I put my comments on the Environment thread as it gets more clicks than Space, DEW. 😁
I certainly find that true from personal experience. I seldom bother to put out my telescope now.

Got a dramatic view of ISS rising in the west yesterday evening.
Roger

Light pollution obviously affects a lot of observations and has done increasingly so for the last 4 decades, that said it's something that a lot of people have to contend with. 
FWIW if it's of interest, you shouldn't need a telescope to view Comet 2022 E3 [ZTF]...maybe naked eye is optimistic, but binoculars will suffice if the sky is clear.

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Comet 2022 E3 [ZTF] is currently visible to the naked eye. Whilst it is past it's brightest, it's closest approach to the earth is on 1st February 2023. It's suggested that the last time this green tailed comet would have been visible on earth would have been during the Ice Age ........
https://science.nasa.gov/comet-2022-e3-ztf 

I'm adding this link to your useful Heads Up, John:

"Now that the comet has finally broken out of the constellation of Corona Borealis, where it has been for a long time, and is visible in both the morning and evening sky for observers at mid-northern latitudes, it is heading north, gaining speed as it pushes up past the handle of the Big Dipper en-route to its month’s end fly-by of Polaris, the Pole Star."

How to see Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in the sky
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/comet-c-2022-e3-ztf/ 
 

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A very recently discovered asteroid will pass within 2,200 miles of Earth tonight; that’s extremely close - well inside the orbits of many of our satellites.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64411469 
 

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A very recently discovered asteroid will pass within 2,200 miles of Earth tonight; that’s extremely close - well inside the orbits of many of our satellites.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64411469 
 

"The size of a double-decker bus" - nice photo-montage on BBC!

R.

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This was an enjoyable watch the other night. 'Earth set' as seen from the moon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jD6rH6zdnQ 

 

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Mysterious 'whirlpool' appears in the night sky above Hawaii [+photo]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-64458511 

Possibly a SpaceX launch phenomenon

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If you are near an east-facing window look at the rising "Snow Moon".  Now. 17.15hrs.... It's a good 'un. 👍
https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/full-moon-snow-2023/ 

Roger

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New Scientist:
"Science is filled with imagined realities – beliefs that will turn out to be untrue – and the idea that interstellar objects are simply rocks could be one of them, writes physicist Avi Loeb"

What would aliens they make of our hate-driven, genocidal, planet-raping species, I wonder? Perhaps they will like us? R. 😬

Space rock or flashy alien technology? We're going to find out
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2357049-space-rock-or-flashy-alien-technology-were-going-to-find-out/ 

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Venus and Jupiter are moving together towards a conjunction on 1 March. Apparently they should both be viewable through the same telescopic field. Their approach was very apparent this evening.

https://sites.rowan.edu/planetarium/blog/2023/03/conjunction-venus-jupiter.html 

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Venus and Jupiter are moving together towards a conjunction on 1 March. Apparently they should both be viewable through the same telescopic field. Their approach was very apparent this evening.

https://sites.rowan.edu/planetarium/blog/2023/03/conjunction-venus-jupiter.html 

Yes I just came here to post about this. They were very noticeable low down to the west when I went to put the bins out earlier on.

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Yes I just came here to post about this. They were very noticeable low down to the west when I went to put the bins out earlier on.

Admired them on Saturday evening. Very impressive looking west across the Witham valley.👍

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BBC reporting that the Northern Lights were visible last night as far south as Somerset. Did anyone see them?

I noticed last night, late on, how clear it was with a superb display of Orion even in a streetlit city centre, but my aspect is southwards, and didn't think to look the other way.

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BBC reporting that the Northern Lights were visible last night as far south as Somerset. Did anyone see them?

I noticed last night, late on, how clear it was with a superb display of Orion even in a streetlit city centre, but my aspect is southwards, and didn't think to look the other way.

Nope, didn't see anything here. Then again, it's Sod's law that it's usually overcast when any astronomical events occur.

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Images on BBC
Spectacular northern lights sighted across UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64782372 

 

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Images on BBC
Spectacular northern lights sighted across UK
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64782372 

 

More tonight? See:
https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 
https://www.spaceweather.com/ 
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/heres-exact-time-see-northern-115006403.html 
 

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More tonight? See:
https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 
https://www.spaceweather.com/ 
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/heres-exact-time-see-northern-115006403.html 
 

Cheers Roger, as always. 👍

Planning to see it this evening/tonight, IF the clouds clear, as I've missed it last night.

Currently extremely miserable, cloudy, and showery in Sheffield. 😡

Anyway, now receiving red alert on AuroraWatch, so those living in suitable areas, keep an eye out!!

Cheers Roger, as always. 👍

Planning to see it this evening/tonight, IF the clouds clear, as I've missed it last night.

Currently extremely miserable, cloudy, and showery in Sheffield. 😡

Anyway, now receiving red alert on AuroraWatch, so those living in suitable areas, keep an eye out!!

It's certainly worth a try. After seeing that, I've put my time-lapse camera on the roof, just in case the sky does clear for a time. My finegrs are crossed, but we'll see. 🤞

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Too much cloud cover here! No stars visible! Anyone luckier?

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Too much cloud cover here! No stars visible! Anyone luckier?

Nope. The peak of the conjuction was yesterday, so they will be moving gradually further apart now.

I have to say, the UK weather really is a nightmare for astronomy. We've missed any chance to see the aurora over the weekend, and now we've missed this conjunction. It's almost as if the weather gods know there's something going on. What's even more frustrating is that next week, when the winds turn more northerly, you can guarantee we will get a run of completely clear, cloudless nights then.

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Younger TWO readers might want to know about 2023 DW! 🙄

"A newly detected asteroid has a very small chance of impacting the Earth in 2046, Nasa tweeted on Tuesday. If it does hit, the asteroid, roughly the size of an Olympic swimming pool, may arrive on Valentine's Day 2046 according to Nasa calculations... If it does collide with us, 2023 DW would not have the same doomsday effect as the asteroid that decimated the Earth's dinosaurs 66 million years ago. That asteroid was far bigger at 7.5 miles (12km) wide, Scientific American says."

Asteroid headed toward Earth may arrive on Valentine's Day 2046 - Nasa
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-64919125 
 

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