Derekscope – UK Astronomical highlights and a guide for binoculars, and telescope deaf owners, compiled by Derek Rowley

Sunday 22nd March 2026

Posted on 21 March 2026 by Derek

Mercury re‑emerges into the eastern morning sky in mid‑March, gradually climbing in altitude before sunrise, but it can still be very difficult to see because of the Sun’s glare.
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Posted on 21 March 2026 by Derek

Astronomers were given a little extra treat over the Spring Equinox as the Northern Lights appeared off the Norfolk coast.
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Posted on 20 March 2026 by Derek

The pair becomes visible shortly after sunset, low in the western sky.
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Venus and the Moon come together in the evening sky tonight, forming a lovely evening conjunction.
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The Moon will be a very thin crescent, only one day old after the New Moon.
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Both will sit in the constellation Pisces (The Fishes).
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Posted on 20 March 2026 by Derek

Everyone on Earth gets almost exactly the same amount of daylight and darkness.
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The March equinox marks the start of spring in the northern half of the world.
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Posted on 19 March 2026 by Derek

A shadow transit occurs when a moon passes between the Sun and Jupiter, causing its shadow to fall on Jupiter’s cloud tops.
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Through a telescope, the shadow appears as a small, sharp black dot moving steadily across the planet’s bright surface.
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Posted on 17 March 2026 by Derek

Both Io and Callisto transit together across Jupiter ~ a beautiful and relatively uncommon double-moon event.
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Io transits Jupiter’s between 19:43pm and 22:01pm, meanwhile Jupiter’s Io is appearing on the Jupiter surface at 20:58pm till 23:13pm.
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Callisto starts to transits at 19:43pm (same time as Io at 19:43pm) till 23:38pm.

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Posted on 12 March 2026 by Derek

The Moon appears half-illuminated, with the left side 50% lit ~ it’s the final quarter of the lunar cycle, leading toward the New Moon on Thursday 19th March 2026.
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Posted on 11 March 2026 by Derek

Jupiter’s retrograde from 11 November 2025 to 11 March 2026 – Why it happens?
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Here an explained in simple;
– Earth moves around the Sun faster than Jupiter.
– When Earth undertakes Jupiter, our view makes Jupiter seem to go backward direction.
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This’s like a trick of perspective;
– Another car next to you slows down.
– For a moment, it looks like that car is moving backwards, even though it’s still going forward.
– That’s what happens with Jupiter in the sky.
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Posted on 10 March 2026 by Derek

2026 Apogee Dates
(Moon Furthest from Earth)

2026 Perigee Dates
(Moon Closest to Earth)

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Posted on 7 March 2026 by Derek

Venus is the brighter guide, shining at around magnitude -3.9, so it becomes visible first as the sky deepens.
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Saturn around magnitude +0.9, sits nearby, usually within a few degrees, appearing as a steady, pale point.
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The two planets share the same region of sky in Aquarius, creating a compact pairing low in the west after sunset.
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