August 2023 | Elan Valley

Eyes on the Night Sky – September 2023

Sam Price — Thu, 24 Aug 2023 10:08:47 +0000

Welcome to this month’s edition of Eyes on the Night Sky, where the Elan Valley Dark Sky Team pick out their favourite night sky objects to study in the September night sky with the unaided eye, binoculars or telescopes.

The sun sets at around 8pm this time of year and darkness falls at around 10pm, which isn’t too late to look for deep sky objects such as galaxies.

September Constellations

The Summer constellations continue their march into the western sky during this month; the constellations of Hercules and Lyra relatively well-placed. Cygnus is directly South with the Milky Way meandering through it, whilst the constellation of Pegasus with its enormous square asterism rises from the east with the constellation of Andromeda in its wake.

You can download the printable constellation map from here (credit: Dominic Ford, author in-the-sky.org).

The New Moon falls on 15^th September and the Full Moon on 29^th September.

Credit & Copyright: Dan Bartlett

Comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura

We may have a special visitor in the early morning skies in the early part of September: Comet C/2023 P1 Nishimura. Recently discovered on 11^th August by Hideo Nishimura, its closest approach to Earth will be on 12^th September and may be spotted rising in the North-east at around 5am.

The best chance to see it relatively well-placed in the sky is around 4am on 2^nd September. It reaches perihelion, where it is closest to the Sun, on 17^th September. At the time of writing, it is currently bright enough to be seen by telescopes but could get bright enough to be seen with binoculars during the first week of September. Cometary activity and brightness are extremely hard to predict so keep an eye on reports and updates as they happen.

On 5^th September at around midnight, look to the east and you will see the waxing gibbous Moon with Jupiter on the right-hand side and the Pleiades Star Cluster on the left. Uranus lies in the 8-o clock position from the Moon and can both be seen with binoculars.

Bright Venus rises at around 4am at the beginning of the month. On 12^th September, try to spot Venus to the right of the waning crescent moon; it is only 6% illuminated and by 5am, you may be able to see Earthshine on the lunar surface. If you have a telescope handy, take a look at Venus – the planet will also be in phase at about 20% full, looking like a little crescent Moon.

The best time to spot Neptune will be on 19^th September, where it will be at its brightest and at its closest approach to earth (Opposition). At 2.7 billion miles form Earth, this ice giant can only be seen through powerful telescopes. You can try finding it with a 4-6 inch telescope where it may appear like a blue steady disk but it is a challenge to find.

On 22^nd September, Mercury will be at greatest western elongation which means it will be at the highest point above the horizon. The planet will lie low in the eastern sky before the sun rises.

The September Equinox falls on 23^rd September, where the Sun will reach the Zenith (highest point in the sky) for those living along the Earth’s equator. For the rest of us, there will be an equal amount of daylight and night. It is also the first day of Autumn.

Galaxies Galore

September is a good time to study a few galaxies – in fact, a galaxy that is our nearest neighbour at 2.5 million light years distant.

Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

RA 0h 42m 44s | Dec +41° 16′ 9″

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is a spectacular object that can be seen with the unaided eye in a rural sky but starts to look incredible through binoculars as a well-defined ellipse with a bright core. With a telescope of 8 inches of aperture and above in a dark sky, you may see hints of a dark dust lane. You will also see two other galaxies, M110 which lies above Andromeda Galaxy, and M32, which is the fuzzy ellipse just below.

Triangulum Galaxy (M33)

RA 1h 33m 50s | Dec +30° 39′ 37″

The Triangulum Galaxy is 2.73 million light years away and is situated in the constellation of Triangulum. It is the third largest galaxy in the Local Group, with Andromeda Galaxy being the largest containing 1 trillion stars, our Milky Way Galaxy with 400 billion stars and the Triangulum Galaxy comprising 40 billion stars. You many be able to see this galaxy with the unaided eye in very dark skies but it can be spotted with binoculars as a ‘fuzzy blob’. Through telescopes of 8 inches aperture and larger, you may start to see the spiral arms, which become more apparent with increases in telescope size.

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Festival of Archaeology and History

Dylan Bowman-Phillips — Thu, 10 Aug 2023 10:08:38 +0000

The last weekend of July saw the Elan Valley Festival of Archaeology and History, a superb weekend and journey through millennia. The visitors, who travelled from across the UK to attend the festival, with an official opening by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, were met with re-enactors of many eras roaming the bustling valley.

