Sam Price, Author at Elan Valley

Eyes on the Night Sky – May 2025

Sam Price — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:02:12 +0000

Welcome to this month’s update to what’s in the night sky for May.

In the Elan Valley International Dark Sky Park, darkness falls at around 11.15pm. On 19th May, astro-darkness ends and all-night summer twilight begins, which means the Milky Way and fainter celestial objects becomes more difficult to see.

An all-sky view of the constellations from 12am in May from in-the-sky.org

Facing south from midnight, you will see the constellations of Virgo, Libra, Boötes and Corvus. Leo and Cancer marches westwards and Gemini begins to set in on the western horizon. The summer constellations of Corona Borealis, Hercules and Lyra are well-placed in the east, with Cygnus, Ophiuchus, Sagitta and Aquila rising on the eastern horizon.

The Full Moon occurs on 12th May and New Moon on 27th May.

The Planets in May

Venus is currently an early morning object, rising at 4.24am at the beginning of the month and 3.25am at the end. You won’t miss it as it appears as a bright star in the east. If you have a telescope to hand, try looking at it before the Sun rises as you will be able to spot this planet in the waxing crescent phase. To see this, you will need a 3-inch telescope at around 120x magnification.

On 1st June, Venus will be at greatest western elongation.

Saturn is a morning object and rises in the east at 4.50am at the beginning of the month and 2.50am at the end.

Jupiter appears low in the western sky and sets at 11.45pm at the beginning of the month and on the 23rd May, can still be seen very low on the north western horizon, setting at 10.30pm. After then, the skies are too bright for it to be seen.

Mars appears high on the south-western horizon at the beginning of the month, setting at around 2.40am on 1st May and 1.30am on 31st May.

Conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Saturn

On 23rd May, for early risers, there will be a conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Saturn all situated low on the eastern horizon. The Moon will appear as a thin waxing crescent and earthshine or ‘ashen glow’ can be seen on its shadowed face.

Spot Lunar X and V

On 5th May, you can spot the Lunar X! This is a special effect created by the sunlight bouncing off the rims of craters of Blanchinus, Purback and La Caille. This can be seen in the early hours of the morning at 1.14am. Scan the southern third of the Moon’s terminator until you see an ‘X’ pop into view. Move northwards along the terminator to nearly halfway up and you will also see a ‘V’ appear in the eyepiece.

Constellation of the Month

Each month, we will feature a constellation and the mythology behind it.

There are 88 IAU recognised constellations in the night sky and around 36 that are observable in the northern hemisphere. Some of the names of the 88 IAU recognised constellations are several thousands of years old.

With the advent of science and rational thinking, and more of a focus on the observable world, stars are no longer used for the farming calendar, for navigation or conveying social or religious values.

Get outside and see if you can spot these constellations. The best time to see each constellation we feature is around 90 minutes after sunset.

Constellation of the Month – Corvus

Corvus is a small constellation which lies low on the southern horizon between March and June.

This trapezium of stars represents the white-feathered crow or raven which belonged to Apollo according to Greek mythology.

Apollo was suspicious about one of Coronis, one of his lovers, and instructed his pet crow to watch over her and guard her from becoming too wayward.

He obeyed, but one day, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, who was mortal but Corvus failed to prevent this. He reported this to Apollo, who became furious and scorched his feathers black as punishment – creating a legend of the origin of why corvids have black plumage.

The Babylonians also associated this constellation with MUL.UGA.MUSHEN, associated with Adad, the god of rain and storms.

The ‘Star Gate’ Asterism

RA: 12 h, 35 m, 59 s | DEC: -12° 03′ 09″
An asterism is a collection of stars that are formed into a familiar pattern – this is how we learn the constellations of the night sky. Some asterisms are created just for fun and can add a bit of light relief when searching for fainter objects. Some resemble numbers, letters, jewellery, a coat hanger and even a stargate!

Situated between the constellations of Corvus and Virgo, this asterism’s shape is unusually geometric and was recently named after the fictional stargate in the 70s science fiction television program ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’. This isn’t an open star cluster as there are vast distances between the five stars and are not in the same ‘neighbourhood’.

