Now the team have produced a one-hour condensed version for Radio4's "Archive on 4":
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000kmw5

The delayed final episode of "13 Minutes" has just been released: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct0v1r This covers the re-powering of the long-inert Command Module, the crucial re-entry phase and the agonising wait for them to emerge from radio balckout and appear under parachute descent. It in...

The 8th batch of Starlink s (postponed from last month) were launched overnight - if you missed them at 2am you can review the video feed: https://youtu.be/y4xBFHjkUvw?t=773 This is the first night-time Falcon 9 launch I've seen - and even the recovery of the 1st stage rocket on their remote-control...

As it turned out, by the end of May Comet SWAN was fragmenting and so had faded considerably, as shown in this image from 28th May: https://fg-kometen.vdsastro.de/pix/2020F8/2020F8_28052020.htm It took me four attempts to find a location for my tripod where I could aim low enough to reach the comet'...

For the first time since the last flight of the Space Shuttle in 2011, U.S. astronauts will go to orbit from American soil. As part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX's Falcon 9 will launch the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. The launch is currently scheduled for W...

The eighth batch of Starlink satellites are due to be launched just before 9am on Sunday 17th and we can watch them live:
https://www.rocketlaunch.live/launch/starlink-8

I've just watched the one about the cameras used to capture Apollo and Shuttle launches:
https://youtu.be/BlPfHV36G-g
Very impressive optics!

Last night I got some more images of the demise of comet 2019 Y4 (ATLAS) , which began to disintegrate last month. It was also a test of imaging a comet low down in the evening twilight, as a practice for C/2020 F8 (SWAN) later this month. Sunset was only at 20:53, so it wasn't that dark by 10pm, bu...

We'll only have a brief opportunity to see this, during the last week of May. At that time it will be low in the North-West: less than 15 degrees above the horizon in the evening twilight (not far from the bright star Capella ). swan_28may.png Last night I was checking my sight-lines and it looks li...

I enjoyed last night's session, particularly Billy's tour of his sliding-roof observatory and the workshop where he makes his telescopes.