Tabla de contenidos para Sky Yearbook 2016 en Sky Yearbook

With occultations, conjunctions, comet apparitions and a planetary transit of the Sun, 2016 promises much for astronomers, and here in our comprehensive annual guide to the night sky we’ve got all the information amateur astronomers need to see constellations, planets and deep-sky objects all year long. Whether you want to enjoy the constellations with the naked eye, home in on the most intriguing stars or use your telescope to enjoy the planets and beyond, there will be something here for you. The Yearbook 2016 is designed to be used as your guide to viewing and photographing the wonders of the cosmos in the 12 months ahead. Our monthly guides include a detailed chart of the night sky showing all the constellations visible from the UK, along with guidance on finding…

KEY DATES 1 MARCH The 58% waning gibbous Moon is 5º from Mars at 02:20 UT, low in the southeast 7 MARCH Venus and the 4% waning crescent Moon are 2.75º apart at 06:20 UT, low in the south-southeast 8 MARCH Magnificent Jupiter reaches opposition and is now at its best for the year 9 MARCH Possibility of seeing an incredibly thin, 16-hour Moon just after sunset 20 MARCH The rate of change in the length of day and night peaks as Earth passes through an equinox WINNER OUR SUN Huge Prominence Lift-off Paolo Porcellana, Italy RUNNER UP AURORAE April Aurora Kolbein Svensson, Norway MARCH at a glance The night sky is filled with animals as we approach spring equinox The apparent speed at which the day lengthens and the…

WINNER PEOPLE & SPACE Sunset Peak Star Trail Chap Him Wong, Hong Kong RUNNER UP GALAXIES The Antennae Galaxies – Extreme Deep Field – 75 Hours Rolf Olsen, Denmark MAY at a glance Shorter nights but plenty to see as summer rolls around May 2016 is a very exciting month because Mars is at opposition on the 22nd and Mercury transits the disc of the Sun on the 9th. Unlike the very rare transit of Venus (the next one won’t occur until 2117) transits of Mercury occur at more frequent intervals. The last one visible from the UK was in 2003 and the next after this year will be in 2019. It’ll take 7.5 hours for the planet to move across the Sun’s disc, so it’s not a rushed event!…

KEY DATES ALL MONTH Noctilucent cloud season continues throughout July 4 JULY Earth is furthest from the Sun for the year – a point in its orbit known as aphelion 8 & 9 JULY The waxing crescent Moon is 6º west of Jupiter on the 8th and 6º east on the 9th 16 JULY Mercury is north of Venus in the evening sky 19 JULY The low full Moon is a great opportunity to see the Moon illusion that makes it look artificially large WINNER PLANETS, COMETS & ASTEROIDS The Arrow Missed the Heart Lefteris Velissaratos, Greece RUNNER UP X SKYSCAPES SPONSORED BY INSIGHT INVESTMENT Sunderland Noctilucent Cloud Display Matt Robinson, UK JULY at a glance Watch for noctilucent clouds as the Milky Way passes overhead The middle months of…

KEY DATES 6 DECEMBER A 44% waxing crescent Moon occults Neptune around 22:30 UT 12-13 DECEMBER The almost full Moon passes through the Hyades from 21:20 UT, occulting Aldebaran around 05:20 UT on the 13th 13 DECEMBER Peak of the annual Geminid meteor shower – a bright full Moon will interfere 21 DECEMBER The Northern Hemisphere’s winter solstice occurs at 10:44 UT 21/22 DECEMBER Peak of the annual Ursid meteor shower 31 DECEMBER Mars and Neptune will be very close as darkness falls RUNNER UP OUR SUN Totality Ends David Wrangborg, Sweden HIGHLY COMMENDED OUR SUN Solargraph – Six Months Chris Bakley, USA DECEMBER at a glance Neptune slips behind the Moon as the year comes to an end December carries the year’s theme of transits and occultations to a…

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT Telescope Camera/camera adapter IR–pass or red filter for mono high frame rate cameras Driven equatorial mount COPERNICUS 2016 The Moon’s ever changing phases and the dramatic shadows that are cast across its airless surface can be quite astonishing. The boundary line between lunar day and night is known as the lunar terminator. When a feature is in the bright portion of the Moon’s disc and the terminator is close by, it means that the Sun is low in the lunar sky for that feature. Point a torch at a flat painted wall and it’ll look, well, flat. However, if you put the torch right up against the wall and aim its light along the plane of the wall, all manner of lumps, bumps and imperfections become apparent because…

OVERALL WINNER SKYSCAPES SPONSORED BY INSIGHT INVESTMENT WINNER Eclipse Totality over Sassendalen Luc Jamet, France RUNNER UP PLANETS, COMETS AND ASTEROIDS Saturn András Papp, Hungary KEY DATES 1 JANUARY Potentially fourth magnitude comet C/2013 US10 Catalina is 40 arcminutes from Arcturus, visible in the morning sky 4 JANUARY The Quadrantid meteor shower reaches its peak this morning 7 JANUARY Venus, Saturn and an 8% lit waning crescent Moon form a right-angled triangle, low in the southeast before dawn 9 JANUARY Venus and Saturn appear less than 7 arcminutes apart this morning 20 JANUARY The Moon occults the bright star Aldebaran between 03:23 and 03:57 UT (as seen from the centre of the UK) JANUARY at a glance Watch out for comet Catalina heading north in the mornings As we ring…

