Astroblog

North-eastern horizon as seen from Sydney on 3 March at 22:34 AEDST. The Moon is at  totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	North-eastern as seen from Adelaide on 3 March at 22:03 ACDST. The Moon is at totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	Eastern horizon as seen from Perth on 3 March at 19:34 AWST. The Moon is at  totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen

On the evening of  Tuesday, March the 3rd there is a nice total eclipse, the last total eclipse in Australia until December 2028 (which is in the early morning). Fortunately, the eclipse starts in the early evening, and is very convenient, especially if you have young children. This is a nice eclipse with totality lasting 59 minutes. 

Times for the eclipse at cities around Australia are below. Western Australia sees the moon rise in the twilight almost completely eclipsed, Central states see the eclipse end around Nautical twilight as the sky is beginning to darken. For the East coast sees the eclipse start either when the sky is fully dark or twilight is just ending. Everywhere will be able to see totality and eclipse end.

You will see some sites calling this a "blood Moon", The Moon does not turn the colour of blood but will go a deep copper colour due to the refraction of red light through our atmosphere.

Labels: eclipse, lunar eclipse, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:54 am 0 comments

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2026 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, occultations and eclipses are very region specific). 

This year we get a good Total Lunar eclipse visible Australia wide and at a good time in the evening so all can watch. There are good oppositions of Jupiter and Saturn and a daytime occultation of Jupiter and some nice occultations of Antares.

As well we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded. T indicates a telescope only event. As well as apogee and perigee moons I have also included times when the Lunar X is visible at First Quarter. 

Labels: Asteroid, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 3:06 pm 2 comments

Western horizon as seen from Sydney on  8 September at 4:12 AEST. The Moon is at  totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	Western horizon as seen from Adelaide on  8 September at 3:42 ACST. The Moon is at  totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen	North-Western horizon as seen from Perth on  8 September at 2:12 AWST. The Moon is at  totality. The inset shows the telescopic/binocular view at this time. Click to embiggen

On the morning of September the 8th there is a nice total eclipse, the first in Australia since November 2022. which, sadly you will have to be up very early on a work Monday morning to see. this is a nice deep eclipse with totality lasting 1 hour, 22 minutes. 

Times for the eclipse at cities around Australia are below. Western Australia sees all the eclipse, Central states see the eclipse end around Nautical twilight as the sky is brightening. For the east coast totality ends around Nautical Twilight, when the sky is brightening but the eclipse will still be obvious. The eclipse ends after Civil Twilight when the sky is bright, and around the time of moon set (strictly the eclipse has not ended, I have not included the times of the penumbra phases). You will see some sites calling this a "blood Moon", The Moon does not turn the colour of blood but will go a deep copper colour due to the refraction of red light through our atmosphere.

Labels: eclipse, lunar eclipse, Moon, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 6:33 pm 2 comments

Evening sky on March 14 looking east as seen from Brisbane at 18:15 AEST, 10 minutes after Moon rise, the inset is the moon a	Evening sky on March 14 looking east as seen from Melbourne at 19:45 AEDST, 5 minutes after Moon rise	Evening sky on March 14 looking east as seen from Sydney at 19:35 AEDST, 20 minutes after Moon rise

On the early evening of Friday, 15 March  there is a partial lunar eclipse low in the twilight in the Eastern sates. The Moon rises as the eclipse is finishing with only a small portion of the moon is in the deepest part of Earth's shadow (elsewhere in the world sees a Total Lunar Eclipse).

Live streams of the eclipse can de see at:

Time and date March 14 16:00 AEDST:  https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-lunar-2025-march-14

 Virtual telescope Live webtv March 14 17:00 AEDST: https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/

Griffith University in California March 14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BguB5KSBYd0

Labels: eclipse, live-stream, lunar eclipse, Moon, partial, unaided eye

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:48 pm 0 comments

The Total Lunar Eclipse of September 8, 2025 as seen at 03:30 AEST, the inset is the approximate binocular view at this time. Similar view will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the equivalent local time (detailed tables will be available before hand). Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2025 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific). 

This year we get a good Total Lunar eclipse visible Australia wide. We get multiple occultations of the bright star Antares. There are good oppositions of Mars and Saturn. Comet C/20024 G3 ATLAS may be visible low in the evening twilight at the end of January, if it survives its passage around the Sun.

As well we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers (although the moon is a pest).

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded. T indicates a telescope only event. As well as apogee and perigee moons I have also included times when the Lunar X is visible at First Quarter.

Labels: Asteroid, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 2:15 pm 0 comments

Total Solar Eclipse as seen from Dallas, Texas on 8 April (US time 9April in Australia). Simulated in Stellarium.	Chart of the path of the solar eclipse from Fred Espenak's eclipse site

 Sadly, none of the 2024 total solar eclipse is visible from Australia. However, there are several live streams of the event we Southern Hemispherians can log into. Again, sadly, the eclipse is starting at 16:38 UT on the 8th, and is greatest at 18:17 UT. This translates to around 2 am and 4 am on the 9th (Tuesday) in Eastern Australia, so you have to be up very, very early. If you are a diehard eclipse fan, here are some live streams for you (many may be oversubscribed or choked for band width, so you may have to hop around to find one that works).

