This month in Astronomy: February 2024
Leap Year Special! We have a whole extra day this February to enjoy the night sky!
Is it that time already? January always used to drag on for me, but being serious about astronomy makes January not long enough! The days are getting longer and star gazing opportunities are getting shorter! Carpe Diem!
News from the Astro Club…..
The first meeting of Assynt Astro Club was treated with an almost perfect evening. The sky was exceptionally clear and the ‘seeing’ was excellent. ‘Seeing’ refers to how good the stars appear in a clear sky. Things that affect seeing are, but not limited to, atmospheric heat haze at ground level, dust, and temperature differentials in the upper atmosphere. All these things make the stars ‘twinkle’ which is ‘poor seeing’. If they do not twinkle it is ‘good seeing’. That is a quick over easy generalisation but you get the picture.
Six folk turned up for a clear and calm night (no wind chill). We observed many objects with the 8” SCT. Saturn and titan never fail to impress and Jupiter, its moon and cloud bands were easily visible. Orion’s Nebula had risen by 8pm and Peiades star cluster was an impressive sight. Betelgeuse appeared a faint orange at 76X magnification. We started at 6pm and were still viewing at 10:30pm, plenty to see. Watch out for the next club meet, which we’ll announce in the FB group and via email (get on the list at astronomy.scot).
How to Support The Astro Club
A few of you who’ve been to our meet-ups (or intend to come in the future) have asked how to donate to support the club and the time and equipment it takes to host these events. Rather than a donation, we’d love your subscription to this Substack as a paid or founding member. Founding members get a night of one-on-one astro observing and photography tuition, too - just sayin’!
As added value to our paid subscribers (thanks to those of you who’ve already upgraded!), we’re making this monthly astronomy newsletter a feature a paid feature. Here’s a taste of what’s in the rest of this newsletter…
February 1st is Imbolc! The halfway point between winter solstice and vernal equinox. Learn more about this tradition and how to celebrate.
Leap Year! We have an extra day this February. Yet despite that, our calendar still doesn’t seem to get the solar cycle right. Find out why.
Planets on view this February - including your last chance to catch Saturn for a while!
All about STARS - get your mind blown by the size of stars relative to what you’re used to, plus a cameo from Monica from her previous career as a published astronomer.
If you’re still not sure, click here to read our previous astro newsletters. (Though you’ll probably find this one a lot more relevant!)
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