WINNER AURORAE Silk Skies Jamen Percy, Australia RUNNER UP OUR MOON ISS Terminator Moon Daniel Fernández Caxete, Spain JUNE at a glance Great stars are visible, but you’ll need to be quick The short nights that occur during June aren’t optimal from the UK, but with a bit of persistence there is a lot of amazing stuff to see. The Sun reaches its highest point in the sky on 20 June, marking the Northern Hemisphere’s summer solstice. Around this time, night only lasts for a couple of hours at best, and even then the sky never gets truly dark. The counter to this is that the stars visible during June and July are among the best visible all year round – but you don’t have very long to admire them!…

KEY DATES 4 AUGUST Mercury is 1.75º northeast of a 4% waxing Moon, visible 20 minutes after sunset 11 AUGUST A 60% waxing gibbous Moon, Mars and Saturn form an equilateral triangle as darkness falls 12 AUGUST Perseid meteor shower peaks. A 69% waxing gibbous Moon, Mars and Saturn sit in a line as darkness falls 27 AUGUST Venus and Jupiter are separated by eight arcminutes, visible 20 minutes after sunset, low in the west 31 AUGUST Chance to see a 1% lit Moon, 45 minutes before sunrise, low in the east WINNER STARS & NEBULAE The Magnificent Omega Centauri Ignacio Diaz Bobillo, Argentina RUNNER UP STARS & NEBULAE (JOINT RUNNER UP) Orion Mega Mosaic Tom O’Donoghue, Ireland AUGUST at a glance Clear skies could reveal spectacular meteors August is…

KEY DATES 11 OCTOBER Mercury and Jupiter are less than a degree apart at 06:45 BST (05:45 UT), low in the east 19 OCTOBER The waning gibbous Moon moves in front of some Hyades stars early this morning 21 OCTOBER Peak of the Orionid meteor shower 30 OCTOBER End of daylight saving. Venus and Saturn 3º apart, low in the southwest after sunset 31 OCTOBER It may be possible to spot a very thin Moon just after sunset WINNER SIR PATRICK MOORE PRIZE FOR BEST NEWCOMER Orion DT David Tolliday, UK HIGHLY COMMENDED YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Celestial Drift Scott Carnie-Bronca, Australia – aged 13 OCTOBER at a glance Seven Sisters shine overhead in a great month for stargazing The autumn constellations of Pegasus, Pisces, Andromeda and Cetus…

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT Camera of any type Telescope on driven equatorial drive (not essential DSLR with a 300-400mm lens for the outer planets and comet shots The Solar System is a dynamic place. Unlike the stars and deep sky objects, planets and the odd comet move and change over short timescales, and this makes them special. So why not celebrate the Solar System by creating a gallery of its main occupants. You can do this any way you like according to your skill and experience. A basic camera can take shots which show the planets as dots in the sky. A telescope helps you get a closer view, but here too it’s possible to use quite basic equipment. Holding a phone or camera up to the prefocused eyepiece of a telescope…

Polar aligning your mount using the engravings of Cassiopeia and the Plough on your polarscope is fine for basic visual observing, but if you need more accuracy, here’s an alternative technique. It uses the setting circles as a circular slide rule, allowing you to calculate the position of Polaris more precisely – useful if you want to take long-exposure images of deep-sky objects as any inaccuracy in your polar alignment will cause field rotation, resulting in stars trails around the centre of the image. Your mount’s setting circles need to be calibrated before you can use them. The first step is to ensure that your polarscope is correctly aligned within your mount’s right ascension (RA) axis. Next, rotate the RA axis until the circle representing Polaris on the reticule is…

Much of the appeal of astronomy comes from the visual appreciation of celestial objects, whether they are seen directly through the eyepiece or indirectly in images taken by space telescopes. But when it comes to direct observing, there are a number of things you can do to get better views. Understanding how the eye and brain work best together is one; developing special observing techniques another. Over the next few pages, we’re going to look at some of these tried and tested methods, which can help you to spot faint objects and examine low-contrast detail. ABOUT THE WRITER Martin Lewis is a keen astronomer. As a regular First Light reviewer, he has in-depth knowledge of observing with all sorts of equipment. DARK ADAPTATION Allowing adequate time for your vision to…

