Astroblog

Location of Nova Sge 2026, looking north from Adelaide at 21:39 ACST. The location of the Nova is indicated by the circle. The nova is around magnitude 7. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the same equivalent time.  Click to embiggen.	Approximate 10x50 binocular views of Nova Sge 2026, looking north from Adelaide at 21:39 ACST. The location of the nova is indicated by the circle. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia at the same equivalent time.  Click to embiggen.
Black and white Spotter chart for the location of the new nova in Sagittae. View is to the north  is when the Nova is at it's highest as seen from Adelaide at 9:39 ACST. Similar views will be seen form the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time. The nova location is indicated by the black square with a circle inside it. The larger circle is the field of view of 10x50 binoculars	Black and white Binocular chart for the location of the new nova in Sagittae. The circle is the field of View of 10x50 binoculars is when the Nova is at it's highest as seen from Adelaide ay 9:39 ACST. Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at the equivalent local time. The nova location is indicated by the black square with a circle inside it. Delta Sge is a handy guide to the Nova.

A new "bright" nova has been reported in the constellation of Saggitae (the Arrow). The Nova is "bright" in the sense that it is magnitude 7, just below unaided eye observability, bu easily seen in binoculars or a small telescope. People have successfully imaged it with simple point and shoot cameras and phone cameras (with a little bit of fiddling about with brightness and contrast). 

The constellation is dime, all of its stars are aorund magnitude 4 (about as bright as Gamma Crucis). looking north at around 21:30 ACST (22:00 AEST), You will immediately see bright Altair towards the Zenith, about a binocular width below you can see see the distinct triangle from of Saggitae. 

The nova is close to Delta (δ) Sge, on a line between Sham (α Sge) and Delta (δ) Sge. You will need to let your eye adjust to the dark to see it poperly, and the nearby bright moon may add substantially to your difficulty. but it is work a try.  

Downloadable, printable PDF charts are here, Spotters Chart, Binocular Chart.

Labels: binocular, nova, Nova Sge 2026

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 2:08 pm 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday August 20. 

North-Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday,  August 29 as seen from Adelaide at 5:15 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). 

Saturn is above the north-western horizon.  Mars is low in the east, Mars passes close to the star Mebsuta (epsilon Geminorum) between the 28th-29rd. 

 

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (90 minutes before sunrise). 

Venus is well above the horizon when the sky is fully dark. has been coming closer to to the bright star Spica and is closest on the 2nd.

Venus is a clear "Crescent Moon"  shape and is increasing in size.  The shape is readily visible in even small telescopes (although the brightness may make it hard to see). 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (60 minutes after sunset). 

Saturn is the brightest object above the eastern horizon. Saturn is rising around 9:00 pm local time, but is still best for telescopic observation in the morning, and its rings are widening. Saturn is near the waning Moon at this time.

The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time. 

Whole sky on Saturday, August 29  as seen from Adelaide at 19:19 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Venus is prominent in the north-west. 

 

Scorpius, and the core of the Milky way are at the Zenith. 

 

The Pointers are at their zenith in the Southern sky as the Southern Cross sinks to the south west.  The Moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming harder to see.     

 

   

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:48 pm 0 comments

The First Quarter Moon is Thursday August 20.  The Lunar X is visible on the 20th.

North-Eastern horizon on the morning of Saturday,  August 22 as seen from Adelaide at 5:24 ACST (90 minutes before sunrise, click to embiggen). 

Saturn is above the north-western horizon.  Mars is low in the east, Mars passes close to the stars mu and eta Geminorum between the 20th-23rd, forming a shallow triangle. 

 

 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (90 minutes before sunrise). 

Venus is well above the horizon when the sky is fully dark. It is coming closer to the bright star Spica.

Venus is a clear "Half Moon"  shape and is increasing in size.  The shape is readily visible in even small telescopes (although the brightness may make it hard to see). 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (60 minutes after sunset). 