This asterism comprises six stars and are between 285 and 486 light years away.

Credit: Mark Johnston

Use your small telescope and 100x magnification and higher to spot this asterism.

Noctilucent Cloud Season Begins

This month heralds the beginning of Nocilucent Cloud season, commencing around the 23rd May.
Also known as ‘Night Shining Clouds’, or polar mesospheric clouds, these are composed of tiny ice crystals and sit from 47-53 miles high up in our atmosphere.

The sun sets above 16 degrees below the horizon and some of that light shines into the sky all night (astro-twilight). That light will also illuminate these clouds which lie on the northern horizon and shimmer with an ethereal light.

The best time to see these is between 90 to 120 minutes after sunset or 90 to 120 minutes before sunrise.

The cause of these clouds is still being debated, but recent studies have explored the effects of Space Shuttle exhaust emissions, dust particles from micro-meteors or volcanoes and even a recent increase of methane emissions reaching the upper atmosphere; the molecules then producing water vapour contributing to the cloud displays

All you need to observe these are your dark-adapted eyes and warm clothing. To keep an eye on the forecasts, visit www.spaceweather.com and keep up with user updates.

Credit: Slava Auchynnikau at unsplash

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Design a Logo Competition

Sam Price — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 11:23:31 +0000

Send your entries by email

Mailing address : Elan Valley Trust, Elan Estate Office, Rhayader Powys LD6 5HP

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Eyes on the Night Sky – April 2025

Sam Price — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:57:18 +0000

Welcome to this month’s update to what’s in the night sky for April.

In the Elan Valley International Dark Sky Park, darkness falls at around 7.45pm at the beginning of the month and 9.45pm at the end.

An all-sky view of the constellations from 10pm in April from in-the-sky.org

Facing south at 10pm, you will see the constellations of Hydra, Leo and Cancer, Ursa Major sits very high at the zenith and the glittering winter constellations of Orion, Taurus and Auriga sets in the west. Virgo and Boötes lie in the east, with the summer constellations of Hercules, Corona Borealis and Lyra lie low on the eastern horizon.

The Full Moon occurs on 13th April and New Moon on 27th April.

Lyrid Meteor Shower

The Lyrid Meteor Shower falls between 16th and 25th April, peaking on the evening of 22nd April.

Even though it isn’t the most impressive show, it is worth looking up during the meteor shower’s duration to spot the shooting stars as they tend to have bright dust trails that remain visible in the sky for a few seconds.

The Moon’s light will not interfere as it will be below the horizon. This meteor shower is caused by the debris left behind by the long-period Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher. This comet was first seen by Chinese court astronomers in 687BC.

Constellation of the Month

Each month, we will feature a constellation and the mythology behind it.

There are 88 IAU recognised constellations in the night sky and around 36 that are observable in the northern hemisphere. Some of the names of the 88 IAU recognised constellations are several thousands of years old.

With the advent of science and rational thinking, and more of a focus on the observable world, stars are no longer used for the farming calendar, for navigation or conveying social or religious values.

So get outside and see if you can spot these constellations. The best time to see each constellation we feature is around 90 minutes after sunset.

Constellation of the Month – Ursa Minor

One often overlooked constellation is Ursa Minor, which is placed high in the night sky during the spring months. It resembles a smaller ‘pan and handle’ version to Ursa Major (or big dipper). Ursa Minor has a special star called Polaris, which is currently our Pole Star – located near the North Celestial Pole.

It’s useful to know where this star is for people who use equatorial tracking to follow objects in space – compensating for the rotation of the Earth. You can see evidence of this rotation by looking at star-trail images which contains multiple concentric circles leading to a central point. That point is the Pole Star, Polaris.

However, the ‘pole’ position changes every 26,000 years due to the Earth’s wobbling axis. That position was previously held by Thuban in the constellation of Draco until 500AD, which was during the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Medieval Age. In 3100AD, Gamma Cephei in Cepheus will become the next pole star.

By NASA, Mysid – Vectorized by Mysid in Inkscape after a NASA Earth Observatory image in Milutin Milankovitch Precession. Public Domain.

