Derekscope

Ganymede transiting Jupiter – around 1:45am in the early morning on Tuesday 4th, Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter’s moons, will transit across the face of Jupiter ~ make sure you have your telescope ready and set up to get the best view.

Each of these celestial bodies brings its own unique glow:
– Moon at 22% disk illumination.
– Venus at 37% disk illumination.
– Saturn at 99% illuminated disk, despite its great distance from the Sun.

Spotting three planets Venus, Saturn, and Neptune in the evening sky.

Observing the evening skies
– You’ll be able to see Moon, firstly by a bright and easy to spot in the southwest after sunset.
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– then following Venus, a steady point of light, visible to the naked eye.
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– later on till the twilight skies gone into the dark skies between 7pm and 8.30pm, Neptune rather dim and situated close to Venus ~ you’ll need binoculars or a telescope to see it to follow by a star-hopping as your way to Neptune.

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European AstroFest London is the UK’s premier astronomy exhibition on Friday 7th February 2025, there are three floors of exhibition space with everything from the latest telescopes and equipment to astronomy books and magazines.
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More information: 2025 AstroFest, London

Look toward the western horizon shortly after sunset ~ find the Moon first, as its easiest to spot Venus which will be nearby, while deteriorating evening planet Saturn will dimmer than Venus, but still visible to the naked eye ~ binoculars or a small telescope will enhance the view.

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Weather permitting – I set up hoping to catch a glimpse of Ganymede’s shadow transit of Jupiter by animation clips.

A halo is a ring or light that forms around the sun as its light refracts off ice crystals present in a thin veil of cirrus clouds this afternoon.

(Saturday 25th January 2025 at 3pm)

According to my post – Friday 24th January 2025

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Both Antares in the constellation Scorpius and Mars can appear quite similar in colour and intensity, especially when Mars is near opposition and appears very bright in the sky – people have often mistaken Antares for Mars due to their similar reddish hues and brightness.

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When observing Jupiter with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope, you’ll notice this Callisto below the Jupiter’s southern limb.