Highland Astronomy offers public outreach astronomy talks and tours, and private stargazing events h He has shown me planets, galaxies, clusters and nebulae.
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👋Hi, my name is Stephen Mackintosh and I'm a freelance astronomer 🌟 and maths and science educator living in the Highlands of Scotland. 🌄 My page is Highland Astronomy and my goal is to make the night sky and astronomy easy, fun and accessible for everyone. 👨👨👦👦
To interact with me and find daily guides and videos on the night sky please interact with my page here and also reach me
on the following platforms:
Website: modulouniverse.com
Instagram:
Twitter:
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UCcCYPdcYZ2O6sYIUIHHeU4w
And if you'd like to leave a donation: buymeacoffee.com/modulouniverse
I also deliver inspirational STEM learning via my Maths and Physics Tuition business 'Mackintosh Maths and Physics Tuition': facebook.com/mackmaths
Testimonials
“Stephen is an articulate and nuanced astronomer, with a real flair for communicating complex concepts in a way that people can understand. His video telescope work is excellent, revealing details of the cosmos on a computer screen for all to see, allowing audiences to marvel at Jupiter’s moons, faint nebulae, and distant giant galaxies.” – Steve Owens, author of “Stargazing for Dummies’ .
“I’d thoroughly recommend Stephen Mackintosh to host an astronomy event. As well as being extremely knowledgeable, he is a good communicator that is well able to hold the attention of a large group. I look forward to working with him again and to what I’ll learn about and see in the night sky” — Caroline Snow, Project Manager, Merkinch Local Nature Reserve, Inverness.
“I have spent many a happy but chilly night alongside Stephen Mackintosh, enjoying a guided tour of the night sky. Every sighting has been accompanied with informative commentary about their discovery and historical background. Wrap up warm and bring a flask of hot chocolate. You will be in for an unforgettable night.” — Gavin Macfie, Writer and Outdoorsman at Living Mountain. About Stephen Mackintosh
Mathematician and astronomer Stephen Mackintosh lives with his family in Inverness, in the the Scottish Highlands. His work journey began as a physics engine programmer in the computer games industry, before embarking on a long career in life sciences as a senior research scientist and mathematical modeller. He now works freelance as an outreach astronomer and maths & physics educator. His passion for teaching and imparting knowledge of the cosmos and its mathematical underpinnings is infectious. Stephen also works part time as a mathematical modeller building space and physics simulations with potential application in the education and astrophysics sectors. Examples of this ongoing work include – gravitation and accretion dynamics, special and general relativity visualisation and stellar imagine analysis algorithms. Stephen has a BSc Honours degree in Pure & Applied Mathematics from Edinburgh University and holds an enhanced Disclosure Scotland PVG certification. He is also a former STEM ambassador and member of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications
Amazing image from Paul Warrener of Saturn emerging post lunar occultation this morning. Thanks for sharing.
"Here's one from 0508BST. To get a good exposure on Saturn as she appeared from behind the moon then the moon washes out.
500mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/15s
Exposure Comp.: -1.0EV
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 400)" - Paul
Saturn will be close to the rising waning gibbous Moon this Tuesday evening. If you're brave or up early you could try and see the occultation of Saturn and the Moon beginning 4.30am, although you'll need a telescope to see it properly due to the vast differences in brightness.
See my earlier post for more details.
Please see my new bespoke stargazing offerings for small groups of 1-4 based out of Inverness.
Hosted by Astronomer Stephen Mackintosh Tour Season: September to March During the longer nights between September and March, I host evening astronomy tours for small groups of 1-4 people based out…
Darkness is certainly drawing in rapidly now. Lovely shot of Jupiter and Mars captured in the wee hours by Kevin Williamson.
"Hi Stephen. Dark skies are returning and I hope all is good with yourself. I managed to catch a shot of the conjunction of Mars and Jupiter last night when the clouds thinned breifly. These two won't appear this close together for another 9 years, so I thought I'd try to catch them now." - Kevin
On Wednesday 21st August Saturn will be occulted by the Moon during dawn. 🪐🌖
The occultation will begin at approximately 4.30am on Wednesday morning in the low SW sky, when you may witness Saturn disappearing behind our Moon for approximately 30 mins before reappearing at around 5.03am.
Skies will be brightening at this time and the low elevation will conspire to make this a challenging spectacle to capture.
If you do go out to try your luck a telescope is your friend with a medium power eyepiece to make the best of detail and adequate framing and movement.
Good luck and clear skies.
☄️☄️The 2024 Perseids meteor shower is already underway but peak activity (when rates will be greatest) is scheduled between 11th to 13th August.
