ~ October brings us the first year’s supermoon then we will see one again in both November and December this year.
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• Good opportunity for photography!
  If you’re capturing the rising supermoon for between 6:15pm & 6.30pm to catch the Moon just as it clears the horizon ~ including foreground elements like trees or buildings can enhance the scale and drama.
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NGC 2420 (Open Cluster) & Jupiter (1am – 5am)

• Jupiter and “Twinkling Comet Cluster” – NGC2420 are located the constellation Gemini (The Twin).
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• The Moon and Saturn were just 2.2° part, easily visible together in binoculars but too wide for the telescope fields of view.
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Titan of Transit

• The Moon and Saturn will make a close approach in the constellation, Pisces (The Fishes), it’s visible all night on Monday 6th in the early morning.
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• A “Titan of transit” refers to the celestial event where Saturn’s moon, Titan passes in front of the Saturn starting at 2am on the morning of 6th October.
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Autumn Equinox Star Party
at North Norfolk
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Monday 15th – Monday 22nd September 2025
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North Norfolk’s dark skies make it an ideal setting
for stargazing and deaf community connection.
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• Hosting an Autumn Equinox Star Party in North Norfolk with a deeply enriching and inclusive experience.
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• See more photos & report

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Dwarf planet, Ceres reaches opposition
in the constellation of Cetus.

(Visible all night this month October in binoculars)

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• Ceres will only be magnitude +7.6 at its brightest, binoculars or a small telescope are required to see Ceres as a faint, star-like point.
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• If you observe the area over a few nights, Ceres’ slow eastward motion across the sky will help you confirm that you’ve spotted the dwarf planet, or over several nights to see how compare your images recorded in the star field.
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• More information about Cetus
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Your guide to the night sky this month
(Click below the button for more information)

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Try to some striking images of Ganymede during eclipse.

One of the Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede passes into the planet’s shadow, it experiences a total eclipse, plunging into darkness as sunlight is blocked by Jupiter itself.
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Just two days after the equinox and Saturn’s opposition.

Facts about Neptune
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– 8th position in Solar System and farthest planet from the Sun.
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– 17th times the mass of Earth.
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– Earth’s day length = 24 hours / Neptune’s day length = 16 hours.
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– takes 165 Earth years to complete one orbit to compare Earth’s 365 days to complete one orbit.
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– Earth’s satellite has one moon to compare Neptune has 14 known moons.
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