KEY DATES 6 FEBRUARY Mag. –3.9 Venus, 0.0 Mercury and a 6% waning crescent Moon form a distinctive triangle in the early morning sky 9 FEBRUARY A thin 1% waxing crescent Moon may be spotted just after sunset 16 FEBRUARY The 57% waxing gibbous Moon occults the star Gamma Tauri at around 01:45 UT 24 FEBRUARY Jupiter and the full Moon are just 2º apart at 02:40 UT 22 FEBRUARY Eighth magnitude comet C/2013 US10 Catalina passes NGC 1502 at the eastern end of Kemble’s Cascade this evening WINNER GALAXIES M33 Core Michael van Doorn, Netherlands RUNNER UP STARS & NEBULAE (JOINT RUNNER UP) Sirius 9798 David Pye, UK FEBRUARY at a glance Bright planets in the morning sky as the nights begin to sh February is a transitional month…

KEY DATES 6 APRIL The Moon occults Venus in broad daylight 8 APRIL Mercury and a 2% waxing crescent Moon are close, low in the west at 21:00 BST (20:00 UT) 18 APRIL Mercury reaches greatest eastern elongation (20º) and is well placed in the evening sky 22 APRIL Peak of the April Lyrid meteor shower. The full Moon will interfere 26 APRIL Saturn is 3.5º from the 87% waning gibbous Moon at 00:30 BST (23:30 UT on the 25th) WINNER OUR MOON Full Face of our Moon András Papp, Hungary RUNNER UP PEOPLE & SPACE Eternity and Astrophotographer Yuri Zvezdny, Russia APRIL at a glance A month of colourful stars that sees great planet views too As the sky starts to darken, the first bright object to appear is…

KEY DATES 1 SEPTEMBER Saturn, Mars and Antares form an isosceles triangle, low in the south-southwest from 20:00 BST 3 SEPTEMBER Venus is 15 arcminutes from the Moon’s southern limb, visible during the day 15 SEPTEMBER Neptune reappears from behind the Moon’s disc at 20:55 BST 16 SEPTEMBER A tricky to see penumbral eclipse of the Harvest Moon occurs between 17:52 BST and 21:55 BST 26 SEPTEMBER The 21% waning crescent Moon lies 5º south of the Beehive Cluster, visible at 05:00 BST (04:00 UT) WINNER YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR A Celestial Visitor George Martin, UK – aged 15 RUNNER UP YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Mega Moon Ethan Chappel, USA – aged 15 SEPTEMBER at a glance The ideal time to observe the Andromeda Galaxy With…

WINNER ROBOTIC SCOPE Comet C/2013 A1 alongside Mars Sebastian Voltmer, Germany HIGHLY COMMENDED AURORAE Sumo Waggle Adventure Arild Heitmann, Norway NOVEMBER at a glance Enjoy the largest full Moon of the year at perigee-syzygy With long, dark nights on offer, November is a great month to do astronomy. Early evening, the stars of autumn take centre stage, with the Great Square of Pegasus two thirds of the way up the sky in the south. Many of the constellations below it are faint and can be too subtle to pick out. Immediately below the Great Square is the asterism known as the Circlet, part of Pisces. To the southwest is the faint and ill-defined Aquarius, and further east, Cetus. In the period coming up to midnight, these subtle constellations give way…

THE JUDGES Chris Lintott Presenter, The Sky at Night Maggie Aderin-Pocock Presenter, The Sky at Night Pete Lawrence Presenter, The Sky at Night Marek Kukula Public Astronomer, Royal O Melanie Vandenbrouck Curator of Art, Royal Museums Greenwi Chris Bramley Editor, BBC Sky at Night Magazine Jon Culshaw Comedian and BBC Sky at Night Magazine contributor Will Gater Astronomy journalist and author Ed Robinson Photographer and director With 2,700 entries from across the globe, the judges of 2015’s Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition had a tough job deciding the winners. The standard of entries to the contest, organised by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and supported by BBC Sky at Night Magazine, was incredibly high, with images ranging from stunning portraits of comets and galaxies to artistic shots showing Earth’s…

RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT DSLR camera Wide-angle lens, 18mm focal length or shorter Atomic accuracy time-piece Tripod Remote shutter release Atimelapse of the stars moving relative to the horizon can be a very beautiful thing and it’s not too hard to do. Point a camera at the sky, preferably with a subtly lit foreground horizon, set the sensitivity so that the stars record and keep taking exposures at regular intervals, say one to five minutes apart, for as long as you want your animated timelapse to continue. So, how about taking a timelapse that covers a complete year? Sounds crazy, but with a bit of planning it is quite possible, even with the UK’s unpredictable weather. The basic idea is quite simple. Set a camera up and take an exposure at the…

You’ve seen a meteor, or ‘shooting star’, but have you been lucky enough to glimpse a fireball? These very bright streaks of light always have that ‘wow’ factor. Meteors are the result of space debris, sometimes as small as a grain of sand, entering our atmosphere at high speed. This debris collides with particles in the atmosphere, exciting and ionizing them with energy that the atmospheric particles give off as light in a column perhaps 20-30km long. Here, we show you how to record your observation by drawing this incredible sight. Fireballs are caused by substantial pieces of debris, up to a metre in length, which produce a much brighter streak of around magnitude -4.0 or greater. Although they’re rare, you’re more likely to see a fireball during a meteor…