Viewing from 11.30pm on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday night should yield good possibilities. A bright waxing crescent Moon will be around but already set by this time so should not impact rates significantly. The radiant in Perseus will also be at a decent elevation by then.
The later you can wait up the better as skies will be darker and the Moon further below the horizon, and the radiant higher.
Remember to try and observe somewhere shielded from street lights, preferably under rural dark skies. Be patient, don't expect too much and good luck. 👍
Last quarter Moon as darkness gradually returns to the far north. Some stars in Aries sit above and left of the Moon this evening.
Happy Summer Solstice! Today the northern axial pole of the earth is maximally inclined towards the Sun producing the longest day.
In the north of Scotland we currently experience over 18 hours of daylight and no true night at all, as the Sun dips a mere -8 degrees below the horizon at its lowest point after 1am.
Official sunset time today is 22.20pm when the Sun will be at its greatest setting extremity towards the North, merely skimming beneath the northern horizon.
Clear skies!
Working with the Kingsmills Hotel starting this season, delivering bespoke stargazing experiences based out of Inverness.
https://www.kingsmillshotel.com/hotel/things-to-do-in-inverness/tours-and-excursions/stargazing-experiences/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2nIRyTZH8prWD11kdKP1JFoDjmcqJozK4-StJh-hRbn-sfMqDvR1kFTiQ_aem_9280lQ7jhDkmCgxpIjeooA
During the darker nights between October to March, local astronomer Stephen Mackintosh hosts evening stargazing experiences...
A predicted Nova (transient guest star) is scheduled to appear in the northern crown constellation. Let's hope it's at the long end of predictability and nearer September so skies darken enough to see it this far north!
Astronomers are anticipating the appearance of a “new star” triggered by an explosive event that could appear in the night sky anytime between now and September.
Some amazing facts and figures highlighting the impact of the Star Stories astronomy and storytelling events, which have been running up at Abriachan forest since 2018 (after a pilot in 2017).
Over 40 events delivered ✨
Close to 1800 total attendees ✨
Wide geographical distribution (see map)✨
40% of attendees Under 16s✨
Balanced engagement between male and female✨
Local schools, scouting and astronomy organisations engaged with✨
High quality home baking by Mackintosh 👍✨
Astronomy topics covered during events:
Meteors, Venus, Life of Stars, Saturn, Aurora, Variable Stars, Night sky photography, Buying a Telescope, Orion, Island Universes, Scale of the Universe, Mesolithic Stargazing, Renaissance Astronomy, Globular Clusters,Summer and Winter Solstice, Moon, Gravitational Waves, Multiverses, Lord Kelvin, Age of Universe, Planetary Nubulae, Black Holes, Space Telescopes,....
Astronomy speakers:
Martin Hendry
Steve Owens
Graham Bradshaw
Marteen De Vries
Claire Rayne
Anthony Luke
Eric Walker
Catherine Haymans
Stephen Mackintosh
Glasgow Science Centre team
Storytellers:
Barbara Henderson
John Burns
Suzann Barr
Trish Matthews
Daniel Allison
Allis Balance
Chris Holland
Fiona Macdonald
Clelland McCallum
Gordon MacLellan
With
Hope everyone is enjoying the longer days. My yearly plug for my local maths and physics tuition business. Now taking on new students for next term.
🌌🛰️☄️ In addition to more strong Aurora forecast this Saturday (if your local skies are dark enough) there's also a bright ISS pass appearing westwards at 11.24pm, and soaring east. Look for the bright moving light in the sky.
Clear skies.
Thanks for sharing Elena, Northern lights taken near Beauly yesterday.
Naked eye visibility wasn't possible in Inverness even up to about 11.30pm as skies were too bright and then lots of clouds rolled in. Did anyone have much luck later?
Would be great to see some more local images (or from further afield). I suspect England had the best of it due to emergence of proper darkness and the anomalously high density of the storm.
Very faint slither of thin crescent Moon 🌙 through the clouds towards the NW.
Reports of potentially strong aurora this weekend. The issue will be bright skies until close to midnight. It may still be worth looking north if you're out late however. Meanwhile a thin crescent Moon could be visible on your NW horizon as skies darken after 10pm
Clear skies.
The naked eye planets are presently clustered relatively close to the Sun (from Earth's perspective). Saturn and Mars should be visible before the light of dawn, but the low angle of the ecliptic and a return to long days in the north of Scotland render even these challenging to see*.