The constellation of Ursa Minor also has ancient mythologies associated with it.

One such story is that the constellation is Ida, the nymph who looked after the young Zeus on the island of Crete, whose life was threatened by King Cronus, his father. Cronus was troubled by a prophecy that foretold that one of his offspring would replace him as king, so he swallowed five of his children after they were born.

When Rhea, his wife, gave birth to Zeus, she gave him a stone wrapped up in swaddling clothes to swallow instead and sent Zeus into the care of Ida, who nursed him.

When he became an adult, he returned to his father’s home and tricked Cronus into taking an emetic, causing him to bring up his five siblings Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, who rose up and overthrew his kingdom.
The prophecy was fulfilled when Zeus became the new king of the Olympians and ‘god of the sky’.

Conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Saturn

Look out for a conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Saturn during dawn on 25th April.

Venus may have disappeared in the evening sky but it has not yet finished putting on a brilliant display. This month, Venus rises in the east from around 5.30am – and on 27th April, will reach peak brightness.

A Couple of Star Clusters

There are a few interesting deep sky objects to look out for in Ursa Major. You will need your binoculars or a telescope with an aperture of four inches and above to see them.

Messier 67

Coordinates: RA: 08h 51.4m | Dec: +11°49′

This open star cluster, comprising 500 stars, lies in the constellation of Cancer and is between 2.6 and 2.9 light years away. It can be seen as a dim, elongated fuzzy patch of light through 10×50 binoculars. Telescopes of 6 inches aperture and above reveals a dozen or so stars, whilst larger telescopes of 12 inches and above can reveal up to 100 stars.

By Jim Mazur CC BY-SA 4.0

It contains stars that are not hotter than spectral class F; being yellow/white in colour to the eye and at least 100 stars are similar in composition to our Sun.

By Pablo Carlos Budassi – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Messier 44 – Beehive Cluster

Coordinates: RA: 08h 40.4m | Dec: 19°59′

This pretty open star cluster can be seen with the unaided eye and lies in the constellation of Cancer. It is one of the closest open clusters, being around 577 light years distant.

Containing 1000 stars, many of them can be seen with optical equipment but this is one object that looks lovely through 10x binoculars and small telescopes.

By Fried Lauterbach CC BY-SA 4.0

In 2012, NASA-funded astronomers discovered two planets orbiting stars within this open cluster. These Jupiter-like planetary orbits were similar to the way that planets in our Solar System behaves and were the first extrasolar planets discovered to do so. Further investigations by the Kepler Space Telescope revealed that there were four more hit-Jupiter-like exoplanets orbiting stars in the Beehive Cluster. You can read more about it here.

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Eyes on the Night Sky – March 2025

Sam Price — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:14:52 +0000

Welcome to this month’s update to what’s in the night sky for March.

In the Elan Valley International Dark Sky Park, darkness falls at around 7.45pm at the beginning of the month and 9.45pm at the end.

An all-sky view of the constellations from 10pm in March from in-the-sky.org

Facing south at 10pm, you will see the constellations of Monoceros, Cancer and Canis Major. Ursa Major is very high in the night sky, reaching the zenith and westwards lie the winter constellations of Gemini, Orion, Lepus, Taurus and Auriga. The spring constellation of Leo is well-placed, with Virgo rising in the east and Boötes with the bright star Arcturus low on the north-eastern horizon.

The New Moon occurs on 14th March and Full Moon on 29th March.

Catch a glimpse of the new crescent Moon, Mercury and Venus

If you have never seen the planet Mercury before, this month will provide the perfect opportunity for you to spot this tiny, but mighty planet.

On 1st March, pop outside after sunset and wait for the planet Venus and the two-day-old Moon (with earthshine) to emerge during dusk. As a bonus treat, take the opportunity to spot the planet Mercury too – it will be the lowest ‘star’ on the western horizon.

On 8^th March, Mercury will be at its greatest eastern elongation; being the furthest point from the Sun.

You can see this object with the unaided eye but if using binoculars, please wait until the light from the Sun has faded as looking directly into sunlight with magnified optical aids can damage your eyesight.

