Wadhurst and Tunbridge Wells Astronomical Society

12/06/2026

11/06/2026

See Venus and Jupiter in Conjunction.

In the coming days Venus and Jupiter will close in on each other until, on the 9th, the two are in conjunction and will pass just 1½° apart whilst Mercury is just to the south west of the pair. This is shown in figs 1 and 2 where the planets are identified as Jupiter (J), Venus (V) and Mercury (M) on the 10th and 15th of the month. In both of these diagrams, the Sun is 6° below the horizon. Some of the brighter stars are identified in italics.

Then on the 16th a 4½% illuminated crescent Moon lies just to the north of Mercury whilst a day later it is just south of Venus. This coming together of solar system objects should make for some interesting photo opportunities.

13/05/2026

Details of our next meeting:

05/05/2026

Venus Moves Closer to Jupiter during May and Mercury Appears.

Venus and Jupiter are both now visible in the western sky soon after the Sun is out of the way. The map is drawn for the middle of May at 10pm and shows Jupiter 25° in altitude, close to due west, and the brighter Venus 12° high in the WNW. At this time the Sun is 10° below the horizon.

As the days pass Venus moves swiftly towards Jupiter (they will pass each other on 9th June) and by the end of May, Mercury has joined the party low down in the NW.

Please remember that you must NOT search for these bodies with optical aid of any sort until you are sure the Sun has set. You risk blindness if you inadvertently look at the Sun.

04/03/2026

Venus Becomes more Prominent in the West in Early March. If it’s clear immediately after sunset and you have a reasonably clear western horizon, have a look for brilliant Venus whose altitude is improving all the time. On the 5th March it is just 6° high at 6:20pm which is when the Sun is 6° below the horizon. As the days pass Venus is just a little higher each evening. You might also catch site of Saturn although that is much fainter than Venus and is heading quickly for the horizon and will be lost to view by the second week of March. However, on the 7th and 8th Saturn is just to the east (left) of Venus which might help with identifying the ringed planet. Don’t forget that with the days getting longer, the Sun is setting slightly later each night so be careful, particularly if you use a telescope or binoculars to find bodies like these that appear to be close to the Sun. You should never use them when the Sun is still above the horizon. If you do, you risk sunlight accidentally entering your eyes and possibly blinding you. Always wait until you are certain that the Sun has set before searching with any optical aid.

17/02/2026

Mercury makes its best evening showing of 2026.
On the evening of 19th February, Mercury reaches the point where it appears to be as far from the Sun as it can get which makes it an ideal time to look for the smallest planet. Mercury is the nearest planet to the Sun, so it is often overwhelmed by the twilight making it difficult to see.

The map is drawn for when the Sun is 6° below the horizon which is the end of civil twilight and the beginning of nautical twilight which on the 19th occurs at 17:55 (5:55pm). Actually, you might well be able to see Venus some time before this because it is so bright, much brighter than Mercury in fact. At the time shown Venus is 3° high, Mercury 10° and fainter still is Saturn at 18° along with a very slim crescent Moon just 5% illuminated at the same altitude.

To successfully find Venus and Mercury you will need to have a very low horizon to the west without any buildings or trees or any other obstructions.

However, you must be extremely careful if you use a telescope or binoculars to find bodies like these that appear to be close to the Sun. You should never use them when the Sun is still above the horizon. If you do, you risk sunlight accidentally entering your eyes and possibly blinding you

04/12/2025

We fortunately got a write-up in the November issue of The Royal Astronomical Society Newsletter regarding our visit to the Royal Rise Primary School on 12th September, article attached:

27/10/2025

Comet Lemmon, or C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), was discovered by astronomers at the Mount Lemmon Survey, in Arizona, in January. This comet spends most of its time in the very distant outer Solar System, far beyond the orbit of the ice giant planet Neptune. As you can see in the image, taken by our very own Brian Mills, the comet has a glowing green coma and visible tail.

21/10/2025

COMETS☄️

Comets are highly impressive celestial phenomena: They may suddenly appear from nowhere; They display as bright blotches of light in the sky; They may have long, beautiful tails occasionally extending over much of the sky; They may blaze across the sky for days to months; They then fade away as rapidly and sometimes unexpectedly as they arrived; Unsurprisingly, our forefathers often treated them with a mixture of awe and foreboding – long before their true origins and nature were understood. Due largely to recent space missions, we have learned a great deal about their physical nature and chemical composition. As something of a surprise, three interstellar cometary visitors have been observed recently. These visitors may well be considerably older than our Solar System itself.


Prof. David Rees, Ph.D., FRAS.

07/09/2025

Total Lunar Eclipse

This evening there will be a total eclipse of the Moon visible from the UK. Unfortunately, the Moon will rise in the ESE with the “total” phase already underway although we will be able to see the later stages where the Moon emerges from the Earth’s shadow but it will be low in the sky. In the table I’ve ignored the penumbral phase which is difficult to see, especially at low altitude and have concentrated on the umbral phase. By the time the event concludes the Moon will be just over 12° in altitude.


Lunar Eclipse

Eclipse begins

17:27

Moon fully risen

19:33

Totality ends

19:52

Eclipse concludes

20:56