Fleeting glimpses of Jupiter are still possible directly after sunset if your low horizon is cloud free. But overall there's slim planetary pickings as the observing season up here goes into hibernation and we begin to turn our gaze northwards, contemplating azure blue midnight skies and the long red gold sunsets of summer. Plus the possibility of some noctilucent clouds.
*Further south your ecliptic is steeper and morning appearances will be easier.
Full Moon 🌕 rising in the south east tonight.
☄️☄️ The peak of the Lyrids Meteor shower will be late evening on Monday 22nd April into dawn on the 23rd. This year's shower will unfortunately occur under the brilliant light of a full Moon, which will significantly reduce your chances of seeing shooting stars.
That said the Lyrids can often produce bright fireballs and rates might be greater than average.
As with all meteor showers you best bet is to head somewhere dark away from street lights and go in with low expectations. You don't need any astronomical aids, just your eyes and hopefully some clear skies.
The later you head out the better, allowing the Lyra radiant to rise higher from the East, with pre dawn hours of the 23rd offering the best opportunity. That big bright full Moon however......
Good luck and clear skies.
🌙✨ The crescent Moon will sit close to the Pleiades star cluster on Thursday evening, with planet Jupiter burning brightly lower down towards the horizon. Look up after sunset towards the west, as skies darken into twilight.
Clear skies.
Was fortunate to catch the lovely slender crescent Moon 🌙 on display this evening, with Jupiter burning serenely nearby.
The Moon is waxing at the moment and will therefore become easier to see after sunset, in a bright crescent aspect over the next few evenings, assuming clear skies.
Farewell to planet Jupiter. Snapped setting into western twilight from the western extremity of Inverness tonight, above Clachnaharry.
🌅🌕🌑Monday's partial solar eclipse, briefly visible from parts of western Europe, is a definite case of "don't believe the hype". From Scotland the partial eclipse will be very difficult to observe.
The visible extent of the eclipse is greater the further west you are but in all cases the occultation itself will begin with the Sun very low on the western horizon as it sets, beginning about 7.50pm at all longitudes and reaching maximum occultation some minutes later.
To see the partial eclipse you therefore need to be somewhere with a very flat western horizon, perhaps looking over the sea. Otherwise terrain is likely to block your view, assuming those pesky low clouds don't spoil the show first.
Somewhere like Arasaig or any number or west facing peninsulas in the Highlands would be a good mainland location, or on the westward side of the Isles
Therefore my advice is to treat this one with very low expectations. Remember to only observe the Sun through suitable front mounted solar filters.
The sky will not darken under a glancing eclipse like this but you will see a visible chunk of light deleted from the disk of our star if you observe with solar glasses or a safely filtered telescope.
Clear skies.
eclipse
🛰️☄️Look up on Tuesday evening at 8.27pm for a bright ISS pass appearing in the Western sky.
Clear skies.
🛰️☄️🌕 Official full Moon this evening and look out for a super bright ISS pass emerging westward at 8.25pm.
clear skies.
Comet 12p Pons Brooks may potentially brighten to 5th magnitude in the coming days, meaning it could enter naked eye visibility from very dark skies (ie. not under a full Moon like tonight). Better to try with binoculars. At the moment it sits right of Jupiter close to the constellation of Andromeda. Between 8 and 9pm would be the best time to see it. Wait too late and it will set westwards.
Clear skies.
Almost full Moon will rise below Leo this evening in East. Meanwhile we still hold onto Orion in the SW but rapidly receeding westwards into our brightening spring skies.
🛰️☄️ Look up at 7.37pm on Saturday evening for a bright ISS pass emerging from the western sky. If you miss it there's a much shorter pass at 9.13pm.
Clear skies.
ISS through Orion by Paul Warrener. Bright passes are back. 🛰️☄️
On Friday evening the space station will appear in the west at 8.24pm.
Clear skies and stay tuned for further bright passes.
First quarter Moon in the horns of Ta**us, Orion, Sirius and Jupiter, still holding out towards the western horizon after dark.
Clear skies.
**us
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What's Up Guide to March Skies ✨✨ In this episode: - Sirius the brightest star in the night sky - Procyon and the Milky Way - Leo and the telescopic double star Algeiba - Cancer and the beehive cluster - Follow the arc in the Plough to Arcturus
A quick naked eye What's Up guide to Jan 2024 skies. My New Years resolution is to produce more of these on a more regular basis. This deft tour includes: - Jupiter - Orion - The Milky Way - The Pleiades - Taurus - The Plough - Polaris - The Andromeda Galaxy Happy observing.