Conjunction of Venus and Mercury

On 9^th March, look out for a conjunction of Mercury and Venus, emerging from the west during dusk; Mercury will lie at the 7 o’ clock position to the bright planet.

The Spring Equinox falls on 20th March this year, in other words, the beginning of astronomical Spring. On this day, the hours of daylight and darkness are the same. Following this day, the northern hemisphere tilts towards the Sun, heralding warmer months and longer days.

On 30th March, the clocks go forward one hour, so don’t forget to set your clocks when you go to bed on Sunday night.

Partial Solar Eclipse

On 29^th March, there will be a partial solar eclipse in the UK. In Mid Wales, 35% of the Sun will be obscured by the moon. The eclipse will commence at 10am as the Moon passes in front of the Sun, with the maximum occurring at 11am, with the Moon leaving the face of the Sun at midday.

The Elan Valley Dark Sky Team will be setting up just outside the Elan Valley Visitor Centre with their viewing equipment and solar glasses and you are welcome to drop in and watch the eclipse with us. Weather permitting, we will be there between 10am and 12 noon.

Animation credit: Stellarium

Constellation of the Month

Each month, we will feature a constellation and the mythology behind it.

There are 88 IAU recognised constellations in the night sky and around 36 that are observable in the northern hemisphere. Some of the names of the 88 IAU recognised constellations are several thousands of years old.

With the advent of science and rational thinking, and more of a focus on the observable world, stars are no longer used for the farming calendar, for navigation or conveying social or religious values.

So get outside and see if you can spot these constellations. The best time to see each constellation we feature is around 90 minutes after sunset.

This month, we will look at the constellation of Ursa Major.

Ursa Major is a well-known constellation in the night sky. It is also known as the Great Bear, the Big Dipper or the Plough.

This constellation is circumpolar, which means it never sets and this time of year, it is very well placed in the night sky. It can be found easily by looking out for a ‘saucepan asterism’, which is the main body of the constellation.

According to Greek mythology, Ursa Major represents Callisto, who Zeus fell in love with and had an affair. When they were found out by Zeus’ wife Hera, Zeus, wanting to protect his mistress, turned Callisto and her son Arcas into bears, picking them up and throwing them among the stars. Callisto is represented by Ursa Major (Latin for Great Bear) and Arcas being represented by Ursa Minor, the small bear.

There are a few interesting deep sky objects to look out for in Ursa Major. You will need your binoculars or a telescope with an aperture of four inches and above to see them.

Messier 81 & Messier 82 – ‘Bode’s Nebula’

M81 Coordinates: RA 9h 55m 33s | Dec +69° 3′ 55″
M82 Coordinates: RA 9h 55m 52s | Dec +69° 40′ 47″

The easiest to find is ‘Bodes Nebula’, which comprises M81 and M82, two galaxies that interact with each other. This means they are gravitationally locked together in a cosmic dance.

M81, the larger of the two galaxies in this beautiful image, is also a ‘grand design spiral galaxy’ because of its intricate and well-formed spiral arms, which nearly wraps around its entire circumference.

It was discovered by Johann Bode in 1774 who classed these objects as nebulae – as there had not been any official classification between galaxies and nebulae.

Nebula is Latin for cloud or fog.

By Nielander – Own work, CC0

M82 is also a fascinating galaxy. From our perspective, the galaxy is viewed edge-on which reveals an interesting core of filaments. This is caused by a massive burst of star formation and you can see this as a ‘crack’ running through the centre through an eight-inch telescope in a dark sky. These galaxies are pleasing to the eye through an eyepiece at low magnification.

M81 lies 12 million light years away and M82 lies 11.4 million light years away.

By Michael Vlasov of Deepskywatch.com

Messier 51 – ‘Whirlpool Galaxy’

Coordinates: RA 13h 29m 53s | Dec +47° 11′ 43″

Messier 51, or the Whirlpool Galaxy, lies just below the end of the handle end of the saucepan asterism at 31 million light years away from us. It also comprises two interacting galaxies and can be seen with binoculars.

