Author: Dominic Ford

A good number of people were successful in witnessing the final phases of the total lunar eclipse from the UK.

This Saturday afternoon, on 10 December, there will be a total eclipse of the Moon.

Comet P/2011w2 Rinner was discovered on 28th November by Claudine Rinner using a 0.5m telescope in Morocco.

UK observers were unable to witness for themselves the close-pass of near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 on the night of 2011 November 8/9 owing to the country being entirely covered by impenetrable cloud as can be seen in the weather satellite images taken at the time.

Next week, there will be a chance to observe the close approach of the potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) 2005 YU55.

Exmoor National Park has been designated an International Dark Sky Reserve by the International Dark-Sky Association.

There is the possibility of an unusual outburst of Draconid meteors on the evening of Saturday, 8 October 2011.

Soaring temperatures did not deter over 80 people from attending the BAA Back to Basics Beginners’ Meeting hosted by the Cotswold Astronomical Society at Cheltenham last Saturday (1st October).

BAA members around the country managed to combine to produce a fine set of images over four nights to capture the passing of Comet 2009 P1 Garradd over the Coathanger.