The shortest month of the year holds a lot of promise when it comes to the nights sky and whether you are making plans for Valentine’s Day or still wondering how we have reached February already, it is worth pencilling in a few nights for stargazing this month. Read more…
Once again, astronomers around the world are investigating a stellar explosion, a supernova, in M82, a galaxy 12 million light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Although supernovae are awesomely destructive, this event is far, far too distant to cause any danger at all to our planet. Discovered Read more…
Located 12 million light years away in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major, Messier 82 is sometimes called the ‘Cigar Galaxy’ from its shape. M82 it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye but can be seen through the telescopes of amateurs. Until recently M82 was Read more…
On Saturday 22 July 2013, I took a look around the summer night sky through the eyepieces of the Planetarium’s 12 inch Dobsonian telescope. It was a beautiful clear evening. What was there to see? Here are some images to give you an idea. Closest and brightest (a little too Read more…