The natural Navigation: The Right Course, Naturally

A blog of two halves for you today.

Late September can bring some of the best early evening experiences for those who enjoy looking upwards.

Visibility is likely to fluctuate a bit, but it looks as though we may get some of the best stargazing weather of the year over the next few nights. It promises to be warm enough to enjoy long spells outside, but without the crazily late sunsets of midsummer.

I’ll point out a few of the things worth looking for in a minute, but first just a few words about this weather.

On my courses I encourage people to take note of shifts in wind direction and how this relates to changes in weather patterns. If the weather is unseasonably warm or cold, we should expect some deviation from the prevailing wind direction, southwest.

The image above shows the UK (at lunchtime tomorrow) sandwiched neatly between…

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Last night was the inaugural meeting of the Night Navigators Club. This is a ‘loyalty club’ for all those who have been on any one of my courses in the past – or those who come on one in the future.

For three years I have been pondering how to solve a tricky riddle. There are so many people who would love to learn about the night sky, but it is very hard to organise an outdoor course for this in this country because the weather is so unreliable. I need to sort the dates for my courses at least a few weeks in advance and it is impossible to predict the conditions that far away. Also, the best times of the year for star, moon and planet-gazing are not the best times for weather. Mid-summer is great for many outdoor activities, but with the late sunsets it is not…

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Last night the conditions felt right for a walk in the woods. There were plenty of clouds, but large gaps suggested that the stars would not hide for long periods. The moon would not be getting up until later and the breeze was too light to be of help. I needed the stars.

I set off as the last light from the sun faded in the southwest. Cassiopeia and Cygnus neatly sketched out north for me, even when Polaris was well hidden. When moving south I used Jupiter and Aquila.

Four hours later I returned, having spent nearly all of it alone, in beech woodland and without using a torch. Moving at times with my left hand extended out to fend off inquisitive lower branches, I covered about six miles; this was no race.

In every woodland walk there are times when you feel the forest is on your side…

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The forecast for this weekend seems intent on lulling us into believing that the summer has life in it yet, after weeks on the resuscitation table.

If we’re in the mood for deluding ourselves that there is more of this come, then the ‘Summer Triangle‘ is worth looking out for. It is a collection of three bright stars that are overhead near midnight in midsummer, but still clearly visible well through autumn and even into the early evening winter sky. It is not a constellation at all, but a nickname for the three brightest stars, Vega, Deneb and Altair, from three different constellations, Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila.

So, as the nights draw in and you find yourself shivering looking up, search out the ‘Summer’ triangle to warm you.