By NASA and European Space Agency

A small telescope will reveal two galaxies and with a larger telescope of eight inches and larger, you may be able to discern spiral arms in the larger galaxy (NGC 5195) the spiral arm that appears to connect the two. If you can’t see the spiral arms at first, try to use your superpower of averted vision to see if they pop into your peripheral view.

By Michael Vlasov of Deepskywatch.com

Messier 97 – Owl Nebula

Coordinates: RA: 11h 14m | Dec: +55°01′

For a dark sky challenge, look for the Owl Nebula (M97) – you will definitely need dark skies and a telescope larger than eight inches of aperture to spot this one.

With the aforementioned telescope size, you may see a faint patch of light but larger apertures may tease out one or two of the large holes that makes this planetary nebula resemble the face of an owl.

This object lies relatively close to us at a distance of 2600 light years.

By NOIRLab / NSF / AUR

M108 ‘Surfboard Galaxy’

Coordinates: RA 11h 12m 58s | Dec: +55° 32′ 14”

Finally, near the Owl Nebula lies a needle-shaped galaxy that can be viewed nearly edge-on. M108 is also known as the ‘Surfboard Galaxy’, lying 46 million light years away.

You can find this object using a telescope of eight inches of aperture and above – it will look like a faint elongated streak of light.

By Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Zodiacal Light

March is a great time to see the Zodiacal light. This phenomenon can be seen from as early as the middle of February but is best seen during March, peaking at the equinox. It occurs every night but the ability to see it is much hampered by light pollution, so you will need a very dark sky to see this.

At around 90 minutes after sunset, look for a single cone-shaped light source emanating in the west, shining diagonally at a slight angle eastward. If you can’t see it, use averted vision to see if it appears. Averted vision is a useful skill to learn in astronomy – look to one side of the target and use your peripheral vision as faint targets can be seen more easily, as the centre of the eye contains colour-sensitive cones and off centre is where the light sensitive rods lie – you will be using these to tease out as much light as possible. This is also a useful skill to use if you are finding deep-space objects through telescopes or binoculars.

The Zodiacal light occurs when sunlight lights up clouds of tiny dust particles released from comets as they pass through the Solar System. These dust particles orbit on a plane in the Solar System and from our position in the Solar System at this time of year, we can see this wonderful and ethereal phenomenon.

Image: ©Sam Price

If you have a smartphone with night sky photographic capability and a tripod, the Zodiacal light does photograph well – more so with cameras with high ISO capability and a sturdy tripod. Use a lens between 14 and 24mm of focal length, an aperture open at around ƒ/2.8 or wider, and set your lens to focus to infinity. Start with an ISO of 1600 and a 30 second exposure. Increase or decrease the settings as needed.

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News about Penbont House

Sam Price — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 11:57:06 +0000

A beloved tearoom and guest house will reopen this year following investment and improvements.

Penbont House in Elan Valley, Rhayader, closed last May as the business was no longer viable given trading conditions, a lack of resources and the challenging economic climate.

Following refurbishment of the interior and a wave of support from the community and visitors from across the UK, the Elan Valley Trust is now seeking a tenant to take on the building.

The Trust’s Business Manager Jonathan Davies said they are targeting an operator with experience and ideas, to unlock the popular site’s “huge potential” in the heart of the Cambrian Mountains near the Garreg Ddu and Pen y garreg reservoirs.

“We closed the tearoom and guesthouse with heavy hearts, as the wider cost implications meant the business was no longer viable and the Trust itself was running it day to day and did not have the resources or expertise to manage the venue long-term,” he said.

“We are in a position now to reopen, following repairs and maintenance, and are looking for a new operating model and someone with the passion and experience to realise its huge potential.”

For more information and to arrange a viewing of the property, contact Andrew Lowe at Roger Parry and Partners, Mercian House, 9 Darwin Court, Oxon Business Park, Shrewsbury, SY3 5AL. Email andrewlowe@rogerparry.net or call 01743 791336.

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Eyes on the Night Sky – February 2025

Sam Price — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 10:25:39 +0000

Welcome to this month’s update to what’s in the night sky for February.

