Astronomy Holidays - Intrepid trips to see the stars

17/12/2018

Witness a total solar eclipse in the dramatic surrounds of Chile's Elqui Valley or Argentina's peaceful Piedra del Aguila with expert astronomer Dr John Mason.
www.intrepidtravel.com/uk/astronomy

Picture yourself looking up in awe as the Moon casts its looming shadow over the Earth, and the world as you know it is submerged in darkness… Given their rarity, observing a total solar eclipse is a sight not easily forgotten. In 2019 and 2020, there will be few places better to witness this uniq...

12/04/2016

The next week is a great time to look for Mercury in the early evening sky. The planet reaches greatest elongation, the apparent separation from the Sun in the sky, on 18th April. The innermost planet, orbiting the Sun every 88 days, will cross the face of the Sun just three weeks later on 9th May.

18 April 2016: Mercury is bright and well placed in the evening sky. – In-The-Sky.org

02/04/2016

The British Astronomical Association have produced an excellent article about next month's Transit of Mercury and how to view it safely. The entire (7½ hour) transit will be visible from the UK.

On 2016 May 9, Mercury will pass in front of the Sun, casting a small black silhouette in front of the solar disk from 12:12 until 19:42 BST.

23/03/2016

Watch lectures from the Lunar and Planetary Conference that includes an excellent summary of the New Horizons mission and update on what we have learnt about Pluto from Dr Alan Stern.

Watch National Institute of Aerospace's 2016 Lunar & Planetary Science Conference on Livestream.com. This conference brings together international specialists in petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geology, and astronomy to present the latest results of research in planetary science.

10/03/2016

A totally extraordinary day - a wonderful eclipse at the Palace of the Sultan of Tidore followed by celebrations and dancing.

05/03/2016

Intrepid Astronomy is in Ternate (Eastern Indonesia) preaparing for the total solar eclipse on 9th March. Ternate has a fascinating and colourful history, spectacular volcanic scenery and very friendly locals.

06/02/2016

Today our Icelandic Northern Lights group visited the Exploration Museum in Husavik to learn about the geology field trips undertaken by the Apollo astronauts in the 1960s.
http://www.explorationmuseum.com/

05/02/2016

Today and tomorrow you can meet some of Intrepid's astronomy team in London at the European Astrofest.
http://europeanastrofest.com

19/01/2016

In the morning sky you can catch all five naked-eye planets in one sweeping view...

Over the next two weeks, for the first time since 2005, you can see all of the naked-eye planets — from Mercury to Saturn — together in the sky at once.

11/01/2016

Thanks to Dr John Mason for these images from 5th January 2016. For our first group of 2016 this was an wonderful night at Lake Myvatn.

05/01/2016

New Year - New Tour
Intrepid has launched a new astronomy tour to Sardinia. In addition to the rugged and beautiful interior and stunning beaches, the Mediterranean island is home to one of the most advanced radio telescopes and some wonderfully dark skies.

Journey around Sardinia, exploring rugged coastlines, wild landscapes and white sandy beaches on this eight-day adventure.

21/12/2015

The Winter Solstice occurs tomorrow morning at 4:49 UTC. Around the world and throughout history people have celebrated the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

The December solstice is the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Summer Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The day has astronomical, cultural and religious significance.

15/12/2015

Those in the UK have a chance to see the International Space Station just before the Soyuz docking with Tim Peake on board. The ISS passes almost overhead at about 5.15pm.

09/12/2015

The numbers of Geminid meteors should build over the next week with rates peaking between 13th and 15th December. This shower produces the highest reliable rates year on year.

Get ready for the Geminid meteor shower! By Ade Ashford Posted on 8 December 2015 by Ade Ashford Tweet The Geminid meteor shower is active from 8—17 December, reaching a peak on Monday, 14 December when the 3-day-old Moon conveniently sets at 7:30pm GMT. From a dark location at the shower’s maximum…

07/12/2015

Tomorrow morning on Radio 4 Brian Cox and Robin Ince
have a special edition of the Infinite Monkey Cage to celebrate the 100th anniversary of General Relativity.

