The Rambling Astronomer

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations   The Astronomy Show every Monday evening on...

You have probably heard of the Super Moon, but did you know we also have the Micro Moon? The Moon takes around one month to orbit the Earth. Its normal distance from us is 239,000 miles. The Super Moon is when the Moon appears larger in the sky than normal because it is closer to us, but of course the opposite can also happen; occasions when the moon is further away than normal and we have a Micro...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations .  The Astronomy Show every Monday evening o...

The Spring Equinox occurs on the 20th March 2024, marking the point when spring starts in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn starts in the Southern Hemisphere. The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin words aequi, which means equal, and nox, which means night. At this instant the Sun lies above the equator and both poles of the planet are illuminated, meaning that on this day the length of daylight...

Seeing Mercury is always difficult because it is the closest planet to the Sun. Each year however, there is just one month when you can catch the planet in the evening sky, and this year 2024 it is March. Mercury can be seen from from March 19th to March 29th close to the horizon low in the south west just after sunset. The planet will look like a pinkish looking ‘star’.

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. .  The Astronomy Show every Monday evening...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations . . The Astronomy Show every Monday evening...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. The Astronomy Show every Monday evening onl...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. The Astronomy Show every Monday evening onl...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. The Astronomy Show every Monday evening onl...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. The Asrtronomy Show every Monday evening on...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. The Astronomy Show every Monday evening onl...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. The Astronomy Show every Monday evening onl...

Join me, Martin Lunn MBE tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations. The Astronomy Show every Monday evening onl...

The celestial swan is sometimes called the northern cross since its + shape is very striking. Its brightest star Deneb at magnitude 1.3 and is one of the members of the summer triangle. Although the faintest of the triangle it is actually is the brightest only appearing fainter because it is the most distant. In mythology Cygnus represents a swan flying down the milky way, swans feature in many le...

The smallest constellation in the sky, but one of the most celebrated and distinctive. It was formed from some of the stars of the constellation Centaurus by various seamen and astronomers in the 16th century. Crux means cross in Latin. Johan Bayer incorporated these stars into his Uranometria star atlas in 1603 thus making it an officially recognised constellation.

The second of the small constellations adjoining Hydra the other being Corvus. Crater although very faint it is one of the original 48 groups even though it contains no stars brighter than magnitude 3.5. Crater represents the cup of Apollo and is associated with the neighbouring constellation of Corvus.

A small but quite prominent constellation which is at its highest in the late spring evenings, the crow is low in the sky depicted sitting on the back of the water snake. According to legend Apollo sent the crow to bring the water of life, but was unable to resist the unripe fruit of the fig tree, he let the cup of water (the constellation of Crater) fall to the ground. Realising that he was takin...

Join me, Martin Lunn tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations and Astronomy in Yorkshire - God’s Own Country....

Corona Borealis the Northern Crown which was given as a wedding present by Bacchus to Ariadne and was then cast by him into the sky when she died. It consists of an arc of seven fairly faint stars with the exception of alpha.

Corona Australis the Southern Crown is a counterpart in the southern hemisphere for the Northern Crown or Corona Borealis in the northern hemisphere. It is formed of a curve of faint stars which is easily recognisable, however it cannot be seen from Britain. It has been known since the time of the astronomers of ancient Greece and in mythology was said to have been worn by the centaur Sagittarius...

Join me, Martin Lunn tonight and every Monday evening from 7.00 pm-9.00 pm on the Astronomy Show, probably the only regular astronomy show on any radio station in the country. I will take my weekly look at the night sky and look at all the latest news in astronomy. There will be the astronomical anniversaries this week plus the A-Z of Constellations and Astronomy in Yorkshire - God’s Own Country....

Yet another faint constellation with no really bright stars, although it has an ancient legend it was only formed by Tycho Brahe in 1601. According to legend Queen Berenice of Egypt vowed to cut off her beautiful hair and place it in the temple of Venus, provided that her husband returned safely from a war against the Assyrians. When the king returned Bernices kept her promise and so impressed the...

Columba the Dove which represents the dove that followed Noah’s Ark, or some legends say it was the dove that the Argonauts sent ahead to help them pass safely through the clashing rocks at the entrance to the Black Sea. If it was higher in the sky it would be quite easy to see.

Another small and obscure constellations added to the southern sky by the French astronomer Nicolas de Lacaille in 1756 after staying at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Where he produced a catalogue of 10,000 stars.. There does appear to be a lack of imagination with the constellation, there are no stars to represent the compasses. It is the 4th smallest constellation in the sky.