www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

padfield wrote:Sorry Lee - I was only trying to be helpful!

I know Guy, it was just a little early for my brain for such formulas!

Cheers

Lee

Another from Switzerland (21st Feb)

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1102/mw ... r_2000.jpg

Jack

Wow....

On 19th there is going to be a supermoon, last seen around 20 years ago.

Source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/38/20110309/ts ... fda55.html

On 19 March, the full moon will appear unusually large in the night sky as it reaches a point in its cycle known as 'lunar perigee'.
Stargazers will be treated to a spectacular view when the moon approaches Earth at a distance of 221,567 miles in its elliptical orbit - the closest it will have passed to our planet since 1992.

The full moon could appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter in the sky, especially when it rises on the eastern horizon at sunset or is provided with the right atmospheric conditions.

Should make for quite a sight and good for photography if conditions are right.

Thanks for that, Dave - I hadn't seen that was coming up. I'll be out there, gazing and wondering...

Guy

The other delight of this moon proximity is the spectacular tides this weekend.
Our local tides, the highest in the country at around 8.5m to 10m on a good spring, will reach 10.5m on Sunday and Monday.
This means that high tide will look spectacular, but, best of all, the extraordinary low tides mean you can see creatures that normally never uncover at low tide.
Get to your nearest rocky beach this weekend for a real rock pooling treat.
Sadly, Guy, that is not so easy for you, is it?

I haven't looked it up but that should imply a spectacular Severn Bore a day or two after full moon. For those who have never seen the Severn Bore, it's well worth the effort.

Jack

http://www.severn-bore.co.uk/2011%20times.html
Sunday is the best day.
Jack - are you going to slip into your wetsuit and get your longboard out of hibernation?

It has been pointed out to me that my previous post seems to suggest this coming weekend for rock pooling.
It is, of course, meant to be the weekend of Sunday 20th March.
Sorry to mislead you.

Amazing Saturn

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110315.html

Jack

Right now (18:36 Friday 18/03/11) in North Devon we have a cloudless sky, and the moon looks HUGE.
The tide under Barnstaple bridge is really high, and the peak hasn't been reached yet (Sunday/Mon)!!
Have lovely weekends all of you.

Waiting for cloud to pass, doesn't look hopeful, just see a bright glow around cloud, have camera ready to photograph it if the cloud lets me.

Edit, here is an image of the moon I just was able to get through cloud

Highest tides in Norfolk are Sun & Mon evening @ 18.45 & 1927 respectively. If there are good sunsets it is ideal to get pics of the famous Snettisham wading bird spectacular against the sunset. Tide & sunset will be approx inline about 2 hours before high tide at the point where there path from c/p meets sea wall. I was down there tonight & a fair number of waders were about & did their little mass flights. Not as many as Sept/Oct though. If anyone wanted to see it in full, first 3 days of Aug are good in morning. Also last3 days Aug/first 2 days sept also mornings. then again last 3 days sept. All depends on the weather though, ideal is a clear morning with force 4 northeasterly wind, then it is truly spectacular. Eric

This was the shot I managed.
Rock pooling Sunday midday.
Watching high tide at Instow with Chinese take-away in my van on Monday night - heaven.

The perigee full moon is little more than an astronomical curiosity but at least it has captured the popular imagination; that must be good.

But in scientific terms, the successful insertion of the Messenger spacecraft into orbit around Mercury is far more impressive, especially as reported in The Times:

“...and followed an intricate series of manoeuvres designed to escape the gravitational pull of the Sun”.

Escaping the gravitational pull of the Sun has not yet been achieved by a man-made object although the early Voyagers will do so eventually. What of course has been achieved with Messenger is to put it into orbit round a planet rather than being simply (as up to now) in orbit round then Sun. But unless planet Mercury has somehow managed to escape the gravitation pull of the sun......I think not!

Mercury is currently just visible in the evening sky as it begins to get dark, low in the south west, but tricky to see without binoculars.

http://www.heavens-above.com/

Jack

And don't forget Cassini, which went into orbit around Saturn in 2004. Whenever I look at Saturn I try to get my head around the fact there is still an earth spaceship circling it and bits of earth technology smashed up on its moon, Titan...

Guy

Can anyone tell me what time the moon will be on the horizon this evening?

You can get the precise rise and set times for where you live from http://www.heavens-above.com/ if you sign in with your location. Go down to Astronomy - Sun and Moon data for today.

Guy

Susie. Rules of thumb.

Full moon rises as the sun sets. Full moon sets as the sun rises.

New moon rises with the sun and sets as the sun sets. However, what is colloqually known as a "New Moon", a thin crescent in the evening sky, sets shortly after the sun. As the crescent gets bigger, so it sets later and later over the subsequent days (in round figures, 50 mins later each day). The illuminated part of the crescent moon faces the sun and not away as is so often (irritatingly) shown – Christmas Cards are notorious offenders.

Jack

Cloud here only let me see the bottom half of the moon as it began to rise, rats. Oh well.