Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club

09/06/2026

Watch LIVE as NASA announce the Artemis III crew! ✨🤩

Meet the astronauts of Artemis III! We're providing an update on ...

09/06/2026

Have You Ever Seen Noctilucent Clouds? 🌌

As we move into the brighter summer months, keep an eye on the northern horizon after sunset and during the early hours for one of nature’s most beautiful and mysterious sights - Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs).

These stunning electric-blue clouds are the highest clouds in Earth’s atmosphere, forming around 50 miles above the surface in the cold upper atmosphere. Unlike ordinary clouds, they remain illuminated by the Sun long after sunset, creating their distinctive glowing appearance against the twilight sky.

🔭 WHEN TO LOOK:
The best time to spot noctilucent clouds is between late May and early August, particularly from around 90 minutes after sunset until 90 minutes before sunrise. Look low towards the northern horizon on clear nights.

📸 PHOTOGRAPHING NLC’s:
• Use a wide-angle lens to capture their sweeping structures.
• A tripod is highly recommended.
• Start with ISO 400-1600 and exposures between 1-10 seconds depending on brightness.
• Include trees, buildings, or landmarks in the foreground to add scale and interest.
• Even modern smartphones can capture bright displays using Night Mode.

Noctilucent clouds often appear as delicate ripples, waves, and intricate patterns that can change noticeably over just a few minutes. They’re among the most rewarding astronomical sights of the summer months and can appear unexpectedly, so always keep an eye on the evening twilight sky.

Have you photographed noctilucent clouds before? Share your images in the comments below! 📷✨

07/06/2026

Sad news has reached the astronomy community with the passing of astronomer and comet discoverer Alan Hale.

Alan will forever be remembered as the co-discoverer of the spectacular Comet Hale–Bopp, one of the brightest and most widely observed comets in recorded history. Discovered in 1995 by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp, the comet captivated millions of people around the world and inspired a new generation of skywatchers to look up at the night sky.

Beyond this remarkable discovery, Alan was a passionate advocate for astronomy, science education, and public outreach, dedicating much of his life to sharing the wonders of the Universe with others. His contributions to astronomy and the inspiration he provided to countless enthusiasts will ensure that his legacy endures for generations to come.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues at this difficult time.

Clear skies, Dr Hale, and thank you for helping us better understand and appreciate the cosmos!

28/05/2026

Exciting times ahead as humanity returns to the Moon… to stay! 🤩

27/05/2026

Wrapping up our season with the awesome Brian Eggo! 👽

26/05/2026

What a FANTASTIC way to round off another brilliant season! 🎉

A huge thank you to BRIAN EGGO from Glasgow Skeptics for a hugely entertaining and thought-provoking talk, “The Truth Is Nowt There” — a brilliant look at UFO sightings, strange phenomena, and the many explanations behind them. The laughs were flowing all evening and it was the perfect finale to our season! 👽🛸

Thank you as well to everyone who came along tonight, and to all our members, guests speakers and supporters who have helped make this season such a success. Also massive thankyou to our committee who are working hard behind the scenes!

We’re already looking forward to coming back after the summer with another exciting programme of events. We may also have the odd solar event during the Summer, we’ll keep you all posted!

Until then, clear skies everyone! ✨🔭

26/05/2026

🌟 TONIGHT 🌟 - our FINAL meeting of the season, we’re boldly going where every blurry mobile phone photo has gone before… UFOs!!! 🛸

Join us at Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club as we welcome Brian Eggo from Glasgow Skeptics for a brilliantly entertaining talk: “The Truth Is Nowt There”

Are aliens visiting Earth?
Are mysterious lights in the sky proof of extraterrestrials?
Or did Dave from Kirkcaldy just film Venus after three pints and a kebab on his Nokia 3510!?

Brian will dive into famous UFO sightings, strange encounters, conspiracy theories, and the wonderfully weird world of alien stories — while exploring the far more earthly explanations behind many of them.

Expect laughs, mystery, questionable eyewitness accounts, and the crushing realisation that most UFO sightings are probably satellites, weather balloons… or someone forgetting to clean their glasses. 👓✨

A perfect way to round off another fantastic season at the club — whether you’re a hardcore skeptic, an X-Files enthusiast, or just someone who enjoys seeing tin foil hats get a mention. 👽

Date: Tuesday 26th May
Time: 7:30pm, doors 7pm
Entry: FREE for Club member - £2 for non-members (payable via cash at the door, or purchase a non-member e-ticket on our website: https://www.dalgetybayastro.co.uk/join/renew/p/non-member-event-e-ticket

24/05/2026

You may notice the Moon looks a slightly odd shape in this video… Why!? - because this isn’t our Moon. Captured from the surface of Mars by the Perseverance Rover, this video shows the Martian moon ‘Phobos’ passing across the face of the Sun.

Phobos is only just over 7 miles wide, 150 times smaller than our own Moon. Phobos is also much closer to Mars than our Moon is to Earth… in fact it’s so close that it is expected to break up and crash into Mars in the next 50 million years.

Being at such a close rapid orbit means Phobos often eclipses the Sun like this. Only taking 40 seconds to do so, this video shown is in real time!

A huge thanks to Perseverance Rover who took time off of exploring Jezero Crater, searching for evidence of ancient microbial life & water history - to capture this incredible video.

Video Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, ASU MSSS, SSI

22/05/2026

Watch SpaceX attempt to launch the first Version 3 Starship & Superheavy on the 12th Test Flight. 🚀

Launch window opens at 11:30pm (UK) Watch LIVE via the link below!

Starship's Twelfth Flight Test