☄️ Very bright fireball spotted and filmed from northern Scotland around 5.20pm tonight. Reposting Gordon Grant's excellent dashcam footage of a fireball meteor, filmed from Aberdeenshire. Thanks so much for sharing it Gordon. From all the comments and messages it sounds like quite a few people witnessed and even heard it.
🌟✨My quick and cheerful guide to October skies, mainly focused on bright naked eye planets. Clear skies.
Supermoon rising over Inverness 🌕
This weekend - Perseids Meteor Shower Video Guide ✨☄️☄️
Perseids Meteor Shower guide. ✨☄️☄️ #perseids #meteors #astronomy #space #stargazing #skywatching #nightsky #cosmology #stars #constellations #galaxy #milkyway #universe #science #stem #astrophotography #photography #physics #chemistry #solarsystem #outdoor #outdoorlearning #nature #walking #telescope #binoculars
Waxing gibbous Moon live
Quick video on my setup for observing the Sun. 🌟🌕. Not plugging Astrozap btw, any reputable solar filter will do the job.
Highland Astronomy's broadcast
Highland Astronomy's broadcast
Crescent 🌙 moon and planet Venus live
Mesmerising cloud formations from Inverness this evening....🌥️
ISS pass live 🛰️☄️
Venus live and May night sky chat ✨
Highland Astronomy's broadcast
Stunning drone footage of last night's Aurora shared by Kerry Werner.
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Stephen Mackintosh (Highland Astronomy) is a freelance astronomer, night sky photographer and STEM educator based in the Highlands of Scotland. He delivers public outreach astronomy talks, tours, and private stargazing events at select dark sky locations around the Inverness area and wider Highlands. His professional guiding can include any of the following:
Visit Stephen’s website and astronomy blog at modulouniverse.com.
During the darker months (September – March) Stephen offers bespoke evening stargazing tours based out of Inverness.
Click here for details on 'Evening Stargazing Tours'.
He also offers hotel based stargazing experiences and guiding from several high quality accommodations within dark sky locations across the Scottish Highlands. Please see offerings from The Torridon Resort and The Steadings.
He makes frequent appearances at science, art and music festivals, delivering interactive talks and stargazing activities. Examples: Scapa Fest (Sustainable Living in Action), Belladrum Tartan Heart (Music and Arts), the Inverness Science Festival (STEM) and The Hebridean Dark Sky Festival (Art, Science and Music).
In addition to the above Stephen leads two astronomy programmes operating out of the Abriachan Forest Dark Sky Discovery site and the Inverness Local Nature Reserve. He is also an STFC researcher and Spark Award grant holder for work in public outreach.
Full details of all scheduled astronomy programme events can be found on my Highland Astronomy page or on this page.
“Stephen is an articulate and nuanced astronomer, with a real flair for communicating complex concepts in a way that people can understand. His video telescope work is excellent, revealing details of the cosmos on a computer screen for all to see, allowing audiences to marvel at Jupiter’s moons, faint nebulae, and distant giant galaxies.” – Steve Owens, author of “Stargazing for Dummies’ @darkskyman. “I’d thoroughly recommend Stephen Mackintosh to host an astronomy event. As well as being extremely knowledgeable, he is a good communicator that is well able to hold the attention of a large group. I look forward to working with him again and to what I’ll learn about and see in the night sky” — Caroline Snow, Project Manager, Merkinch Local Nature Reserve, Inverness. “I have spent many a happy but chilly night alongside Stephen Mackintosh, enjoying a guided tour of the night sky. He has shown me planets, galaxies, clusters and nebulae. Every sighting has been accompanied with informative commentary about their discovery and historical background. Wrap up warm and bring a flask of hot chocolate. You will be in for an unforgettable night.” — Gavin Macfie, Writer and Outdoorsman at Living Mountain. “Fantastic evening; fascinating talk and loved being shown the Milky Way, various stars and constellations. Thank you.” – Claire Grove
“A great gift- an awakening to our heavenly skies.” – Rosie Newman
“Fascinating evening! Stephen is very knowledgeable and patient (given the freezing temp). We were gifted a voucher for his tour and I highly recommend it as a present for amateur star gazers in your life” – Jenni Russell
“Beautiful location, whoever knew there were so many stars! Informative, educational, enjoyable. great value. Recommended” – Bernice Nott
"Just got home from an excellent night at Abriachan stargazing with Stephen. Really enjoyed the evening especially as I’m a novice to this subject but Stephen explained it all in an easy to understand manner. And to top the evening off we had a lovely display with the Northern Lights dancing overhead. Thanks again Stephen excellent evening." - Sheila Coubrough
