Petersfield Dark Skies Night

Stay at home and look up

We live in a beautiful place and because the South Downs National Park is a designated Dark Skies area the views at night can be as rewarding as those we enjoy during the day.

So this Thursday, to coincide with the New Moon, we encourage you to look up at night and enjoy the majesty of the planets and stars that bear silent witness to life on our planet.

Our friends at Hampshire Astronomical Group and the South Downs National Park have provided information to help you get the most from your stargazing and planet watching.

Stare and share

What did you see? How did it make you feel? Why not record your experience in words on your mobile phone and send your recording to team@petersfieldradio.uk so we can share it in our programmes.

What about the weather?

Will we get a clear view on Thursday night?
Petersfield Community Radio weatherman Richard Marks certainly thinks so.

What to look for on Thursday night

Venus

The brightest light in the night sky will be Venus. Look towards the west in the coming weeks, it will look like a very bright star. The Moon will not be visible as it will be a new moon which means it will rise and set at about the same times as the Sun.

Jupiter

A bright object low down in the southeast just before sunrise. Good binoculars or a small telescope will show its four biggest moons discovered by Galileo. They are called Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

Saturn

Rises with Jupiter but is not as bright. You will find it to the east (left) of Jupiter. A small telescope will show its rings.

Mars

Rises soon after Jupiter and Saturn a bit further to the east. It is about the same brightness as Saturn but is lower in the sky. In a dark sky its colour is a distinct reddish orange.

The Plough in Ursa Major

Directly overhead is the pattern of stars known as “The Plough”. This is not a constellation but is a pattern called an asterism. The plough forms part of the larger constellation of Ursa Major, The Great Bear.

The North Star

The two stars opposite the “handle” of the Plough are known as the “Pointers”. They point to the Pole Star, Polaris, which marks the point in the sky above the north pole. If you can find Polaris you will know which direction is north, and its altitude in the sky will give  your geographic latitude (how far north of the equator you are) . Longitude (how far east or west of Greenwich you are) is more difficult to determine.

The Milky Way

Rises soon after Jupiter and Saturn a bit further to the east. It is about the same brightness as Saturn but is lower in the sky. In a dark sky its colour is a distinct reddish orange.

How to look at the night sky

Thanks to being in a dark skies area, our night sky is beautiful to the naked eye, but binoculars and telescopes can get you closer to the action.

Steve Broadbent is chairman of Hampshire Astronomical Group based at Clanfield Observatory. He says that binoculars can give better views but if you plan to use a telescope make sure it’s a reasonable quality one. The very cheapest telescopes are not good value, he says, and any portable telescope should have a good solid tripod if it’s to be useful.