In the Elan Valley International Dark Sky Park, darkness falls at around 6.58pm at the beginning of the month and 7.44pm at the end.

An all-sky view of the constellations from 10pm in February from in-the-sky.org

Facing south at 10pm, you will see the constellations of Gemini, Cancer and Canis Major. The mighty Orion and the other winter constellations of Auriga, Taurus, and Lepus move into the south-west making room for the spring constellations of Leo, Virgo and Boötes as they rise in the east. Ursa Major rises higher into the night sky during late winter/spring until it reaches the zenith during March and April.

The Full Moon occurs in 12^th February and the New Moon on 28^th February,

Constellation of the Month

Each month, we will feature a constellation and the mythology behind it. There are 88 IAU recognised constellations in the night sky and around 36 that are observable in the northern hemisphere. With the advent of science, critical and rational thinking, and more of a focus on the observable world, we do not use the night sky as an aid for the farming calendar, for navigation or conveying social or religious values. Some of the names of the 88 IAU recognised constellations are several thousands of years old. So, get outside and see if you can spot these constellations. The best time to see each constellation we feature is around 90 minutes after sunset.

This month, we will look at the constellation of Gemini.

It is well placed in the south during the month of February.

This constellation lies to the north-east of Orion and can be easily found by spotting the two stars Castor and Pollux, which are situated next to each other.

In dark skies, you should be able to make out their bodies, resembling stick figures.

In Greek mythology, this constellation represented the twins Castor and Pollux, who were inseparable and were known as ‘the Dioscuri’, which means ‘the sons of Zeus’. As with all figures in Greek Mythology, they were famed for feats of great strength and many skills. They were known to have accompanied Jason and the Argonauts on his famous voyage to seek the Golden Fleece. One day, Castor was killed in battle. Pollux, who could not be consoled over the death of his beloved brother, asked Zeus to make Castor immortal. Zeus granted his request on one condition: that Pollux would also become immortal and the brothers spend half their time on earth and the other half in the heavens. Pollux agreed to this and Zeus placed them in the stars.

See Six Planets in One Night

Take the opportunity to find all six planets during the first two weeks of February.

At the beginning of the month, when darkness falls, Saturn is visible low in the West, followed by the very bright Venus. Neptune lies close to Venus and Uranus is well-placed in the south, next to Jupiter in the constellation of Taurus, with the Pleaides Star Cluster in between.

Mars completes the celestial procession, placed in the constellation of Gemini.

Saturn, Jupiter and Mars are visible with the unaided eye but a telescope, patience and dark skies are required to seek out the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Although they both are around four times larger than Earth, they lie 2.8 billion and 4.5 billion km from Earth!

Through a telescope, Uranus will appear as a steady orb of aquamarine and the much more challenging Neptune as a star-like pinprick of blue.

To complete the hat trick of seeing all the planets in the Solar System, Mercury rises in the west in the evening towards the end of the month and becomes more prominent as an evening object from the last week of February, reaching greatest eastern elongation on 9^th March.

Shoebuckle Cluster (M35)

Right ascension: 06h 08m 54.0s
Declination: +24° 20′ 00″
Messier 35, or more commonly known as the Shoe Buckle Cluster, is an open cluster of stars that is situated on the left ‘foot’ of one of the twins in the constellation of Gemini. It lies 2,970 light years away and is about the size of the full Moon from our field-of-view perspective.

To find it with your binoculars, look for 1 Geminorum, or the left foot of Castor and slowly scan your binoculars eastwards if you cannot see it within the field of view.

It was first discovered in 1745 by Swiss astronomer Philippe Loys de Chéseaux, who achieved much in his short life, including writing books on his observations and discoveries of comets and nebulae. He died at the age of 33.

Credit: Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)

Lion Nebula (NGC 2392)

RA 7h 29m 11s | Dec +20° 54′ 42″

NGC 2392 was discovered by German William Herschel in 1787, an accomplished astronomer and composer. In brief, he was known for his discovery of the planet Uranus and its moons, theorised about the composition of nebulae and founded sidereal astronomy, he also catalogued over 2500 celestial objects and 9,000 stars, among many other achievements.

