About Coats-Observatory
PLEASE NOTE COATS OBSERVATORY IS CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR REDEVELOPMENT, REOPENING IN 2022.
Coats-Observatory Description
Coats Observatory is Scotland's oldest public observatory. Dating from 1883 the observatory now operates as a year round visitor attraction, with daily guided tours and night sky viewings on Tuesday and Thursday nights during the winter months.
Please note entry to Coats Observatory during the day is via Paisley Museum, located on Paisley High Street. For night-time events the entrance on Oakshaw Street West is the only one in operation.
Reviews
An amazing display of noctilucent clouds in the early hours of Friday 28th June. Pretty high chance of seeing them again tonight so keep an eye on the northern sky about an hour after sunset. This is a panorama of 3 images stitched together taken at Bishopton, Renfrewshire around 1:30am.
There is a wee bit of sunshine around today after all!
Noctilucent cloud display from just after midnight on 10th June, photographed looking over the River Clyde towards the Kilpatrick Hills. Certainly one of the brightest displays I've seen in years. The forecast tonight is for partly-clear skies so might be worth staying up for! For more information on noctilucent clouds visit http://spaceweather.com/
There is a fantastic display of noctilucent clouds at the moment. Anyone still up (with clear skies!) should go have a look to the north west. Will post photos tomorrow!
Noctilucent cloud season is almost upon us again, so here's some info on how to spot them.
It's International Day of Light today, so here is our spectroscope!
ANOTHER TEMPERATURE RECORD BROKEN - Finally got around to checking the weather data for April. On Monday 22nd April the mercury topped 25.4 degrees C, the hottest April day since our records began in 1884.
You have to go back to 2003 for the next hottest at 24.4 degrees C and then all the way back to 1901, when 23.3C was recorded.
So far this year has yielded the highest February and April temperatures. When I checked earlier today the temperature was reading 27.2C. The May... record is 27.8C so it might just have been eclipsed today.
Definitely ice-lolly weather!!
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Seems there is a midweek chance of auroras as a couple of explosions on the Sun's surface have sent a powerful Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) our way. Estimated time of impact is Wednesday 15th.
As stated in the previous post it is getting harder to see aurora due to the long twilight hours, but not impossible - there were a few images posted on some aurora sites at the weekend, with sightings in Skye, Sutherland and even down by Gourock. Any midweek aurora will also have a bri...ght Moon to contend with too though, but if you don't look you won't see!
As usual best advice is keep an eye on the aurora forecast sites and see what transpires.
https://aurora-alerts.uk/
http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forec ast/
http://www.spaceweather.com/
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The aurora forecast is looking reasonable this weekend as the Earth is grazed by a Coronal Mass Ejection propelled from the Sun about three days ago.
At this time of year the aurora is harder to see than it is in the depths of winter, but not impossible so will still be worth taking a look if you have clear, dark skies to the north.
As always, keep an eye on the usual aurora and weather forecast sites and see what happens!
... https://aurora-alerts.uk/ http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forec ast/ http://www.spaceweather.com/ https://clearoutside.com/forecast/55.85/- 4.44
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It seems that every time I post about something astronomical happening the weather decides not to play ball. As a result I am not posting anything about the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, which should be visible this coming weekend.
I will not mention that the source of the meteor shower is a stream of debris from Halley's Comet. Nor will I mention that this year the peak occurs between the 4th and 6th of May, with a predicted rate of 40 meteors per hour possible. I will not say... that the best time to view the shower is in the hours before sunrise, that the peak runs across the three days with the best time being the early morning of the 5th.
I'm not suggesting that this meteor shower does favour the southern-hemisphere more than the north as Aquarius sits low in the southern horizon from the latitude of Paisley, nor am I stating that there may still be a chance to see a few meteors from this area if conditions are right - I'm not going to state that the darker and clearer the sky the better chance you would have to see something.
As I have not mentioned anything about the Eta Aquarids the following links will give some more information -
https://earthsky.org/?p=158833 https://www.space.com/36502-eta-aquarid-m eteor-shower-guide… http://www.spaceweather.com/
Let's see what happens.........