Visitors had a chance to meet some of the valley’s earlier inhabitants, from dinosaurs, our prehistoric ancestors, Roman soldiers, medieval Welsh and Norman rivals as well as Victorian navvies.

Dinosaurs lurked in the bushes near Cnwch Woods whilst ancient crafts were on display. The shouts of Roman commanders bellowed through the valley as shields and spears clashed and scruffy Victorians got up to questionable antics!

Many a brave visitor donned the famous Lorica Segmentata of the earlier Roman legionaries and learned many historic, sometimes ancient crafts such as cuttlefish casting, bronze casting, leatherwork and painting.

Norman and Welsh soldiers fiercely skirmished behind the Visitor Centre in a recreation of Welsh lord, Einion Clud of Elfael’s, ambush at the hands of Roger Mortimer that took place right here near Maen Serth, c. 1176.

Victorians ran largely unchecked, playing tricks on visitors and smuggling a bottle or two beneath their coats!

A pop-up museum displayed a range of original artefacts and a WWII first aid post, as well as a Victorian surgeon, explained the risks, injuries and treatments the navvies faced when constructing the dams – Caban Coch the ever-impressive backdrop to it all!

The Visitor Centre housed a number of groups highlighting the wealth of archaeology that exists within the area, as well as an incredible display showcasing war strategies using miniatures.

Thank you to ImageYou, who kindly provided the excellent images showcased here above.

Thank you to the following as well as the countless visitors, many volunteers, organisers and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who all made the incredible event possible:

Re-enactors, Living History and other Outdoor Displays:

Dinomania
Ancientcraft
Kevin Goodman – The Time Traveling medicine man
Alison and Hughes Hand Made Things
Milles Des Marches
Cwmwd Iâl
Ragged Victorians
Colin and Dianne German WW2 display
Roman Legio VIII Augusta MGV
History Matters
Arteology
Vic Pardoe
Chris Franklin Travelling Museum

Archives, Trusts, Museums and other Indoor Displays:

PAS Cymru, SFLO Wrexham Museum
Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust
Timescape Museum, Rhayader
Abbey Cwmhir Heritage Trust
Martin Hackett Miniatures – The Border Warlords
Elan Links archives
Powys Archives
Trysor Heritage services
Rhadnorshire Museum
Claire Marshall – Plateau Archaeology and heritage sound design

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Eyes on the Night Sky – August 2023

Sam Price — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 10:17:03 +0000

August is a fantastic time of year where the night skies are rich with nebulae and star clusters.

Astronomical darkness starts a little earlier this month, from 12:44am in Scotland, 11.50pm in mid latitudes of the UK and 11:45pm in the south. There are some wonderful objects to discover, including a spectacular meteor shower and a pretty conjunction of stars, planets and the Moon.

August Constellations

The best time of night to start stargazing is around midnight; see the Milky Way rise to the right of the Constellation of Sagittarius, a region rich in deep sky objects, meander through the heart of the Aquila and veer left of Lyra. Look for the Square of Pegasus in the east and Bootes setting into the west, the bright star Arcturus identifying the location of this kite-shaped asterism.

You can download the printable constellation map from here (credit: Dominic Ford, author in-the-sky.org).

The New Moon falls in 16th August and the Full Moon occurs twice: on the 1st and 31st August.

Conjunction of Planets, the Moon and a Star Cluster

On 9th August, there will be an early morning conjunction of Jupiter, the Moon and the Pleiades Star Cluster. Look to the east after midnight and see the Moon and Jupiter rise. To the left of the Moon, try and spot the Pleiades Star Cluster. If you use your binoculars to look at the Moon, the bright star lying at the 5 o’ clock position is the planet Uranus.

Perseid Meteor Shower

The Perseid meteor shower is expected to be a great one this year, peaking on the late night of 12th August and into the early morning of 13th August. The waxing crescent Moon will set at around 7.25pm, which will provide the perfect dark skies to watch the most spectacular meteor shower of the year.

Radiating from the constellation of Perseus, you don’t have to look in that direction as the ‘shooting stars’ appear anywhere in the sky. As these dust particles, thought to be the debris of Comet Swift/Tuttle hit our atmosphere, the speed of the object plus the friction with our atmosphere causes the meteoroids to heat up and catch fire, leaving persistent trains and even a smoky tail. It is so easy to watch this – just wrap up warm, bring a drink, lie on a blanket, look up and enjoy! It is believed that 150 meteors per hour during the peak time may be seen.

