Solar System Ambassador {U.K.}
Created | Updated Sep 12, 2005
Between January 1st 2003 and December 31st 2003 the h2g2 Astronomy Society is holding their own Messier Marathon and anyone is welcome to join in the fun. For serious observers there's the chance to be awarded the completely unofficial title of H2G2 Astronomical Societies Grand Intergalactic Navigator (if you score more than 75). 
January 3rd, 2003
The Quadrantids meteor shower.
December 22nd, 2002
The Ursids meteor shower.
December 13th, 2002
The Geminids meteor shower.
1st Dec., 2002
Don't miss this. Just before dawn on Sunday, Dec. 1st,
the planets Venus and Mars will converge with the slender crescent Moon. The trio will fit within a circle 1.5 degrees in diameter. Northern hemisphere observers should look toward the eastern horizon around 5:30 a.m. local time. 
Venus will be dazzling, about 350 times brighter than nearby red Mars. Can you see a ghostly glow across the crescent Moon's
dark terrain? Astronomers call that "Earthshine" - it's one of the
loveliest sights in the sky.
18th - 19th Nov, 2002
The Leonid meteor shower happens every year in mid-November. That's when our planet has a close encounter with Comet Tempel-Tuttle's orbit - a region of space littered with streams of comet dust. Usually we pass through the rarefied gaps between streams
and sky watchers see no more than 10 or 15 Leonids per hour.
Sometimes (like last year) Earth ploughs through a debris stream
more or less head-on and a full-fledged meteor storm erupts.
Such meteor storms rarely happen in consecutive years, but 2001 and 2002 are exceptions. Experts have just released their predictions: Depending on where you live (Europe and the Americas
are favoured) Leonid meteor rates in 2002 should equal or exceed
2001 levels.
That's the good news. The bad news is that the Moon will be
full when the storm begins during the early hours of Nov. 18th. Glaring moonlight will completely overwhelm many faint shooting stars.
Moonlight will indeed reduce the number of visible meteors by
some factor between 2 and 5, but that's not enough to wipe out a storm of bright Leonids. If predictions are correct, peak rates
this year would reach 3,000 to 10,000 meteors per hour under
ideally dark skies. Even if the Moon's glare obliterates all
but a thousand of those, it's still a marvelous show - one of
the best in decades.
There are steps you can take to minimize lunar glare.
Firstly, don't stare at the Moon. Face away from it; look towards
the darkest part of the sky.
If possible, choose an observing site where you can stand in the shadow of a building or tree.
Secondly, travel if necessary to a place where the air is
dry and clear. Even when you face away from the Moon the air
glows because of moonlight scattered from air molecules and
aerosols (e.g., water droplets, dust and pollution).
The moonglow will be less in places where the air is dry and pollution-free. Mountaintops are excellent because they rise
above the humid lower atmosphere and most aerosols.
When and where?
The timing is good news for meteor watchers in western
Europe and eastern North America. When the flurries begin
shortly before local dawn, Nov. 19th, the bothersome Moon
will be setting.
In New York, for example, the Moon will lie only six degrees
above the western horizon during the predicted peak. Meanwhile,
the constellation Leo (from which Leonid meteors stream)
will be high in the southern sky, well away from the sinking
Moon.
No matter where you plan to be - on a mountain top, in an
aeroplane or at home in the city - don't miss the 2002 Leonids.
The Earth won't plough head-on into another Leonid debris stream
for decades.
The Moon will be a nuisance this year, but not enough to ruin
the meteor show if the Leonids are as bright and numerous as
they were in 2001.
October 16-27
ORIONIDS...look towards Orion the Hunter.
October 10-December 5
TAURIDS...look towards Taurus the Bull {to the right of Orion}.
Happy viewing!
May 13th
The Moon will join five visible planets to perform a seldom-seen
celestial show on the evening of May 13.
To see the conjunction of the planets and moon, look in the
western sky above the horizon just after sunset.
Look for Venus, the brightest star in the group.
Red Mars will be right below, and Jupiter, which appears
white, will be at the top.
Mercury is closest to the horizon, and Saturn is just below Mars.
You'll see just a sliver of the Moon, because it will be one
day past new. This will be the tightest conjunction for
almost 40 years.
A five-planet conjunction isn't new; astronomers have been
recording the phenomenon for over 3,500 years.