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Its the peak of the Lyrid meteor shower tonight. If anyone captures any on camera please do post the images!
Some info about our earthquake recording at Coats Observatory.
The Lyrid Meteor shower is currently underway as Earth passes through a stream of debris from Comet C/1861 G1, more commonly known as Comet Thatcher. The shower is active each year from the 16th to 26th April and reaches a peak on the night of the 22nd into the 23rd.
Meteors are caused by small pieces of debris left behind by the comet. As the comet orbits the Sun it will heat up and some of it will 'melt', leaving a trail of material behind. As Earth passes through this deb...ris field the upper atmosphere is bombarded by particles, which can be travelling at speeds of over 100,000mph. When the particles hit the atmosphere they 'burn-up', leaving a bright streak of light behind which we call a 'meteor'.
The Lyrids take their name from the constellation of Lyra the Harp, from which the meteors appear to radiate. From our location Lyra will have risen by 10pm local time and will be fairly high in the sky by the time it is dark.
The Lyrids are not the most prolific of meteor showers, with rates between 10 and 20 per hour the norm, although on a few occasions the shower has flared-up, with rates of 100 per hour reported. The last time this was observed was in 1945 and it is not predicted that this year's display will see anything other than the normal rates.
The darker the sky the better chance you have to see meteors, so if you can get away from artificial light sources and find a nice dark sky site you will have a chance to see more meteors. Peak rates do increase as the night progresses - however, the Moon is rising just after midnight on the 23rd which will wash out all but the brightest of meteors visible beyond that time.
Meteors are best viewed using the naked eye. Given the speed they move at and their brief duration it is next to impossible to catch a meteor in a telescope or binoculars. The best way of observing them is to wrap up very warmly, lie back on a deck chair and watch the sky. If you are planning a long night be sure to have something warm to drink and something to eat, such as chocolate, to keep the energy levels up.
The attached image shows the location of the radiant of the Lyrids on the night of the peak.
For more information about the shower please visit https://earthsky.org/…/everything-you-n eed-to-know-lyrid-me…
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A good article on the aurora and why last weekend's somewhat over-hyped event didn't happen. Worth bearing in mind for future alerts.
http://wp.lancs.ac.uk/aurorawatchuk/…/0 3/25/aurora-no-show/…
Seems the predicted Coronal Mass Ejection did finally hit on Sunday night, but only a very slight glancing blow and not a great deal of geomagnetic disruption ensued. However, we may have auroras in the offing for the coming week as an Earth-facing coronal hole sends the solar wind our way. Estimated time of arrival is 27th to 28th March. As always there are no guarantees with these things, but worth keeping an eye on the usual aurora forecast sites. Probably have to be a bit... further north than Paisley to see any activity though.
http://www.spaceweather.com/ https://aurora-alerts.uk/ http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forec ast/ https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora -forecast https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/
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Looks like we might be in for a decent aurora show this weekend if predictions are correct. An Earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejection (not as painful as it sounds!) is due to hit our planet's magnetic field sometime on the 23rd March. This has the potential to cause some major geomagnetic upset and the possibility of visible aurora a good bit further south than usual. Might even have some clear-ish skies on Saturday night if the weather forecast is accurate as well.
As always k...eep an eye on the sky and the usual aurora forecast sites. If anyone captures anything on camera please feel free to post.
http://spaceweather.com/ http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forec ast/ https://aurora-alerts.uk/ https://clearoutside.com/forecast/55.85/- 4.44
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Today is the first day of spring! (for those in the northern hemisphere that is. Happy first day of autumn to anyone in the southern hemisphere!)
Another incoming stream of solar wind is heading our way again from a large coronal hole in the Sun's atmosphere. Estimated time of arrival is the 15th March, so we may have a chance of some aurora displays in time for the weekend. Biggest problem looks to be finding clear skies as we seem to be under a perpetual blanket of cloud of an evening at the moment!
As always keep an eye on the usual aurora forecast sites and another on the sky.
https://aurora-alerts.uk/... http://www.spaceweather.com/ http://www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forec ast/ https://clearoutside.com/forecast/55.85/- 4.44
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