Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing - The Spare Oom

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

Pete — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:06:24 +0000

I saw eclipse here in Victoria, Australia. It was a clear night and very impressive here! It was a lovely night to see it here, mid-teens evening temperature (Celsius). The time when the moon was completely in earth's shadow was at approximately 10.30pm AEDST.

Apparently the next total lunar eclipse visible here in Australia will welcome in the new year on January 1, 2029. {ym}:shocked:

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

stargazer — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 19:40:05 +0000

Glad you both got to see a little of the eclipse. I was up most of the night, but the overcast remained thick with no view of the moon at all.

The sky cleared yesterday, offering a nice view of the moon in our warmer weather (the temperature was 37F/3C when I was out last night).

The next lunar eclipse for North America is a very deep (96% covered) partial one in August.

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

johobbit — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:49:30 +0000

'Though our forecast was for mostly clear skies the morning of the lunar eclipse, the clouds moved in earlier than anticipated. I was walking from 5:45 to nearly 7 am, with hardly any night sky visible. But I did see, briefly, the eclipse through lighter clouds just before totality, lower in the west, with only the bottom right crescent still white. After that, even thicker cloud cover blanketed the sky. Disappointing. But I was grateful even for that wee beautiful glimpse (whilst hoping for much more).

However, the sunrise in the eastern sky was really lovely and colourful, so that was a bonus. {ym}:smile:

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

Narnian78 — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:24:39 +0000

@stargazer

I saw part of the lunar eclipse early yesterday morning. It was the first 45 minutes of the earth’s shadow covering the moon, which turned grayish red. After that time clouds completely covered the moon. It was worth getting up at 4:00 AM to see the event even for only part of it. Solar eclipses are much more rare and spectacular, and I remember seeing the one that occurred almost two years ago.

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

stargazer — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 20:29:46 +0000

If your sky is clear on Tuesday, March 3, check out a total lunar eclipse. The Pacific basin is well-placed to see it all, with it happening before and near dawn in North America and around sunset/moonrise in eastern Australia and Asia. Europe and Africa will miss out.

The next total lunar eclipse is September 7 and favors Asia.

More about this one: March eclipse

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

Narnian78 — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:00:57 +0000

This interesting video is a recreation of Voyager 1 and its 1980 passage near Saturn and several of its moons:

https://youtu.be/5zjkxeL5wTo?si=2LskQnjRTrIzG

Enjoy! :)

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

stargazer — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 18:34:46 +0000

It is windy and snowing here, but if your sky is clear this evening (February 18), a very delicate crescent Moon will be very close to the elusive planet Mercury shortly after sunset. This favors the Northern Hemisphere; Down Under the Moon will not be as close to Mercury on the same evening (February 19) and is at a shallow angle compared to the sun (so it won't be as high at dusk) ...but it still may be worth looking for.

The Moon is only 2.4% illuminated so it may be tricky to find. It actually passes in front of Mercury for select locations.

The planet Neptune (optical aid and finder charts required) is less than 1 degree from Saturn. Both are in the southwest sky as seen from the Northern Hemisphere.

More about all of this here from S&T: Watch the Young Moon Greet Mercury

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

Pete — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 12:10:21 +0000

@stargazer, indeed the aurora Australis was visible in the area where I live in north-western Victoria last night. I went out a couple of times last night to see it (and was hoping for a nice visual finish for my birthday!), I didn't see it, but I have friends that captured good photographs of it. {ym}:star:

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

stargazer — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 18:29:43 +0000

@jo, it's the same for me. I can lose track of (especially) the Moon's location and phase during a long cloudy spell.

There is a strong solar storm ongoing at the moment, with predictions of strong auroras last night (and currently ongoing in the Eastern Hemisphere). I checked a few times last night but only saw a general glow that could have been city lights interacting with ice high in the atmosphere (we're currently in a cold spell that can amplify that effect).

Also, temperatures below 0F/-20C, with even colder wind chills, did put a damper on my time outside.

RE: Astronomy: Adventures in Stargazing

johobbit — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 13:38:48 +0000

What an unexpected viewing treat, stargazer. Very cool! And I love your beautifully descriptive post of the great Northern Lights viewing from mid-November, wow!

I have not written here since the end of October, because our night skies have been cloud-covered for weeks and weeks. However, when I am able to view again, I will definitely post again. {ym}:smile: Keeping up with the rest of the comments, though.

I find that whenever there is a space of time when star-gazing is limited, when the sky finally does clear, I need to orient myself again to the positions of all things in the heavens. Then, as the stars and planets settle into place for me again, it is quite a relief. {ym}:giggle: