Vale Stargazing

03/09/2026

Sometimes the sunset just outdoes itself!

30/08/2026

Vale Stargazing next monthly meeting is Friday 11th September at Lleweni and it's a New Moon.....pray for a clear night everyone, will be brill with Saturn really beautifully positioned in our 360 degree panorama at Lleweni....see you there

30/08/2026

Here at Trefnant for the Well-Being event by Pamperlicious, ready to show everyone what we do and what we can offer.

25/08/2026

We will be at Trefnant Village Hall on Sunday 30th for the Well-Being Events by Pamperlicious event. Come and say hello, see some of our equipment and talk about stargazing and observing. Lots to see and do!

18/08/2026

Not happy with a deep partial solar eclipse, we now have a deep partial lunar eclipse to look forward to on 28th August. A few ifs to consider - 1. If you want to get up for the maximum, set your alarm for 05:00! 2. If the weather is kind and we have clear skies, that would be great? And 3. If you have, or can get to a clear western horizon at that time in the morning!

Start time, end time, animation, and detailed viewing information for the upcoming eclipse in Denbigh, Wales, United Kingdom

15/08/2026

Cepheid variables are a particularly useful type of star. The have been used as distance calibration stars (standard candles) since 1908 due to their precise physical characteristics. Discovered by Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who studies thousands of variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds led to the establishment of the direct relationship between their luminosity and pulsation period, meaning that a Cepheid with a known pulsation period will have a known absolute magnitude. The difference between this and its apparent magnitude allows its distance to be calculated.

Eta Aquilae

An easy naked-eye Cepheid variable star

Where is Eta Aquilae in the sky?

• On summer evenings, the bright star Altair shines high in the south. (In the fall, Altair lies in the west.) It is the primary star of the constellation Aquila.
• Much of Aquila stretches southwest of Altair.
• Theta lies at the southeastern tip of Aquila's eastern wing.
• Eta is 60% between Delta and Theta.

Your Observing Project

Recording your observations
A. Record date and time. Convert to decimal days.
B. Using binoculars will help.
C. Compare the brightness of Eta with Delta and Iota. Estimate its magnitude by interpolating between the magnitudes of Delta and Iota.
3.36 – as bright as Delta
3.9 – midway between Delta and Iota
4.36 – as faint as Iota
D. Plot the brightness vs. decimal days.

What you are seeing

• Rapid rise to maximum followed by a slower fall to minimum.
• In some cases, as with Eta, the descending portion shows a bump, a brief slowing decline in brightness.
• The bump is common for Cepheids with periods about 6 days. Eta's period is 7.2 days.
• Minimum brightness occurs at the maximum rate of contraction.
• Smallest diameter occurs between the maximum rates of contraction and expansion.
• Maximum brightness occurs at the maximum rate of expansion.
• Largest diameter occurs between the maximum rates of expansion and contraction.
• Only a 10% difference between maximum and minimum diameters.

14/08/2026

ITV video and Radio Interviews from the fantastic Vale Stargazing Eclipse Event, what a fabulous occasion.

14/08/2026

Well what an event, "sell-out" crowd of members and guests, perfect location, hot as hell, great involvement by everyone and "out of the blue", national live ITV News coverage and BBC Radio Wales live coverage. We couldn't have asked for better for the Club Event and so much publicity for the Club. Thanks to everyone. Video, Radio interviews and pics...it's all here. Partial Eclipse and super Perseids display all night long.