That perfect 1970s evening.

Waiting patiently for the Moonrise.

The lunar eclipse was upon us:

The evening clouds held to the west, the eastern skies were clear.

It was time for the eclipse to unfold. 

All we had to do now, was wait for the Moon to make an appearance.

Sitting patiently in the camper van, waiting for the eclipse to begin.

We parked up just outside the sleepy village of Hermon, all was quiet, a hush that only eclipses bring descended over the Pembrokeshire countryside.

This was to be the quietest lunar eclipse I have witnessed in many a year.

The last really quiet lunar eclipse was back in February of 2008, but that was in the early hours of the morning, when most people were asleep.  

The stillness of this evening, the quiet countryside, the subtle colours of the darkening sky, all added up to remind me of my childhood astro observing, way back near the end of the 1970s.

Back then astronomy was different from what it is today.. How?

Well, the skies were clearer, with fewer aeroplanes, less contrails, less turbulence.

Back then the stars did seem sharper, the winters were definitely colder, and the light pollution was non existent in this part of the country.

Tonight's sky had all of those attributes going for it.

Tonight was that perfect 1970s evening.

Touch the stars

Haven't posted a blog post since December!.... wow, the months have flown past. 

Here's one of my favourite  episodes from The Sky at Night.

This episode was recorded back (1977) when Pembrokeshire had beautiful light pollution free skies.

Pembrokeshire has pretty good night skies now, but compared to the pristine skies of my childhood, the Milky Way is but a ghost of its former self. 

Years ago the winter stars seemed to be within arms reach, you could almost touch them. 

The Milky Way used to glow with an ethereal brilliance. 

I could talk (rant) for hours about the dangers of light pollution..

Thankfully you don't have to listen to my diatribe. There is a book that will explain it all.

If you want a good read about the problems of light pollution, 

I  highly recommend "The End of Night" by Paul Bogard.

Earth-grazing Geminids.

Picture credit: Robert Ayton *

This years Geminid meteor shower will reach its peak early this coming Thursday morning (about 2.00am).

Most of the meteors between midnight and dawn on the 14th will be fast moving and have a comparatively short trail.

Beautiful to see..... But as always I'm hoping to see the so called Earth-grazers, those early evening meteors that skim the longest path across our atmosphere, much brighter and slower moving than the later evening/early morning main display.

Over the years I have seen several Earth-grazers, or bolides/fireballs as they are also called.

In my experience, the best time for a chance to see the Earth-grazers seems to be the early evenings a few days before and after the Geminid peak.

A few years ago I spotted a bright bolide breaking into what looked like three distinct separate meteors, I was on Newgale beach at the time looking east....Even though the Sun had not long set,  daylight was still very much evident..

That particular bolide was clearly seen in a blue sky, imagine how bright it would have been in the darkness!

Picture source: Sky & Telescope

Most of the fireballs/bolides I have seen have been in the month of December, and apart from being very bright and slow moving, to my eye they had a tinge of green in them.

For the next week, as the night descends, I'll be wrapping up warm, keeping as far away from streetlights as possible and directing my gaze eastwards.

If memory serves, most of my sightings of the Earth grazers have occurred between Sunset and about 8.00pm

Now all we need is a few clear night!


Good luck , lets hope we see some celestial fireworks.

* Robert Ayton was the artist who illustrated that beautiful little Ladybird book "The Night Sky" 

Author: Mary T. Bruck.