Derekscope

Conjunction of Venus and Mercury

• Best viewing: around sunset, low in the Southwest sky.
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• For the UK: it will be very difficult to see from Britain, because the planets will be extremely low on the horizon and may already be below the horizon when the sky becomes dark enough.
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• Photo Left
  First, I captured the Moon close to Mars with my smartphone. At this zoom level, Mars was easy to spot, but the Moon was too bright and overexposed, so the photo didn’t turn out great.
  
  
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• Photo Below
  I then used Sylvia Simmonds’s telescope to capture them again. This time, I was able to bring out much more detail on the Moon, although Mars became much dimmer.

• According the Derekscope’s highlight (Mon 5th Oct):
  Conjunction of the Moon and Mars
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Conjunction of the Moon and Mars

• Something amazing is happening in the night sky – the Moon and Mars are going to pass right next to each other in what astronomers call a conjunction.
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• Here is your hourly guide to watching the action:
  
  2am – Look up! The bright, orange planet Mars will be trailing closely behind the Moon.
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  3am – Mars is speeding up and getting closer to the Moon.
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  4am – They are side-by-side! This is the closest they will look all night.
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  5am – Mars zooms past the Moon and takes the lead as they both head toward the horizon.

• Mars is actually millions of miles behind the Moon in deep space! It just looks close from where we are standing on Earth.
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Saturn at opposition

• On Sunday 4 October 2026, Earth will pass directly between the Sun and Saturn.
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• Saturn is opposite the Sun in our sky, so it rises at sunset (18:45 / 6.45pm) and remains visible through the night.
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• Saturn is at approximately its closest point to Earth for the year, about 782 million miles away, and reaches its brightest apparent magnitude +0.3 for 2026.
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• Through a small telescope, the rings should be visible, although they remain relatively narrow because of their current tilt.
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Saturn’s rings in visible light

• On the left, this photo was captured by Richard Houston at Norfolk Deaf Astronomical Society.
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• His photograph beautifully shows Saturn’s rings in visible.

• Richard mentioned that following the edge-on ring plane crossing last year (2025), Saturn’s rings are opening back up. This will offer a much clearer view through telescopes during this opposition.

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Moon forms a triangle with Castor & Pollux

• The waning crescent Moon will serve as the bottom anchor of the triangle, with the pure white star Castor to the upper left and the brighter, golden-hued giant star Pollux to its right.
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• The triangle will be beautifully positioned in the early morning sky around 2am – look toward the east-northeast horizon.
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Last Quarter Moon

• At the exact moment of Last Quarter, the Moon is in the constellation Taurus.
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• This is an excellent time to observe the 22 days old Moon (map) through binoculars or a telescope because the line between lunar night and day (the terminator) highlights craters and mountains with dramatic shadows.

The Moon at perigee

• The Moon reaches perigee ~ the closest point in its orbit from Earth.
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• The Moon appears slightly smaller and dimmer in the sky compared to perigee.
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Moon rises with the Seven Sister (Messier 45)

• The Moon will be in a waning gibbous phase (86% illuminated), meaning its intense glare will wash out some of the faintest stars in the cluster.
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• Binoculars will help you cut through the moonglow to reveal dozens of additional blue-white stars in the group.
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• For observers in the UK and Europe, the pair will clear the horizon in the late evening of Tuesday 29th and put on their best display high in the sky through the early morning hours of Wednesday 30th September.
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A simple smartphone capture, showing that you can enjoy the night sky with whatever camera you have.

• According the Derekscope’s highlight (Sat 26th Sept):
  Mars in a line with Castor & Pollux.

• According the Derekscope’s highlight (Sun 27th Sept):
  The Moon Passes Saturn.

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Minimum brightness times for Algol Minima

• Here’s a list of upcoming minimum brightness times for Algol (Beta Persei).
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• Read more – Algol
  – How to find Algol in Perseus?
  – Deaf astronomer John Goodricke
  

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