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Living in Forest Row we have a much better
view of the night sky than the majority of people in the U.K. It’s not
perfect due to the inefficient street lights shining light upwards instead of just down, and the glow
from nearby towns, but the limited amount of street lights in the village mean
we have a clearer view of the night sky than those in towns and cities. Ultimately
street lights need to be not only energy efficient but also designed to limit
light pollution. See Campaign
for Dark Skies for more details.
The winter solstice occurs on the 22nd
December this year. This officially marks the first day of winter. It's also
the shortest day for us here in the northern hemisphere. The Sun is above the
horizon less than any other day of the year. This makes it the best time of the
year to view the heavens, the sky is at its darkest and humidity is low, making
the air clearer.
Here are a few items you can see with the
naked eye over the next month which you might not be aware of.
The Moon
So big it's obvious really! Full moon is on Christmas
Eve, should we read something into this! At a distance of 231,350 miles (372,323 km) the Moons gravity pulls on our oceans creating our tides. The Moon is also moving about 2.5cm away from the Earth every year.
First quarter: 17th
Full Moon: 24th
Last quarter: 31st-1st
New Moon: 8th January
Planets
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Mars: The God of War, it’s big and Orange.
The brightest object, other than the Moon, in the evening sky. -1.6
magnitude (smaller
the number the brighter it is, -1.6 is brighter than 1.6). Mars can be seen clearly in the East,
towards Upper Hartfield, over a quarter-way (32°) up in the sky
at about 8:00 pm, rising as the night progresses.
Mars closest approach is on the 18th
December. Distance to Mars from Earth = 54,782,384.6 miles (88,163,702 km).
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Venus: The Goddess of Love, is a brilliant
object dominating the morning sky rising in the east about 4am.. By dawn it
reaches 24° elevation in the south around 8:30 am and is still visible as it
gets light. -4.12 magnitude.
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Constellations
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Ursa Minor (Little Dipper, Little Bear).
North (right of Ashurst Wood). Contains Polaris the North Star (1.96 magnitude)
which is 432 light years away, light travels at 186,282.397 miles per second
about 1.2 seconds to the Moon.
If you ever get lost in Ashdown Forest
at night (!?!?!) follow Polaris and you’ll be back in the village. If you
know what the plough (big dipper, part of Ursa Major) looks like, find the two
stars at the right hand side, if the plough was sitting on the ground,
and use these as pointers up to Polaris.
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Satellites
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The international Space Station (ISS)
ISS can be seen regularly from Forest Row
as its orbit crosses the south of England. It appears brighter the
more directly over head it passes and could be mistaken for a plane, no
flashing lights though. Click here to find out more.
Below is a table of dates and times to see
ISS, remember the smaller the magnitude the brighter it is.
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| Date |
Mag. |
Starts |
Max. Altitude |
Ends |
| Time |
Alt. |
Az. |
Time |
Alt. |
Az. |
Time |
Alt. |
Az. |
| 17 |
-1.2 |
16:05:53 |
10 |
W |
16:08:00 |
44 |
WNW |
16:11:36 |
10 |
E |
| 17 |
-1.9 |
17:40:54 |
10 |
W |
17:43:43 |
58 |
SSW |
17:44:42 |
34 |
SE |
| 18 |
-0.6 |
16:27:04 |
10 |
W |
16:32:00 |
17 |
E |
16:32:47 |
10 |
E |
| 18 |
-0.7 |
18:02:10 |
10 |
W |
18:04:44 |
30 |
SSW |
18:05:27 |
26 |
S |
| 19 |
-1.9 |
16:48:11 |
10 |
W |
16:51:00 |
61 |
SSW |
16:53:49 |
10 |
ESE |
| 19 |
0.6 |
18:23:49 |
10 |
WSW |
18:25:35 |
15 |
SW |
18:26:21 |
14 |
SSW |
| 20 |
-0.6 |
17:09:20 |
10 |
W |
17:11:58 |
32 |
SSW |
17:14:32 |
10 |
SE |
| 21 |
0.7 |
17:30:48 |
10 |
WSW |
17:32:43 |
16 |
SW |
17:34:35 |
10 |
S |
| 22 |
-0.5 |
16:16:19 |
10 |
W |
16:18:58 |
34 |
SSW |
16:21:36 |
10 |
SE |
| 23 |
0.9 |
16:37:38 |
10 |
W |
16:39:38 |
17 |
SW |
16:41:38 |
10 |
S |
At this time of year, whether it is from a
religious aspect or simply awe at the vastness of the heavens, there are lots
of reasons to “look up”!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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