Saturn is the brightest object above the eastern horizon. Saturn is rising around 9:30 pm local time, but is still best for telescopic observation in the morning, and its rings are widening. 

The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time. 

Whole sky on Saturday, August 22  as seen from Adelaide at 19:14 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Venus is prominent in the north-west. 

 

Scorpius, and the core of the Milky way are at the Zenith. 

 

The Pointers are at their zenith in the Southern sky as the Southern Cross sinks to the south west.  The Moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming harder to see.     

 

   

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 9:56 am 0 comments

Western horizon as seen from Adelaide on Sunday  16 August at 5:25  pm, 20 minutes before sunset. Venus is about two finger-widths beside the crescent Moon. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 20 min before local sunset (click to embiggen)	10x50 Binocular view of the pair on Sunday  16 August at 5:25  pm.  (click to embiggen)

While regular readers of this blog know that I'm obsessed with seeing Venus in the daytime. I haven't posted about it for some time. But an excellent opportunity arises this Sunday. 

Venus is currently bright enough (-4.3) to see during the daylight. However, finding a bright dot in the vast amount of blue can be challenging. It is easier to locate Venus if there is a handy foreground object nearby to use as reference. The Moon is such an object, fairly easy to spot making it a handy guide. 

On the 16th crescent Moon is about two finger-widths beside the crescent Moon, an excellent opportunity for finding Venus in the daylight.

Look for the thin crescent Moon, and Venus should be visible as a bright dot just to the left of it. The images above should help locate it. It's best to look in the afternoon when the Sun is low and the sky is less bright. Make sure the Sun is hidden behind something solid like a building or a wall when you are looking for Venus, not trees or your hand. Exposing your eyes directly to the glare of the Sun can be very dangerous and you could potentially lose your sight.

You may need to use binoculars at first to pick up Venus near the moon, but once you have spotted it it will be obvious (again make sure you practice sun safety when observing with binoculars).

I used a corner of the house and pergola to shut out the Sun and frame the Moon-Venus combination for previous daylight Venus adventures.

You may also use mobile phone apps such as Google sky map to locate the Moon and Venus in the vasty blue.

If you miss this opportunity, locate Venus around half an hour after Sunset, and find a convenient marker (a tree, a telephone pole or something like that) close by to Venus from a fixed position in your yard. Note the relative position of Venus and features on the marker. Next day, go to your viewing position about 5 minutes after Sunset and again note Venus's location. The next day, look 5 minutes before Sunset and note the location. And so on until you can see Venus well before Sunset.

Do remember to be very careful not to look directly at the Sun when doing all of this. Chose your viewing location so that the Sun will be hidden well behind some solid object at all of your projected viewing times.

Good luck Venus hunting.

Labels: Daylight, Daytime, Moon, unaided eye, Venus

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 12:19 pm 0 comments

On the early morning August 13 (afternoon August 12 UT) there is a Total Eclipse of the Sun, Visible from the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Australia misses out completely, and Iceland looks like it will be clouded out.

Not to despair, Several places are doing live-streams of the Eclipse, so you can watch it in comfort, except of course it is in the wee small hours from Australia:

NASA   1:15 pm US EST (3:15 am AEST) : https://www.nasa.gov/live/ 

ESA 19:30–20:45 CEST (3:30 am-4:45 am AEST):  https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Total_solar_eclipse_how_to_watch_live_from_home

Time and date (1:04 am ACST-5:27 am ACST the site sets itself to your local time):  https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2026-august-12

SLOOH's Livestream 16:30 UTC (2:30 am AEST): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nURX5lnT50 

Labels: live-stream, solar eclipse, webcast

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 4:25 pm 0 comments

The New Moon is Thursday August 13 and the First Quarter Moon is Thursday August 20.  The Lunar X is visible on the 20th.

Saturn is high above the north-western horizon.  Mars is low in the east, and is close to the open cluster M35 from the 14th to 17th, and is closest on the 15th. 

