Steve Brown - astronomy and astrophotography

This is the Blood Moon again, but this time 30 6-second images stacked. I think it might have gained a little bit in detail, but I might like the color better on the first one. #Astronomy #Astrophotography

Here's a quick animation of this AM's total lunar eclipse, with one shot every five minutes through the Dwarf Mini through partial phases up to totality when clouds shut down the show:

Stunning capture of it - great work 😀

a closeup of a total lunar eclipse showing detail in moon's maria and craters. it has a very orange color that starts darker at upper left, getting progressively brighter toward lower right

A closer view of last night's total lunar eclipse at mid-eclipse. I stacked the best 20 of 50, 0.8s ISO 400 exposures with Autostakkert, sharpened with Registax and processed with Photoshop. Takahashi TSA 120 and modified Sony Alpha 7 III. #astrophotography

Captured by a Dwarf3 smart scope. 320 x 0.5 second exposures and stacked.

The orange colour of my last post has long since gone as the waning gibbous Moon (99.6%) gains height.
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

The bright full Moon rising behind some trees on the night of 3 March 2026. Shot taken with a DSLR and 300mm lens.

The rising full #Moon this evening 😀 #FullMoon #Astronomy #Astrophotography

The future of astronomy is both on Earth and in space The future of astronomy is both on Earth and in space

Excellent reposte to a recent Space News Commentary about moving #astronomy into space as the way to live with mega constellations spacenews.com/the-future-o... @royalastrosoc.bsky.social

NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Launches Real-Time Discovery Machine for Monitoring the Night Sky - The near-real-time alert system will enable scientists around the world to coordinate follow-up ob... NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory has issued its first scientific alerts, marking a historic milestone in astrophysics. Expected to increase to seven million alerts per night, these first alerts start a new e...

Remarkable, how the Vera Rubin Observatory sky survey will produce up to 7 million alerts a night: noirlab.edu/public/news/...

I went to rural Wales to bathe in starlight and the Milky Way blew me away I join two tourists in the mountains to immerse ourselves in the wonders of the night sky with a star guide.

BBC: I went to rural Wales to bathe in starlight and the Milky Way blew me away #Astronomy #Space www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tonight's star trail over my house. One hour's worth before the clouds returned! Polaris, the Pole Star, is bang in the centre.
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

Another shot from the 25th.
The "Eyes of Clavius". An interesting illusion created by the morning sunlight catching the rims of craters inside the wonderful crater Clavius in the Moon's southern highlands
🔭

The 91% lit Moon is close to the Beehive Cluster in Cancer this evening, 28 February. #Astronomy

All times and positions based on a northeast UK location. All graphics are from Stellarium and all pictures are my own.

Wishing you clear skies! #Astronomy #Stargazing

26th: The 61% lit #Moon is near Jupiter this evening.

28th: The Beehive Cluster in Cancer is partially occulted by the 74% lit Moon this morning. View the event from 03:00 UT.

29th: British Summer Time begins.

Stellarium graphic showing the lunar X and V features on 25 March 2026. The shapes are caused by the effect of light and shadow on lunar craters at certain times.

25th: The lunar X and V will be visible this evening on the lunar terminator. View them around 21:00 UT. #Moon #Astronomy

Stellarium graphic showing the asteroid 20 Massalia in Virgo at 23:00 UT on 21 March 2026.

21st: Asteroid 20 Massalia is at opposition today. Find it in Virgo, midway between the stars Zaniah and Zavijava. At magnitude 9 it will need binoculars or a telescope to spot. #Astronomy

Stellarium graphic showing the 3.7% lit Moon close to Venus at 19:00 UT on 20 March 2026.

20th: Spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.

20th: The 3.7% lit #Moon sits above bright #Venus after sunset this evening. Look low to the west at around 19:00 UT. #Astronomy

Stellarium graphic showing the 0.6% lit Moon close to Venus at 19:00 UT on 19 March 2026.

19th: Bright Venus will be visible low to the west after sunset this evening. You can use it as a guide to find the very thin crescent #Moon. At only 0.6% illuminated and low down, it will be very tricky to find. #Astronomy

17th: Callisto transits across the face of Jupiter from 19:40 to 23:35 UT this evening.

19th: New Moon.

Stellarium graphic showing the 61% lit Moon close to the star Antares in Scorpius at 04:00 UT on 10 March 2026.

10th: Early this morning the 61% lit #Moon is close to Antares in Scorpius. Look low to the south-southeast from around 03:00 UT. #Astronomy

8th: Ganymede is occulted by Jupiter at 19:10 UT. It reappears at 22:29 UT before being eclipsed by Jupiter's shadow at 23:47 UT. #Astronomy

9th: Callisto is eclipsed by the shadow of #Jupiter at 20:16 UT this evening. It reappears at 00:32 UT tomorrow morning.

Stellarium graphic showing Venus, Saturn and Neptune close together just after sunset at 19:00 UT on 7 March 2026.

7th: There is a chance to spot Venus, Saturn and Neptune close together just after sunset this evening. They will be very low to the west around 19:00 UT. Neptune will be very difficult to spot due to the bright sky. Binoculars or a telescope best for this one. #Astronomy

1st: Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede will move into the planet's shadow at 19:48 UT. It reappears at 23:11 UT. An interesting sight through a telescope. #Astronomy

3rd: Full Moon. Total lunar eclipse visible from the Americas, Asia and Australasia.

The astronomy highlights for March 2026:

Bright Venus puts on a nice display this month, low to the west after sunset.

#Astronomy #Astrophotography #Stargazing

Bright Moon with colourful corona on left and planet Jupiter with tiny moon dots near middle of left edge.

Waxing Gibbous Moon and Jupiter (zoom for Galilean moons). 2003UT 27 February 2026. 🔭 🧪 🎨 #astrophotography #SciArt #photography #StormHour #ThePhotoHour

Planetary parade 2026: Six planets visible in night sky Six planets - Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune - will all be visible in the night sky.

Six planets on show in celestial 'parade' #Astronomy #Space www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The "Jewelled Handle" (or Golden Handle) is a lunar clair-obscur effect occurring when the rising sun illuminates the high Montes Jura mountain range, creating a bright, C-shaped arc bordering the shadowed Sinus Iridum (Bay of Rainbows). It is visible monthly, roughly 10–11 days after a new moon, appearing as a, sparkling "handle" on the terminator.

This evening's 83.8% waxing gibbous Moon. Can you spot the 'Jewelled Handle' on the left edge? #astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

The dramatic yet subtle details of many of my astro images emerges when they are presented without stars and in black and white. I hope you enjoy this short video of some of my favorites. #astrophotography

Stellarium graphic showing the Moon close to the star Kappa Geminorium in Gemini on the evening of 27 February 2026.

The Moon occults the magnitude 3.5 star Kappa Geminorium this evening, 27 February. The star disappears behind the Moon around 21:38 UT and reappears around 22:38 UT. Times vary by a few minutes depending on your location. #Astronomy

Moon and Jupiter on partly cloudy night, just for the sake of mood. #Astronomy #Astrophotography