As Ceres reaches opposition this week, back garden telescopes will be able to catch it in the constellation of Aquarius! But how do dwarf planets like Ceres fit into our picture of the solar system? Although not as big or flashy as the larger planets, dwarf planets have a lot to offer the world of …
Underground Salt Water on Ceres
Thanks to data from NASA‘s Dawn spacecraft, scientists have found evidence for underground salt water on Ceres. The spacecraft was able to provide detailed views of the mysterious bright areas on the surface of the dwarf planet. Scientists realised that these bright areas were sodium carbonate deposits, which must have been formed from a salty …
Perseids Meteor Shower 2020: How you can view it
In the month of August, we are treated to one of the most spectacular sights in the astronomical calendar: the Perseids meteor shower! Widely regarded as the biggest meteor shower of the year, the Perseids can produce displays of up to 150 meteors an hour. You don’t want to miss out on this opportunity! What …
ExoMars finds new Martian gas signatures
ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) has been in orbit around the planet Mars since 2016. It’s primary purpose is to search for small traces of gases in the Martian atmosphere. In particular, those that may indicate the presence of biological life! We’re still a long way off answering that big question, but the spacecraft …
Spotlight on Jupiter
This month is a great time to see Jupiter in our night skies. Appearing in the south, the largest planet in our solar system is a brilliant sight, whether you’re observing with the naked eye, or following the path of its moons with binoculars! But what is this distant planet really like? A Planetary Goliath …
Solar Orbiter obtains first images for ESA
Today marks the release of the very first images taken by ESA’s Solar Orbiter. Having performed its first close approach to the Sun, Solar Orbiter has become the closest spacecraft to take images of the Sun. These stunning new images are already exciting scientists, showing the Sun at higher resolutions than we’ve ever seen before. …
New Horizons First Look at Pluto 5 Years Ago Today
On this day 5 years ago, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft gave us a whole new view on Pluto. The spacecraft spent 9 and a half years swinging past Jupiter and heading to the edge of the solar system, before coming within 7,800 km of the distant dwarf planet. Prior to this, we didn’t know much …
Spotlight on Venus
As the Earth’s nearest neighbour, Venus is one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky. Named after the Roman goddess of love, it shines resplendently, often just after sunset or before sunrise. This week, it will be particularly bright, as it reaches its greatest brightness in the dawn sky of the 8th. …
Thanks for bearing with us
Thanks for bearing with us at this difficult time. As the country begins to open up again with the easing of coronavirus restrictions, we wanted to let you know that we will be back – just not quite yet. Woking Planetarium closed its doors at the beginning of March. As a result, we had to …
Comet NEOWISE – How you can see it
This month sees an exciting new object grace our skies. Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE, more commonly known as Comet NEOWISE, was discovered by the NEOWISE space telescope on the 27th March 2020. But don’t worry, you don’t need to launch yourself into space to see it! Comets are notoriously unpredictable, and it’s often difficult for …