The inset is the binocular view of Mars and M35 on  the 15th

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (90 minutes before sunrise). 

 Comet 220P McNaught should have been a barely visible telescopic object but it has undergone two large outbursts, soaring from magnitude 18 to now roughly magnitude 7, a nearly 7000 fold increase in brightness. Of course, while this is "bright" in astronomical terms, you will still need binoculars or a small telescope to see it. 

For printable spotters charts and viewing guides see my comet 220P site. 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (90 minutes before sunrise).  

Venus is well above the horizon when the sky is fully dark. Venus is very close to the crescent Moon. The inset is the telescopic view of Venus at this time. 

Venus is a clear "Half Moon"  shape and is increasing in size.  The shape is readily visible in even small telescopes (although the brightness may make it hard to see). 

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time  (60 minutes after sunset). 

Saturn is the brightest object above the eastern horizon. Saturn is rising around 10:00 am loacl timet, but is still best for telescopic observation in the morning, and its rings are widening. 

The inset shows the telescopic view of Saturn at this time.    

Similar views will be seen from the rest of Australia at roughly the equivalent local time. 

Whole sky on Saturday, August 15  as seen from Adelaide at 19:10 ACST, 90 minutes after sunset (click to embiggen).

Venus is prominent in the north-west. 

 

Scorpius, and the core of the Milky way are at the Zenith. 

 

The Pointers are at their zenith in the Southern sky as the Southern Cross sinks to the south west.  The Moon is waxing and the fainter clusters and nebula are becoming harder to see.     

 

   

Elsewhere in Australia will see a similar view at the equivalent time (90 minutes after sunset).

Labels: weekly sky

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:13 pm 0 comments

View of the Northern Sky as seen from Adelaide at astronomical twilight(90 minutes before Sunrise) on August 11 showing the location of comet 220P McNaught (red cross). Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes before sunrise.  The location of the asteroid Ceres and Mars are also shown as Ceres is within a binocular field of Mars. Click to embiggen	Binocular view of Cetus as seen from Adelaide at astronomical twilight (90 minutes before Sunrise) on August 11 showing the location of comet 220P McNaught (red cross). The location of the Guide Stars μ Ceti and Menkat (λ Ceti) are shown for comparison with the black and while charts. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes before sunrise. Click to embiggen

Comet 220P McNaught should have been a barely visible telescopic object but it has undergone two large outbursts, soaring from magnitude 18 to now roughly magnitude 7, a nearly 7000 fold increase in brightness. Of course, while this is "bright" in astronomical terms, you will still need binoculars or a small telescope to see it. 

It will only stay binocular bright for a short time, so you should look in  the next few days .The bad news is that it is only visible in the morning. The good news is that it is quite high just before Astronomical twilight, and the moon is trending to New, so it should be easy to pick up in binoculars. 

The other good news is that there are good guide stars, μ Ceti and λ Ceti (Menkar), just below the bright star α Ceti (also called confusingly Menkar) in the loop of Cetus, See the charts below.

As a bonus, the asteroid Ceres is close to Mars. although at magnitude 9 it will be more of a tough catch.

Black and white view of the Northern Sky as seen from Adelaide at astronomical twilight(90 minutes before Sunrise) on August 11 showing the location and track of comet 220P McNaught. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes before sunrise. The circle shows the field of View of 10x50 binoculars. The tracks of Asteroid Ceres and Mars are also shown as Ceres is within a binocular field of Mars

Black and white Binocular view of Cetus as seen from Adelaide at astronomical twilight (90 minutes before Sunrise) on August 11 showing the location and track of comet 220P McNaught. Similar views will be seen elsewhere in Australia 90 minutes before sunrise. The circle shows the field of View of 10x50 binoculars.

Downloadable printable B&W maps are at the links for the Spotters Map and the Binocular Map. 

Labels: binocular, comet

# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 10:49 pm 0 comments