Venus and Moon play hide-and-seek

A cosmic encounter between the Moon and Venus must be one of the more spectacular events in amateur astronomy. So on the eve of tomorrow's planetary occultation, here is some more about the event. The UK, Ireland and much of Europe are ideally placed to view it. Easiest to spot will be the moment when brilliant Venus slides out from behind the Moon because it happens during the "rush hour". In the darkening twilight, Venus will appear like a bright "star" detaching itself from the crescent Moon. The pair will then make a dazzling pattern with another bright planet, Jupiter, above the south-western horizon - itself a rare event called a conjunction. The moon's cover-up of Venus begins in daylight shortly after 3.45pm from London. Venus will then lie just to the left of the moon and may be seen even with the naked eye as it is so bright. But the reappearance of Venus will be even easier to spot because of the darker sky. From London this happens at about 5.16pm. Times in other parts of the UK (and Europe) will vary. Times for different part of the UK are given below, courtesy of the Society for Popular Astronomy. The lunar cover-up is similar to a solar eclipse except that it is Venus being hidden instead of the sun. It should provide an opportunity for some dramatic photos. Time of disappearance Time of reappearance Penzance 3.37pm 5.11pm Bristol 3.42pm 5.14pm Swansea 3.40pm 5.12pm London 3.46pm 5.16pm Birmingham 3.43pm 5.13pm Norwich 3.48pm 5.17pm Manchester 3.42pm 5.12pm Hull 3.45pm 5.14pm Douglas 3.39pm 5.09pm Newcastle 3.43pm 5.13pm Belfast 3.37pm 5.07pm Edinburgh 3.41pm 5.09pm Inverness 3.39pm 5.07pm The picture is a computer simulation of the moment after Venus reappears from behind the Moon, using the planetarium program Starry Night. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, Skymania.com • Skymania welcomes your comments on our stories! For more space reading, check out the Skymania stores in the USA, the UK, Canada and France. They are powered by Amazon so you can buy with confidence.

Venus and Jupiter in evening show

Two bright planets are closing in for a spectacular conjunction with the Moon in the evening sky. Venus, which is steadily moving away from the Sun, meets Jupiter as it prepares to leave the night-time stage. Both are brilliant objects, with Venus at magnitude -4 and Jupiter at magnitude -1.9, and visible soon after sunset in the south-west. If the sky is clear where you are, you can't miss them even if you are surrounded by streetlights. You will also notice if you watch from one night to the next how rapidly the two worlds are moving towards each other. They will be at their closest at around 0100UT o 1 December when they are just over two degrees apart. Two nights later, the crescent Moon arrives on the scene to complete a stunning sight above the south-western horizon. And from much of Europe, there will be an added spectacle as Venus is covered, or occulted, by the Moon. (For more on the conjunction see NASA's special page). From the UK, the occultation begins in daylight with the Sun still above the horizon, but Venus will be easy to spot through a telescope or binoculars and possibly even the unaided eye. (Warning: If you use an optical instrument, make sure you do not point it anywhere near the Sun). From London, Venus disappears behind the dark limb of the Moon at 15h 46m UT (3.46pm) and reappears from the bright crescent limb at 17h 16m (5.16pm). Times vary across other parts of the UK and Europe and don't forget to allow for local time. Because Venus shows a sizeable angle in the sky, it will not blink off and on like a star when it does its disappearing and reappearing acts. Instead each process will take 45 to 50 seconds. Picture: The graphic, produced with the planetarium program Equinox, shows the view at 18h 15m on 1 December from London. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, Skymania.com • Skymania welcomes your comments on our stories! For more space reading, check out the Skymania stores in the USA, the UK, Canada and France. They are powered by Amazon so you can buy with confidence.

