Steve Brown - astronomy and astrophotography

Jupiter is still king of the planets in March 2026. Here's how to see it at its best | BBC Sky at Night Magazine How to observe the planet Jupiter in the night sky in March 2026. Key dates and tips for observing the gas giant planet.

Jupiter is still king of the planets in March 2026. Here's how to see it at its best #Astronomy #Space #Jupiter www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/jupiter...

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

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

Close up photo of the Moon at 85%

The Moon tonight here in #SantaBarbara!
#MoonPhotography #MoonPhotos #MoonShots #Photography #ChingaLaMigra

Settings:
Canon T5i
Sigma 150-600mm + Canon 1.4x Extender
Focal length: 840mm
F-stop: f/9
Exposure time: 1/250
ISO: 400
#Moon phase: Waning 85%

New Scottish Dark Sky Observatory plans in Galloway approved The facility in Galloway will replace one which burned down in Ayrshire more than four years ago.

New Scottish Dark Sky Observatory plans get the green light #Astronomy www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Blood moon lunar eclipse lights up skies around the world The full Worm Moon coincided with a full lunar eclipse creating a 'Blood Moon', as Simon King explains.

Full Worm and Blood #Moon shines in night sky #Astronomy www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...

The M81/2 Group is one of the closest galaxy groups to our own Local Group, located approximately 12 million light-years away. Messier 81 (Bode’s Galaxy): A massive, "grand design" spiral galaxy and the group's brightest member. It contains over 200 globular clusters and a supermassive black hole. Messier 82 (Cigar Galaxy): An edge-on "starburst" galaxy. Its exceptionally high rate of star formation is triggered by tidal interactions with M81.

The Whirlpool Galaxy is a "grand-design" spiral galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is one of the most studied and photographed objects in the night sky. M51 is famous for its gravitational interaction with a smaller companion galaxy, NGC 5195 (M51b). This interaction has triggered intense star formation along its prominent spiral arms. Composition: It contains an estimated 100 billion stars and has a supermassive black hole at its core.

Wow! A completely clear night and TEN hours of continuous 'shooting' at some cracking galaxies (described in ALT). The Dwarf3 smartscope was quite hot at the end!
#astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social

The orange sun rising behind some trees on the morning of 5 March 2026 from North Yorkshire, UK.

Colourful sunrise this morning, possibly caused by Saharan dust moving over the UK this week. #Weather #StormHour #Sunrise

Venus and Saturn, preparing to set over the ocean.

Orange-coloured full Moon on the night of 3 March 2026. Shot taken with a DSLR and 300mm lens at 1/1000s exp, 300mm fl, f/5.6, ISO-800.

Last night's full #Moon was a nice orange colour when rising 😀 #Astronomy #Astrophotography

A timelapse of the the full #Moon rising last night, coloured orange due to the low height at the time and the hazy atmosphere. #FullMoon #Astronomy

Morning all…

This is my best shot yet of our galactic neighbour.

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the nearest major spiral galaxy to the Milky Way, located about 2.5 million light-years away.

So in this photo, we are seeing the Andromeda galaxy as it was 2.5 million years ago.

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.