The lighter evenings of April offer up an interesting stellar challenge, testing the observing dexterity of astronomers - casual or otherwise - in a race against time.
Fear not, this is not a 'faint fuzzy blob' hunt, like the Messier marathon, the exact opposite in fact, more of a sprint really and should only take a few minutes to complete given suitable horizons, a fair wind and some sky knowledge. This is all about spotting first magnitude stars; those ranked brightest in the sky at the same time... [Read more about The Stellar Baker's Dozen Challenge 2017]
- Log in to post comments
Born into aristocracy in 18th century France, Charles Messier stood at the threshold of a great observational age. Comets were the fascination of astronomers - their discovery and subsequent observation occupying many observatories; bringing fame and fortune to their discoverer...
In this month's edition:
The date of the Vernal Equinox and officially the start spring in the northern hemisphere falls on March 20th this year. This is when the Sun's path - the ecliptic - first crosses the celestial equator on its apparent journey northwards into the sky... 
The first of the events (a last minute unscheduled event on the 18th) was predominantly clouded out. Mark and Keith therefore enrolled the scouts in helping to demonstrate the scale solar system. 
It's going to be a busy late-March and into April. 