NGC 2392, known as the Lion Nebula or Clown Face Nebula, lies 6500 light years away in the constellation of Gemini and is a planetary nebula.

A planetary nebula occurs when an old, low mass star begins to run out of fuel; expanding into red giants and casting off its outer layers. As the core contracts, radiation is temporarily released, ionising those outer layers and causing them to glow. Our own sun is predicted to die this way; being of a relatively low mass. Stars 8 times greater in mass than our Sun will end their lives more dramatically; exploding as a supernova and forming nebulae – even larger stars collapse into a black hole.

Credit: ASA, ESA, Andrew Fruchter (STScI), and the ERO team (STScI + ST-ECF)

Through a small telescope, resembles a head surrounded by a mane of hazy light. A larger telescope may reveal a slight hint of filaments.

Credit: Michael Vlasov of Deep Sky Watch

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Storm Damage and PRoW Closures

Sam Price — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 16:16:32 +0000

Due to the impact of Storm Darragh there are fallen trees blocking many rights of way across the Elan Estate.

In the interests of safety and enjoyment we are respectfully asking visitors to postpone visiting the Elan Valley to allow time for essential works to be undertaken.

Please read the information below regarding the Temporary Closures of Public Footpaths in the area.

We appreciate your patience as work is undertaken to ensure the area is safe and ready for you to enjoy once again. Thank you.

Click for notice

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Temporary Closure of Public Footpath

Sam Price — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:48:30 +0000

Due to the damaging effects of Storm Darragh, the footpath to the south-eastern side of Caban Coch Dam (Nant y Gro Walking Trail) has been temporarily closed due to structural collapse. We are currently assessing the extent of the damage and will endeavour to restore the path as soon as possible.

More information

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Eyes on the Night Sky – December 2024

Sam Price — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 14:10:47 +0000

Welcome to this month’s update to what’s in the night sky for December.

In the Elan Valley International Dark Sky Park, darkness falls even earlier this month – 6.10pm at the beginning of the month and 6.18pm at the end.

An all-sky view of the constellations from midnight in December from in-the-sky.org

At midnight, the constellations that are dominant in the southern night sky during December are Orion, Auriga, Taurus and Gemini.

Andromeda, Perseus and Cassiopeia are well-placed in the western sky. The summer constellations of Cygnus and Lyra set on the western horizon and the spring constellations of Cancer and Leo rise in the east.

The Full Moon occurs on 15^th December. There are two New Moons this month: the first is on 1^st December and the second, also known as a black moon, falls on 30^th December.

The Winter Solstice falls on 21^st December 2024, which is the shortest day of 7 hours, 39 minutes and the longest night of 12 hours and 5 minutes. Plenty of time for stargazing!

Credit: Sorcha Lewis

Geminids Meteor Shower

The Geminids Meteor Shower falls between 4^th and 20^th December, and peaks during the late night of 14^th December and the early morning of 15^th December.

Known to produce around 150 meteors during the peak, the meteors are fast, bright and colourful, lighting the sky up with red, green, white, yellow and blue shooting stars. Radiating from the constellation of Gemini, the shower is thought to originate from debris left by asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Unfortunately, the Full Moon will hamper seeing the meteor shower in all its glory so it is worth looking up in the days before and after the peak.

Image: NASA/JPL

The Moon and Venus

On 4^th December, the Moon passes close to Venus on the low south-western horizon.

The Moon will be 12% illuminated so look out for the lovely Earthshine, where the sun’s light reflects off the surface of the Earth, illuminating the the darker part of the Moon. This occurs for a short while after sunset.

Credit: Sam Price

On the night of 14^th December, the Moon passes close to Jupiter at a distance of 5°26′. This is a little over the width of three fingers held together and held at arm’s length.

On the night of 18^th December, the Moon will pass close to Mars. The best time to see this is in the morning before sunrise.

The Moon will pass in front of (occult) Mars at around 9.30am but unfortunately daylight will make it difficult to see this.