Riches in Sagittarius

August is the best month to study some stunning deep space objects in the constellation of Sagittarius. You will need access to a low horizon to see the constellation, which looks like a celestial teapot. You can use your binoculars to view the wealth of stars in the field of view and faint smudges, some of which are nebulae, open clusters and globular clusters. We have selected some of the best objects to discover below:

Lagoon Nebula

RA 18h 3m 37s | Dec -24° 23′ 12″

This emission nebula, lying 5200 light years away is also known as Messier 8 and is one of many stunning features in the constellation of Sagittarius. Discovered by Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna in 1654, the then dark skies would have made it easily discoverable but he added this to his list of objects to avoid, as he was a comet hunter. In the heart of this nebula lies NGC 6530, a star cluster; these stars give off huge amounts of radiation which lights up the gas and creates the nebula’s structure.

The nebula can be spotted through binoculars as a fuzzy patch of light and through small telescopes, an oval structure can be determined.

Trifid Nebula

RA 18h 2m 23s | Dec -23° 1′ 48″

This stunning nebula was discovered by Charles Messier in 1764 and is located 9000 light years away. Also known as Messier 20, it is an interesting combination an open star cluster, a reflection and an emission nebula. Like its neighbour, the Lagoon Nebula, the open star cluster generates ultraviolet radiation, which lights up the gas. The shape of the nebula, which can be seen from photographs, has a three-lobed structure.

It can be seen through binoculars and small telescopes but through larger telescopes in dark skies you may start to see structural details.

Messier 23

RA 17h 56.8m | Dec -19° 01´

Try and find this open cluster of stars which can be found with binoculars in a rural sky. Situated 2050 light years away, it contains around 176 stars. It is an object that is better seen through binoculars or a small telescope. Even if it is not that impressive visually, you will have discovered one of the oldest open clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy.

Messier 22

RA: 18h 36m 24m 21s | Dec: -23° 54′ 9.73″

This little-known globular cluster is one of the brightest ones in the night sky. It’s relatively low position in the sky makes it difficult for those who live surrounded by buildings or hills so it is worth visiting a dark sky area with a good horizon. It was one of the first globular clusters to be discovered by an astronomer named Abraham Ihle in 1665. Situated 10,600 light years away, it can be resolved in a small telescope – from 6 inches of aperture. An 8-inch telescope will reveal hundreds of stars. Despite it being a bright object, visually, it cannot be compared to the brightness of the Great Cluster in Hercules (M13) as it lies low on the horizon where the atmosphere is thicker than higher up in the sky, which can obscure what you are trying to see.

Messier 28

RA: 18h 24m 32.89s

Dec: –24° 52′ 11.4″

A third globular cluster that is worth hunting for is Messier 28 that lies 17,900 light years away. Binoculars will reveal a faint patch of light in a dark rural sky and stars are resolved through telescopes.

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Shooting Stars at Cosmic Cwtsh

Sam Price — Sat, 15 Jul 2023 10:55:21 +0000

Date: 12^th August 2023

Time: 9.30pm

Meet at Gwaelod y Rhos car park SN 902673.

Come and join the Elan Valley Dark Skies Team and watch the most spectacular meteor shower of the year, the Perseids. The team will be on hand to show you some constellations, the Milky Way and will have their telescopes ready to view some celestial objects in closer detail. We will also see some spectacular shooting stars under the skies of the Elan Valley Dark Sky Park.

Please note, this is a weather dependent event. If you would like to come along, it is essential that you book your place by emailing us at darkskies@elanvalley.org.uk so that we can keep in touch.

Please bring warm clothing, stout boots, a blanket to lie on and a torch, plus £2 for drinks and snacks if desired – or bring your own! We will take you up a gravelled forestry track so please ensure your vehicle is in good condition. Due to the nature of the location only people over the age of 12 can attend – parents are responsible for their children. Places are limited. Meet at Gwaelod y Rhos car park at 9.30pm.

We will reserve a back-up date of 13th August should the weather not play ball on the 12th!

FULLY BOOKED – PLEASE EMAIL US TO GO ON THE RESERVE LIST

_{(Photo by Austin Human on Unsplash)}

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Hearth and Home

Rosie Slay — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 14:13:52 +0000

Journey back in time at our hands-on history day.

We’re taking over CARAD’s yard and theatre for two days of family-friendly crafts. Mill your own flour, make candles with a Victorian Beekeeper, paint a tapestry with natural paints and much, much more. Featuring Arteology, Wye Willow, History Matters, Vic Pardoe and Paula Light.

Free. No booking required. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Venue: CARAD, East St Rhayader, LD6 5ER

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