Date: Monday 2 March 2026
Stargazing Location: Pitstone Hill near Ivinghoe Beacon HP23 5RX
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Weather: Clear. Temp +9c and slight breeze
STARGAZING SUMMARY
Arrived c. 6:30pm to set up a telescope for one session that had been moved from Rutland Water to Pitstone Hill. Bright moonlight from the Full Worm Moon gave plenty of light for setting up.
Completed one 2-hour stargazing experience session for Paul. Started with a laser tour around the main stars and constellations visible tonight. Orion the Hunter with Sirius the dog star nearby. Pointed out Gemini, Auriga, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, Perseus and Andromeda constellations.
Using the 250mm Skywatcher telescope we toured the sky and took in a fabulous view of the Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery in the Sword of Orion where new stars are forged. The Pleiades star cluster (seven sisters) sparkled in the wide angle 34mm Explore Scientifc eyepiece. We took in the Perseus Double Cluster, through which Paul saw several satellites pass through the lens, and also the Owl Cluster NGC 457.
Paul was impressed with our telescope views of the red supergiant Betelgeuse, and also the sheer brilliance of Sirius. Equally impressive, but not as bright, was our view of the Gemini planetary nebula NGC 2392, its white dwarf clearly visible at its centre.
We took in some galaxies - the Andromeda Galaxy and M82. Both a bit washed out under the moonlight.
For the grand finish we got an awesome view of the the full moon and Jupiter along with three of its moons - Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. The dark belts on Jupiter were really steady and revealed the Great Red Spot Storm system on the the upper Southern Equatorial Belt at its upper left, just about to rotate off the the front of the planet. The GRS is a nice salmon-pink colour at the moment and very obvious when viewed using the 7mm Pentax eyepiece.
Highlights
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