Brian Cox and Robin Ince celebrate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's great theory.

02/12/2015

The current El Niño has brought the highest temperatures ever recorded in the Central Pacific.

The current extreme El Niño, which many blame on climate change, is the strongest on record, smashing the previous record from 1997-8

25/11/2015

One hundred years ago today Albert Einstein changed our view of the Universe with his announcement the General Theory of Relativity.

A century ago, on 25 November 1915, Albert Einstein first announced his general theory of relativity, a cornerstone of cosmology and the key to understanding some of the most dramatic objects in the universe.

17/11/2015

If skies clear and 'Storm Barney' doesn't blow you over, take a look our for Leonid meteors that peak tonight. They should appear to radiate from the head of the constellation of Leo which rises around midnight.

10/11/2015

Pluto continues to surprise - the latest images coming through from New Horizons may show cryo-volcanoes...

New revelations from NASA's New Horizons probe shows Pluto's diverse geology is blanketed with a more compact atmosphere than we thought

04/11/2015

NASA has released a beautiful ultra-high definition video of the Sun composed of images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory.

It’s always shining, always ablaze with light and energy. In the ubiquity of solar output, Earth swims in an endless tide of particles. Every time half of th...

29/10/2015

This evening the moon will pass in front of Aldebaran, the brightest star in the constellation of Ta**us. The timing of this occultation depends upon the observer's location. In London it begins around 21:48 and end around 22:46 (GMT).

International Occultation Timing Association

23/10/2015

Learn about the frontiers of astronomy at this New Scientist Live one-day masterclass, featuring a UK exclusive talk from Alan Stern, principal investigator for NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto.

Explore the frontiers of astronomy at our one-day masterclass – hosted by acclaimed author Stuart Clarke, six leading experts will guide you around this fascinating subject. Speakers: Alan Stern, principal investigator for NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto Didier Queloz, professor of physics at…

22/10/2015

Before dawn this morning Jupiter, Venus and Mars formed a fine trio. The brighter pair, Venus and Jupiter, are closing in on each other and by Sunday morning they'll be just over 1° apart.

14/10/2015

Jupiter's complex, swirling atmosphere is beautifully depicted in this new 'portrait' from Hubble.

Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have produced new maps of Jupiter – the first in a series of annual portraits of the solar system’s outer planets.

07/10/2015

Over the next few weeks the predawn skies will be filled with planets. The crescent moon passes by the brightest planets in the next few days and once it's moved through, Mercury joins the party...

Get ready for October’s pre-dawn Moon and planet show By Ade Ashford Posted on 30 September 2015 by Ade Ashford Tweet With the exception of Saturn, all the bright naked-eye planets are gathering in the morning sky. This looping animation shows the east-southeast aspect one hour before sunrise from 8…

28/09/2015

This animation shows how the lunar eclipse would have looked from the Moon. I suspect the cloud-free view of Earth is a little idealised.

27/09/2015

Set your alarm for tonight's lunar eclipse. The key times to note are 2:07 BST as the moon enters the Earth's umbral shadow and 3:11 BST when the moon will be wholly within the umbra (totally eclipsed). The moon will appear red as it will be illuminated by light refracted through the Earth's atmosphere. This eclipse is doubly special because it occurs at lunar perigee - the point in the moon orbit when it is closest to Earth and hence it will appear larger than usual.

23/09/2015

With today’s autumnal equinox the mornings are starting to draw in. If skies are clear, the early riser can look east before the sunrise to see the brilliant Venus. The planet was a dazzling sight at 5:30 this morning.

18/09/2015

A 'supremely beautiful image' of the Svalbard eclipse has been voted the overall winner in this year's Astrophotographer of the Year competition.

This category is for landscape and cityscape images of twilight and the night sky featuring the Milky Way, star trails, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions, constellation rises, halos and noctilucent clouds alongside elements of earthly scenery. Sponsored by Insight Investment. Aurorae | Galaxies |…