What to watch in 2008

2:09pm Sunday 13th January 2008

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WELL, that's Christmas over and done with! I hope Santa was kind to you? He brought me some great space books, as well as very cheesy but wonderful models of a space shuttle and a black dalek, so I'm happier than a chav with a new, annoying ringtone. But what have the south Lakes' sky-watchers got to look forward to in 2008..?

February will be a busy month for amateur astronomers - like those in Kendal's Eddington Astronomical Society - because of the total lunar eclipse on the 21st. This is when the Full Moon turns an orange-red colour as it passes through Earth's shadow, and it's one of nature's most beautiful events. Unfortunately, February's total eclipse takes place at a frankly ridiculous time - between 2am and 5am! - so we won't be holding a public "Eclipse Watch" this time (not sure how many people would turn out at 3am!) but I'll be lugging my faithful and trusty telescope up the hill to Kendal Castle on that morning if the sky's clear, so maybe I'll see you there. More details of the eclipse in the next Skywatch On May 25, NASA's Phoenix lander will - hopefully - land on Mars. I've been looking forward to this day for years and years, because it will bring our first glimpse of a totally new and exotic part of the Red Planet. So far the unblinking robot eyes of the Viking landers and MER rovers have shown us very similar dusty, rocky landscapes, sweeping plains of orange, red and brown, but Phoenix will be landing up near the planet's north pole, so will see a very different landscape, a landscape of ice and frost-covered ridges, hills and boulders. I can't wait to see its first image! Unlike the Mars rovers - that have lasted over four years on Mars (but were expected to survive for just 90 days!) - Phoenix will live only briefly after landing, and will watch death creeping up on it as snow and ice advances towards it in slow motion, eventually enveloping and entombing it in ice August 1 will be a very busy day for us here in Kendal because it's "Partial Solar Eclipse Day"! It goes without saying that we'll be organising an "Eclipse Watch" somewhere in Kendal, where we'll set up our telescopes - some with filters, others fitted with makeshift-but-effective "projection boxes" - to show members of the public the partially-eclipsed Sun. Last time we did this we showed the eclipsed Sun to well over a hundred people in Abbot Hall Park, and I'm confident we'll get more this time, weather permitting, of course (I hate those two words!) Again, the Skywatch nearer the time will have more details And just a fortnight later, on the evening of August 16, there's a partial eclipse of the Moon, which we'll be watching from up at Kendal Castle again. If you were at our last Moon Eclipse watch you will remember the great time we had watching Earth's shadow creeping across the silvery face of the Moon, and you will want to come again. If you were not there, then this is your chance to come along and see some amazing sights. I hope you will join us!

And that is just the things we know about! A bright comet might appear out of the blue, or a supernova might light up the sky, or a brilliant display of the northern lights might swish and sway above our Auld Grey Town, we will just have to wait and see