Free fireworks for credit crunch

November 5 is Fireworks Night in the United Kingdom when families burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, the man who tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. No doubt some will be set off this year to celebrate the US election too. But this year we will be able to enjoy credit-crunch fireworks for free, thanks to nature, if a prediction by leading meteor scientists comes true. The Taurids are an annual show that delivers regular bright meteors in low numbers for much of October and November. They are the widely spread remains of a once great comet. Expert David Asher, of Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland, expects the Earth to run into a particularly dense part of the swarm of debris on November 5. It will cross another concentrated mass on the 12th, he says, but the Moon will then be much brighter in the sky, drowning out much of the display. Around 20 Taurids could be visible an hour at best, including a handful of fireballs, Asher tells New Scientist's website. In 2005, the shower produced some meteors brighter than Venus. If you have got kids or are planning a party, you might not want to rely too much on freebie fireworks - showers are notoriously unreliable and, in any case, tend to be at their best in the early morning hours. A fragment of the original comet, called 2P/Encke, is still seen circling the sun once every 3.4 years - the shortest period known. Its orbit was shortened by the gravitational influence of Jupiter. The comet hit astronomical headlines last year when a blast of solar wind detached and blew away its tail. Picture: A fireball photographed by Paul Sutherland. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, Skymania.com • Skymania welcomes your comments on our stories! For more space reading, check out the Skymania stores in the USA, the UK, Canada and France. They are powered by Amazon so you can buy with confidence.

Mercury bright in morning sky

Mercury is currently putting on an appearance in the morning sky for northern hemisphere observers, so if you've never seen the innermost planet then now is your chance. Don't hang around though because these opportunities only last a few days before the planet retreats once more into the glare close to the Sun. You may be surprised at how easy it is to spot, shining at magnitude -1. I spotted Mercury for the third time in four days this morning and it presented a wonderful scene, lying just a few degrees from a very fine crescent Moon that it was itself a little more than 40 hours from new. The reason why now is a good opportunity to see Mercury from our part of the world is because the planet lies higher above the horizon than it would at other times of the year at an elongation. This is because the ecliptic - the path along which the planets travel - is steeply inclined to the eastern horizon at this time of year. Look to the south-south-east as the dawn sky is brightening. I got my view of Mercury from the south-west of London at around 6am local time today (0600 UT). In the evening sky, you can spot the other inner planet, Venus, which is steadily moving away from the Sun. You will need a clear horizon at the moment as it is quite low, but conditions get better and better over the next few weeks. Fir mire details of what is on view in the sky right now, see our monthly sky map. Picture: A screen grab from Starry Night shows Mercury and the Moon on the morning of 27 October. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, Skymania.com • Skymania welcomes your comments on our stories! For more space reading, check out the Skymania stores in the USA, the UK, Canada and France. They are powered by Amazon so you can buy with confidence.

Watch the partial eclipse of the Moon

Two weeks after the solar eclipse, there is a chance to see a very large partial eclipse of the Moon from the UK and Europe on the evening of Saturday 16 August. The Moon rises over Britain with the eclipse already underway. First contact with the pale outer shadow, the penumbra, takes place at 18:25 UT (7.25 pm BST) when the Moon is still below the horizon for UK observers. When the Moon finally does rise above the southeastern horizon at around 19:30 UT (8.30 pm BST), it is almost wholly immersed in the penumbra. Minutes after moonrise from much of the UK, it begins to enter the main dark shadow, called the umbra. First contact with the umbra occurs at 19:36 UT (8.36 pm BST). By 21:10 UT (10.10 pm BST) the Moon is immersed at its maximum depth in the umbra, leaving a sliver of the northern limb shining in the penumbral light, while more than 80 per cent of the lunar disk has assumed a deep red hue. The Moon is then around 13° above the southern horizon for observers in southern England, in the southern constellation of Capriconus. The Moon finally leaves the umbra at 22:44 UT (11.44 pm BST) and exits the penumbra at 23:55 UT (12.55 am BST). The Earth's shadow is actually composed of two cones, one darker one within the other. To understand the geometry of this, and the difference between the umbra and penumbra, visit this webpage. This will be the deepest lunar eclipse visible from the UK until 15 June 2011. A webcast of the eclipse will be broadcast by noted astronomy author Peter Grego live from St Dennis, Cornwall, between 19:30 UT (8.30 pm BST) and 22:45 UT (11.45 pm BST) at www.lunarobservers.com. You can observe for yourself with the unaided eye but steadily-held binoculars will help you to follow the shadow's progress across the Moon's face. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, Skymania.com • Skymania welcomes your comments on our stories! For more space reading, check out the Skymania stores in the USA, the UK, Canada and France. They are powered by Amazon so you can buy with confidence.