Events & Highlights

Upcoming Celestial and Eddington Lodge Events

January 2025

3rd January, 2025	Quadrantids Meteor Shower - This is an above average shower, with up to 40 meteors per hour at its peak. With a thin crescent moon, this years display could be very good.
13th January, 2025	Full Moon.
18th January, 2025	Conjunction of Venus and Saturn - The planets Venus and Saturn will make a close approach, passing within 2°10' of each other.
29th January, 2025	New Moon - This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

February 2025

1st February, 2025	Conjunction of Venus and Saturn and the moon - all 3 celestial bodies will be within about 2° of each other, making a lovely conjunction in our sky.
3rd February, 2025	Conjunction of Venus and Neptune - Venus and Neptune will share the same right ascension, with Venus passing 3°57' to the north of Neptune.
7th February, 2025	Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter - The Moon and Jupiter will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 5°29' to the north of Jupiter. The Moon will be 9 days old.
9th February, 2025	Conjunction of the Moon and Mars - The Moon and Mars will share a very close approach, with the Moon passing 46' to the north of Mars!
12th February, 2025	Full Moon.
28th February, 2025	New Moon - This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

March 2025

6th March, 2025	Close approach of the Moon and Jupiter - The Moon and Jupiter will make a close approach, passing within 5°29' of each other. The Moon will be 6 days old.
9th March, 2025	Conjunction of the Moon and Mars - The Moon and Mars will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 1°40' to the north of Mars. The Moon will be 9 days old.
14th March, 2025	Full Moon.
20th March, 2025	March Equinox - The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere.
28th March, 2025	Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn - The Moon and Saturn will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 1°50' to the north of Saturn. The Moon will be 28 days old.

September 2025

7th September, 2025	Full Moon - The Corn Moon
8th September, 2025	Close approach of the Moon, Saturn and Neptune - The Moon, Saturn and Neptune will make a close approach, passing within 3°30' of each other. The Moon will be 16 days old.
16th September, 2025	Conjunction of the Moon and Jupiter - The Moon and Jupiter will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 4°33' to the north of Jupiter. The Moon will be 24 days old.
21st September, 2025	New Moon - This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
22nd September, 2025	September Equinox - The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall (autumnal equinox) in the Northern Hemisphere.
24th September, 2025	Conjunction of the Moon and Mars - The Moon and Mars will share the same right ascension, with the Moon passing 3°56' to the south of Mars. The Moon will be 3 days old.

October 2025

7th October, 2025	Full Moon - The Harvest Moon
8th October, 2025	Draconid meteor shower - Unfortunately this year, the bright moon will block the more dim meteors.
20th October, 2025	New Moon - This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
20th October, 2025	Orionid meteor shower - The new moon coinciding with this meteor shower could provide an excellent show.

November 2025

2nd November, 2025	Close approach of the Moon and Saturn - The Moon and Saturn will make a close approach, passing within 3°13' of each other. The Moon will be 12 days old.
5th November, 2025	Full Moon - Supermoon
10th November, 2025	Close approach of the Moon and Jupiter - The Moon and Jupiter will make a close approach, passing within 3°50' of each other. The Moon will be 20 days old.
17th November, 2025	Leonids Meteor Shower - Fast bright meteors with fine trains. Associated with Comet Tempel-Tuttle. Proximity to the new moon with this meteor shower could provide an excellent show.
20th November, 2025	New Moon - This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

December 2025

4th December, 2025	Full Moon
14th December, 2025	Geminid Meteors - Normally one of the best meteor showers of the year, the Geminids peak around the night of December 14 and early morning hours of December 15. This years display, with moon mostly out of the way, could be a great show.
20th December, 2025	New Moon - This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
21st December, 2025	December Solstice - The South Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun. This is the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere.
22nd December, 2025	Ursids Meteor Shower - Catch the shooting stars of the last major meteor shower of the year, the Ursids, when it peaks in the night between December 22 and 23. With the new moon, this could be a great display.

The Best Time to Stay

The best time to observe the stars is when the skies are at their clearest and darkest, and the nights are at their longest. This means that the months of late August to mid April provide a better chance to see more and visitors have a longer window each night in which to observe the night sky. Different times of year also offer a different perspective of the sky with some constellations and objects only visible in certain seasons. This means that returning guests will often have new objects and sights to observe.

Moon Phases

The phases of the moon can make a big difference to astronomy. The bright reflective light of a full moon can drown out most of the fainter objects in the night sky so staying when the moon is full should be avoided if possible. The best time for astronomy would be around a new moon when the night is at its darkest, leading to the best conditons for observation. The lead up to the first quater can also be a great time for stargazing, especially with younger childern as the moon will be available and is always a great sight for young minds. As a general rule, avoiding one week either side of the full moon would be best. That's not to say that we can't do astronomy during those times but there may be more of a limit on what can be seen.

Planets

Finding and observing the planets of the Solar System in the night sky isn’t as tricky as you think. You just need to know where to look. When a planet is in a particularly favourable position in the evening or morning sky, it will look like a bright ‘star’, the most obvious point of light visible to the naked eye. Planets are not always viable at all times of the year due to the movement of their orbit agaisnt ours however mid to late 2022 is shaping up to be a great planet season with most of our planets visable.

Meteor Showers

There are several well known, predictable and sometimes very strong meteor showers during the year. These are a great time to get out into our dark skies and spot the fireballs hurtling through our atmosphere, some of which will also leave trails or trains in the sky. Meteor showers that also coincide with or are close to a new moon are usually the most spectacular. Meteor showers generally last between a few days and a couple of weeks. We have provided the peak shower dates opposite - this is when the amount of meteors should be at its maximum rate.

Conjunctions and eclipses

From time to time we do get treated to conjunctions and eclipses, both the rare solar and the more common lunar. A conjunction is when two objects in the night sky appear together. This is most often two of our own solar system planets, a combination of a planet and a deep sky object or a combination of a planet and our moon. Although rare, having the opportunity to view two of our closest neighbours together, or seeing a planet disappear behing the the view of our moon, is not to be missed. A lunar eclipse is when the Earth is positioned between the Sun and the Moon, turning the Moon a deep red colour in the night sky. The rarer solar eclipse is when the Moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth, turning day into an eerie twilight. Eclipses can happen as either a total or a partial eclipse.

Comets

All through the year comets make their way through our solar system, brightening and darkening as they are affected by the Sun. These can be both great visual and astrophotography targets for guests and we aim to provide details of when they might be at their best to see.