Mars and the Moon together !

The moon rises at about 9:15 in the evening on Tues 27th Nov.
That big Bright red "Star" that's nearby the moon, you guessed it, it's the planet Mars.
Mars finally returns bright & red as ever to our evening skies after 2 years absence.
This is a great opportunity to identify Mars in the night sky, with the moon as your guide.
Mars will be just 1 hand span (5 Degrees) above the moon, so you cant miss it.

The Map above shows what you will see at Approx 9:30pm in the evening.
I will be publishing a detailed account shortly, featuring the "opposition" of Mars on Christmas day this year. Keep an Eye out for that one !

Finding Uranus - Serious Astronomy - Really!

Follow the link below to the full article that tells the story shown on this map:

http://EzineArticles.com/?id=847290

The planet Uranus is well placed for viewing and can be spotted using 2 relatively bright stars in Aquarius. With a bit more of an effort Neptune can be found in Capricornius.
The map above shows their positions and will need to be oriented according to you location in the world.
Double click on the map and use the zoom function that shows up as the mouse cursor, to zoom in for a view that you can read.
Good luck finding Uranus ! Yes this is serious Astronomy :-)

Taurid Meteor Shower

With the peak of the Orionid meteor shower now behind us, the next shower of Cometary debris to grace our skies are the “Southern Taurids”.
This meteor shower, along with its cousin the the “Northern Taurids” are the leftover fragments from the passage of Comet 2p Encke.
The first Maximum is on the 5^th of November (Southern Taurids) with the second Maximum following on the 12^th of November.
The theoretical maximum number or ZHR “Zenith Hourly Rate” is about 5/hr
Despite the scarcity in numbers they are notable for their comparatively slow speed, brightness & color, with some of them being classed as “Fireballs”.
You will know a fireball when you see one, it will be as if someone has let off a flare that is shooting across the sky at great speed.

Certainly worth watching out for if you are out under the night sky after 9 pm throughout November, as the full range of this shower extends from the 25^th of September through to the 30^th of November.
Might be a good to watch for as you are out looking for Uranus & Neptune, the subject of my next article !