Previous Club Meetings

🌕 Neptune (Opposition)

Friday, 20 September 2024
20:30 - 23:00

Cancelled due to bad weather

Tonight, Neptune will reach opposition (the closest it gets to Earth). Because it's so far away, the fact it's slightly closer to the Earth than normal has a negligible effect on its brightness.

At magnitude 7.8, Neptune will be tricky to locate. We may need to learn how to use the telescope's GoTo feature.

🌕 Saturn (Opposition)

Sunday, 08 September 2024
21:00 - 22:00

Saturn will be in opposition tonight at a magnitude of 0.6, which is the brightest it will be this year.

The ringed planet will still appear quite small in the telescope eyepiece; after all, it's roughly 850 million miles (1.3 billion km) from Rainham - but we won't let that deter us!

Image credit: JM (TRAC)

This photo of Saturn was captured on 08 Sep 2024 - 22:15 BST.

★ Planning & Stargazing

Thursday, 29 August 2024
21:30 - 23:30

We need to write a letter to our neighbours so that it's ready to be printed and distributed in September. After that, we'll head out and see if we can spot any more summer constellations while they're still high in the sky.

🌕 Moon & Saturn Conjunction

Tuesday, 20 August 2024
22:30 - 23:30

Saturn will be close to the Moon this evening in the SE. For anyone who'll be awake in the early hours, at around 03:30, the Moon will pass directly between us and Saturn.

Image credit: Stellarium

Image showing the position of Saturn and The Moon - 20 Aug 2024 23:00 BST.

🌕 Full Moon

Monday, 19 August 2024
22:00 - 00:00

Cancelled due to bad weather

This month's full Moon is better placed and will be visible from the street looking east. It will be low in the sky in the evening which is when it often appears larger and has a distinct yellowish hue to it. Sometimes it even looks red.

Tonight will also be a good opportunity to see Saturn.