There will be a Zoom meeting of Abergavenny Astronomy Society, joined with Usk Astronomy Society this Thursday evening at 7 pm.  The details for joining the meeting are below, just click on the link.  David Thomas from Usk will lead a discussion on various hot topics/ recent news in astronomy.

If you have not joined a Zoom meeting before don’t be shy it could not be easier.  You can use whatever device you are reading this message on e.g. smart phone/ laptop/ tablet/ desktop.  Simply click on the link below.  If you have Zoom installed on the device it will ask you if you want to use it, otherwise it will just connect you through your standard browser.  That’s all there is to it, you can then just sit back and listen

Topic: Usk & Abergavenny Astro Societies meeting
Time: Sep 3, 2020 07:00 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89360916194?pwd=dDlJZ2lkV084UWI1eDY2c1IxZGJTUT09

Meeting ID: 893 6091 6194
Passcode: 518423

Although the good weather seems to have taken a turn for the worst and the Perseid meteor show was pretty effectively clouded out, clear skies will surely return and you may want to try the following podcast that describes some simple things to look for in the August/ September skies.   The planets Jupiter and Saturn are very prominent in the south and for the night owls Mars rises after midnight in the east and will get easier to observe as we get into autumn.

Comet 2020 F3 (NEOWISE) is one of  the brightest naked eye comets we have seen from this part of the world for some years.  In the past couple of weeks it has been delighting amateur photographers as a pre-dawn object but for the night-owls (as opposed to the early birds) you will be pleased to know it is now easily observable in the evening sky (weather permitting of course).  Start to look in darkish twilight i.e. around 11 pm, just as the stars are emerging.  Look a little way above the horizon in a north-west to north direction (you need a reasonable north horizon) and you should be able to spot it quite easily.  It will be available for the next couple of weeks but it is getting dimmer now so will get harder to see, although binoculars show it even more easily.  Being quite bright it is also easy to photograph.  For good results make sure your camera is steady, for example on a tripod.  Use an ISO of around 800 to 1000 and an exposure of around 4 seconds with your lowest f number, you may need to experiment a bit.  The picture below was taken from my garden in Abergavenny on the 16th July with a compact camera.  Happy comet hunting and fingers crossed for some clear skies.

Mercury can be an elusive planet, it is not very bright and is always near to the Sun so in twilight.  It can also be dangerous to look for if you have not let the Sun set.  However for those that have never seen it now is your chance.  This evening (22 May) it will be very close to Venus, which is really easily to spot as twilight falls in the north west.  At 10pm BST Venus will be on an azimuth of around 298 degrees and at altitude from the horizon in Abergavenny of around 10 degrees, so pretty low.  Mercury will be very close by to Venus’ left side (east).  It has a good chance of being clear so why not go out and have a look.  Maybe a good photo opportunity.

It goes without saying that for the time being our regular meetings are cancelled but that is no reason to stop stargazing.  Spring is the time for amateurs to observe galaxies, as they are particularly well placed in the southern sky at this time of year.  However galaxies do need a bit of experience to find and a telescope with a reasonably large aperture.  On the other hand the globular clusters are just coming into their own and can be found with the most basic of binoculars.  If you are fortunate enough to own a telescope they are truly marvellous.  Globular clusters are possibly the most mysterious and enigmatic denizens of our galaxy.  Because they are reasonably bright they can found quite easily even with some light pollution.  The document below explains how you can find 5 of the best globular clusters.   It should also help you to get started on “star-hopping” – using various star patterns and asterisms to locate objects in the sky that you cannot see by eye alone.  If you have no optical aids at all it will help you to learn the constellations of the spring sky. So next time it is clear get out in the garden or even out of a window and try to find yourself a globular cluster.

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Some members may have seen a string of satellites over South Wales last night at around 9:22 BST.  it was of course the satellite train of Starlink.  It should be clear tonight and there is another opportunity to see it at 9:58 this evening (20th April 2020).  It will last for 6 minutes, the train traveling from west to east.  There is another opportunity tomorrow evening at 10:34 pm and on the 22nd at 9:34pm.  The satellite are controversial as many astronomers feel that they will interfere with observing.  They certainly will interfere with astrophotography, as existing satellites and aircraft do.  It remains to be seen how much of a problem they present.