Based upon good observing circumstances, 40 five-planet
conjunction events may have been seen between the years
2000 BC and AD 2000.
The next time these planetary bodies will be grouped so closely
together will be in September 2040.
This alignment is a great opportunity to see the planets,
since they are so easy to find in the sky.
May 12th
New moon
May 10th
On May 10th, Venus and Mars will pass so close that the Roman God of War and the Roman Goddess of Love will look as if they are merging together.
May 5th
On May 5th, Mars, Saturn and Venus will form an equilateral triangle - in the Middle East this will appear directly over Bethlehem. There was a similar grouping of planets on April 1st, 2BC, which may have attracted the attention of the Magi.
19th April onwards
Five 
s will be visible to the naked eye on Saturday 19th April, the best time will be approx. an hour after sunset, {sunset: London, UK, 8.05pm, later further north}. Go to a dark viewing area if possible, then look west {towards the setting sun, but don't stare directly at the sun}. Look anti-clockwise, and just above the horizon you will see Venus which is the brightest. If you look through binoculars you will be able to see that it is a disc, rather than a point of light as the stars appear. Between Venus and the setting sun you might be lucky enough to spot Mercury, which will appear a dull orange colour. Now look back at Venus and follow the line upwards and you will spot Mars with no trouble, looking like a bright red star. Just a little down and to the left of Mars will be Saturn, which will be a yellow/orange colour, then look a bit higher and to the left {approx. 2 handspans} at the unmissable Jupiter, almost as bright as Venus.
As the weeks pass, the group of planets will appear to be moving closer together, until May 4th and May 5th when they will be the closest, but by then Mercury may be hard to see as it will be very low on the horizon and quite faint. They will fade away from May 10th.
On May 5th, Mars, Saturn and Venus will form an equilateral triangle - in the Middle East this will appear directly over Bethlehem. There was a similar grouping of planets on April 1st, 2BC, which may have attracted the attention of the Magi.
On May 10th, Venus and Mars will appear to pass so close that the Roman God of War and the Roman Goddess of Love will merge together.
Comet Ikeya-Zhang is still visible, it is much higher now, almost level with the constellation Cassiopeia (The Lady in the Chair) which looks like a letter "W".
17th-18th April
Watch out for Aurora! On Monday, April 15th (0400 UT), a full-halo coronal mass ejection billowed away from the Sun. The expanding cloud is heading toward Earth and could ignite Northern Lights (most likely at high latitudes but possibly at mid-latitudes as well) when it sweeps past our planet on April 17th or 18th.
16th April
An occultation of the Moon and Saturn will take place approx. 10pm.
Yes, I watched this and it was brilliant!
18th March
A comet, 3 planets and the crescent moon, all visible tonight so pray for clear skies!
In recent weeks star gazers have enjoyed watching Comet Ikeya-Zhang, whose faint blue colour and turbulent tail have made it one of the most photogenic comets in years.
On March 18th the comet's orbit will bring it only 0.5 AU from the Sun - its closest approach to our star in nearly four centuries. Solar heating could further brighten the comet, which glows now like a 4th magnitude star, and cause more dusty debris to evaporate from its icy nucleus.
March 18th will be a good night to look as the comet lines up in the western sky with 3 s and a 
.
Asteroid Sentry
Nasa has developed an automatic look-out for asteroids which could hit the Earth. The Sentry system constantly updates the orbits of known asteroids as new information comes in. Objects which pose any risk are posted on the system's website and withdrawn once it becomes clear they are safe. Sentry was designed by Nasa's Near-Earth Object Programme over a period of two years. Objects normally appear on the system's so-called 'risks page' because their orbits can bring them close to the Earth's orbit but it isn't always immediately clear how close.
A spokesman says newly spotted objects can be added at any time.
He added:
'Several new 'Near Earth Asteroids' each month may be listed on the Sentry Impact Risks page, only to be removed shortly afterwards. This is a normal process, completely expected. The removal of an object from the Impact Risks page does not indicate that the object's risk was evaluated mistakenly. The risk was real until additional observations showed that it was not.'
The Sentry system works with the Neodys Clomon impact monitoring system operated in Italy.
31st December 2001
Planets visible: Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.
Jupiter is the closest to the Earth in its orbit at 395 million miles. It will be extremely bright tonight. Look to the left of the moon.
Saturn is very close to the moon, just to the right. Through a pair of binoculars its rings are visible.
Mars is the "red star" low down in the south west.
Moon - Full yesterday.