For those who have small telescopes, you may be able to watch this if you know where you are looking, especially as Mars is reaching opposition, appearing at its largest and brightest (16^th January 2025), which means that chances of seeing this occultation are good.

Mars emerges from the south-eastern limb of the Moon at 10:16am but by this time, both objects are very low on the horizon.

Credit: Stellarium

Orion Nebula (M42)

RA 5h 35m 17s | Dec -5° 23′ 28″

The Orion Nebula is always worth a mention this time of year as it’s simply the most beautiful nebula to study, whether you have binoculars or a telescope.

Even with the unaided eye, this nebula appears as a gleaming, bloated star, like a jewel in the sword sheath that hangs from the belt of the Constellation of Orion.

Credit: NASA ESA M. Robberto Space Telescope Science Institute ESA and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

It is positioned well in the south-eastern / southern sky around 10pm during the month of December. The constellation is also easy to find as it is one of the brightest and most recognisable.

The easiest way to spot this constellation is to look out for three close-knit and equally-spaced stars that represent Orion’s belt.

Just below the belt hangs three, tiny stars that dangle vertically like a sword. Look for two bright stars that are either side of the sword, representing Orion’s feet and three above the belt, which comprises the shoulders and head. It should resemble an angular hourglass.

Credit: Sam Price

Through 10×50 binoculars, the Orion Nebula appears to look like the side profile of a tiny open flower, with a bright core and a slight, fuzzy outline. The nebula resolves wonderfully through telescopes of six inches of aperture and above. Through larger telescopes, nebulaic filaments can be seen and with young eyes, it even takes on slight colour.

Credit: Michael Vlasov from Deepskywatch.com

37 Cluster (NGC 2169)

RA: 06h 08m 24.3s | Dec: +13° 57′ 53″

This is a fun object to discover. Situated 3600 light years from Earth, this open cluster is located in the constellation of Orion and is a challenge to find. Look for the red supergiant Betelgeuse and in dark skies, you will see Orion’s raised arm.

Use your finder scope to locate the two stars at the ‘elbow joint’ and move it downwards slightly until you see a small, tight cluster of stars.

Look through your eyepiece; these stars should resemble the number 37, or depending on the telescope, XY, or LE or even a mirrored version of the number 37.

Credit: ScottRak – Own work CC BY-SA 3.0

Christmas tree cluster (NGC 2264)

RA: 06h 42m 20s | DEC: +09° 52’ 13”
This open cluster, full of young stars, lies 2350 light years away from us and is situated in the constellation of Monoceros.

Look for the red star Betelgeuse which comprises the right-hand shoulder of the constellation of Orion. Look for the left-hand star that is the foot of the constellation of Gemini and the Christmas Tree Cluster lies at a small distance from that star. Use your telescope’s finder scope to sight a small, tight cluster of stars and then look through your eyepiece to view it in magnified detail.

The stars can be easily seen but the Cone Nebula may be a bit of a challenge – mainly because it is tiny! Use your averted vision to see whether you can spot the cone.

You can see from the image that this open cluster resembles lights on a Christmas tree. At the top of the tree, lies the Cone Nebula at a distance of 2700 light years. It just so happens that both these objects appear to form this festive shape from our viewpoint in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Credit: ESA

NGC2264 is an emission nebula where the stars formed, but can only be captured with cameras.

In December 2023, NASA created an animation where a photograph of the young stars emitting X-rays was overlaid on the emission nebulae. You can see this by tapping the image.

You can see two out of three of these components visually using telescopes of eight inches and larger – as long as you are away from light pollution.

Credit: NASA

The post Eyes on the Night Sky – December 2024 appeared first on Elan Valley.

Curlew Monitoring Volunteer Project

Sam Price — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 12:18:21 +0000

Do you love the outdoors and conservation?

We’re looking for volunteers who would like to help us monitor the beautiful curlew. It is thought that numbers are declining at a rate of around 6% per year which means they could potentially become extinct by 2030.

It is important that curlew are identified and where possible, provide protection during the breeding season and identify whether they have been successful in raising their young.

If you are interested in curlew monitoring, please get in touch

The post Curlew Monitoring Volunteer Project appeared first on Elan Valley.