Previous Club Meetings

☄ Comet A3

12-30 October 2024
18:45 - 19:15

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will be very low in the west shortly after sunset throughout October.

Seeing Comet A3 is going to be extremely difficult from our location. As the days pass, its altitude will improve but it will become dimmer. The best time for us to try to see it will be around the middle of October.

★ Ring Nebula & Andromeda Galaxy
(2nd Attempt!)

Friday, 11 October 2024
21:00 - 23:00

We'll have another go at finding the Ring Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. We can also test the GoTo function on the telescope now that we're familiar with the skyalign procedure. Hopefully, the park will be open.

Warning! The weather is looking promising, but that could easily change!

🌞 Spotting Sunspots

Friday, 11 October 2024
16:00 - 17:00

The aurora was visible in Rainham again last night! We're approaching solar maximum when solar activity peaks and the greatest number of sunspots are visible.

We'll use the eclipse glasses and solar filter to see if we can observe any sunspots this afternoon as it's likely to be sunny.

Image credit: NASA SDO

The image above was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. It shows three large clusters of sunspots.

Image credit: KK (TRAC)

Krum captured this photo of the aurora from Rainham, Kent on the evening of 10 Oct 2024. The aurora borealis lit up most of the northern sky with a vibrant pink hue and a faint green glow was visible to the west.

It was a breathtaking display, rarely seen this far south - incredible stuff!

★ The Ring Nebula & The Andromeda Galaxy

Saturday, 05 October 2024
21:00 - 23:30

Tonight, we plan to see a nebula and a galaxy. The Ring Nebula has a magnitude of ~8.8 and can be found in the constellation Lyra.

October is the perfect time to see the Andromeda Galaxy. At magnitude 3.4, we should even be able to see it with binoculars, and it will be interesting to see if we can make out any details when observing Andromeda with the telescope.

Warning! The weather is looking mixed.

★ Stargazing: Summer Constellations

Saturday, 28 September 2024
21:00 - 23:00

Technically, we're already a few days into autumn, but it's not too late to see the remaining summer constelations on our list.

We'll be looking out for: Hercules, Aquila, Cygnus, Cepheus, Lyra, Cassiopeia, and The Summer Triangle.

The weather is looking good, and, with any luck, the park will be left open, and we'll be able to get a good look at the night sky.