Time and date: Live-stream starts 2 am AEST on the 9th.  https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2024-april-8

Virtual Telescope Project: Live-stream starts around 3 am AEST on the 9th. https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/

NASA TV. Live-stream starts around 3 am AEST on the 9th. https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/live/

Exploratorium. https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse

Space.com. Live-stream stars around 3 am AEST on the 9th. https://www.space.com/watch-total-solar-eclipse-april-8-online-free-livestreams

Labels: eclipse, live-stream, solar eclipse, webcast

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 5:38 pm 0 comments

Occultation of Saturn on 27 June 2024 at 22:50 AEST, as seen from Brisbane, as Saturn is just being covered by the Moon. The inset is the approximate binocular view at this time. Most of Australia will enjoy similar views at the roughly equivalent local times (detailed tables will be available before hand). Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2024 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific). 

This year we get a Penumbral Lunar eclipse best visible from eastern Australia. We get multiple occultations of Saturn (some daylight only). A couple of occultations of the Pleiades, and an occultation of the bright star Antares (only visible western and central Australia). There are good oppositions of Jupiter and Saturn. Mars is at opposition in January 2025 but we get a good run up to it. We also get a comet in September/October, C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, which may be a fizzer but just might be spectacular.

As well we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded.

Labels: Asteroid, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Moon, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 7:31 pm 1 comments

Labels: eclipse, lunar eclipse, Moon

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 2:14 pm 0 comments

If you can't be at Northwest cape for the April 20, Hybrid Solar eclipse, then you can watch it on several live streams set up for the purpose.

The live streams should start around 10:00 am AWST (11:30 am ACST, 12:00 AEST,  0136 UT) Totality is 11:29 AWST (13:30 ACST, 14:00 AEST)

Perth Observatory: https://perthobservatory.com.au/astronomy/solar-eclipse-live-stream

Channel 9: https://www.9news.com.au/national/total-solar-eclipse-australia-april-2023-one-in-100-year-occurrence-how-to-watch/c936ff71-dc1b-43fc-ae4a-20f71f4e90b2

Time and date: https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2023-april-20

Gravity discovery Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWEv1DWel3Y

For a guide to the partial eclipse seen from the rest of Australia See my eclipse page (don't forget do NOT look directly at the Sun! and use safe solar observing techniques):

http://astroblogger.blogspot.com/2023/04/hybrid-solar-eclipse-april-20-2023.html

Labels: eclipse, solar, solar eclipse, Sun

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 8:16 pm 0 comments

Partial Eclipse as seen from Adelaide at maximum eclipse, 13:29 ACST. Simulated in Stellarium.	Partial Eclipse as seen from Darwin at maximum eclipse, 13:52 ACST.
Partial Eclipse as seen from Brisbane at maximum eclipse, 14:45 AEST.	Partial Eclipse as seen from Perth at maximum eclipse, 11:21 am AWST.

On 20th April the Sun will be eclipsed at the very edge of Australia, the path of totality will pass over the northwest cape in WA, being visible from Exmouth and Learmonth. If you haven’t already booked your campsite or hotel, it is too late, it was all booked out months ago. This is a hybrid eclipse, which annular in some parts of its path and total in others.

Partial eclipse as seen from Grealdton WA at maximum eclipse (11:22 am AWST).

Labels: eclipse, solar eclipse, Sun

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:15 pm 0 comments

Occultation of the Pleiades on 31 October 2023 at 01:24 ACDST, as seen from Adelaide shortly before it covers Alcyone, eta Tauri, the brightest star in Pleiades cluster (the inset show the binocular view of this). Most of Australia will enjoy similar views at the roughly equivalent local times (adjust for daylight savings). Click to embiggen.

The table below shows significant astronomical events that can be seen with the unaided eye or minimal equipment in 2023 in Australia (and to some degree elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, ocultations and eclipses are very region specific). 

This year we get a Partial Lunar eclipse best visible from western Australia. A Total Solar eclipse is visible from the tip of Western Australia and everywhere else sees a partial eclipse (best from WA and central north). There are good oppositions of Jupiter and Saturn. We also get an occultation of the Pleiades and a binocular comet.

As well we have some fantastic parings and lineups and good meteor showers.

Close pairings of the Moon and bright planets are given special attention as not only is the Moon a ready guide to locating the planets if you are not familiar with them, these massings are rather beautiful. 

Special events are bolded.

Labels: Asteroid, Conjunction, eclipse, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Opposition, Saturn, unaided eye, Venus, Yearly Sky Events

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 3:50 pm 3 comments