Previous Club Meetings

★ Io Shadow Transit of Jupiter

Sunday, 10 November 2024
21:00 - 22:30

Tonight, we're observing our first moon shadow transit. The innermost Galilean moon will pass directly between the Sun and Jupiter. Its shadow will be cast on the upper clouds of Jupiter. Will we be able to see it?

Image credit: MK (TRAC)

Matey took this superb image of Jupiter (mag. -2.6) on 10 Nov 2024 using a Google Pixel 8.

Jupiter's two distinctive dark equatorial belts are clearly visible.

The faint dark spot near the eastern edge of the planet's southern belt is Io's shadow cast on the gas giant's upper clouds.

The faint dot to the lower left of Jupiter is Europa (mag. 5.3), the smallest of the four Galilean moons.

★ Coathangar & Uranus

Thursday, 31 October 2024
21:00 - 22:30

Tonight we will be looking out for the Coathanger asterism (Brocchi's Cluster) in the constellation of Vulpecula (the Fox).

It would be great to see this as it's on the October Action Plan but it was forgotten about when we were out on previous nights!

If it's very clear and the park is open, we'll make our first attempt at finding Uranus which is currently near the Pleiades in Taurus.

Image credit: Stellarium

🎂 TRAC 1st Birthday Party!
Pizza & Cake

Friday, 25 October 2024
18:30 - 23:00

The astronomy club turns one! Celebrate in style with delicious, healthy food like pizza, chips, chocolate cake, and popcorn.

If the weather is clear, we'll head outside to do some stargazing. If not, we can watch an action-packed astronomy-themed film instead.

Image credit: KK (TRAC)

Special thanks to Matey for baking this luscious birthday cake!

★ Saturn & Titan,
Moon near Pleiades

Saturday, 19 October 2024
21:00 - 23:30

Titan (mag 8.5), Saturn's largest moon, will sit just a few arcseconds off the planet's south pole.

If the conditions are exceptionally good, we might also be able to spot another of Saturn's moons, Rhea (mag 9.9).

The Moon will lie close to the Pleiades at 21:00.

🌕 Full Moon (Supermoon) & Comet A3

Thursday, 17 October 2024
18:15 - 20:00

October's full moon will be the brightest "supermoon" of 2024. It will be closer to Earth than normal, at a distance of around 222,000 miles (358,000 km). We'll see if it appears larger when viewing it with the telescope.

We'll also use this opportunity to look for Comet A3 in the west.

If it's cloudy, we'll try again the following evening.

Image credit: Stellarium

Image showing the position of Comet A3 - 17 Oct 2024 19:00 BST.