Welcome to
Croydon Astronomical Society

Sat February 28th. Observatory OPEN, 7pm to 9pm.

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​Finally the cloud will clear tonight and we can open at last!

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Please article below about the Planetary Parade - basically if you are hoping to see six planets in a line tonight, you wont.

Social Media posts and the press have been wildly inaccurate and have promised views that are not possible.

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General things to be aware of if visiting:

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Please note there is NO PARKING on Waterhouse lane. Please park on Hayes lane, by the war memorial. Keep the Waterhouse lane entrance clear for residents to safely enter and exit. If you drive into Waterhouse lane you are likely to get stuck!

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Waterhouse lane to the observatory is dark and can be uneven and sometimes muddy under foot. See our website for directions - we are not easy to find. https://www.croydonastro.org.uk/observatory

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Bring a torch by all means for the lane, but keep it pointed down and turn it off at the observatory please. We have red lights so you can navigate the site well in the dark.

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There are no toilets.

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It will be colder than you think! 

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THE PLANETARY PARADE.

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Here are the facts about the much hyped Planetary Parade.

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First this isn’t a one off event, these planets have been visible in the evening sky for the last ten days. In fact a week ago Mercury was many times brighter and easier to see and Saturn and Neptune were higher in the sky.

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Of the six planets visible four are low in the West at Sunset (17:38). This is a problem as they are near the Sun in bright twilight.

Venus is by far the brightest, but even then a couple of days ago it could just be glimpsed at 18:15. The problem is it sets at 18:45.

Mercury is near Venus but much fainter. It won’t be visible as the twilight will hide it. It sets at 18:54.

Saturn is higher and brighter than Mercury, difficult to see but possible. It sets at 19:30.

Neptune is an insignificant blue full stop even in a dark sky, you need about 150 magnifications to even see a hint of its disk so although it can be glimpsed with binoculars it just looks like a really faint star. It is too faint to see because of the twilight. It sets at 19:30.

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So there is little point us opening before 18:30 as the twilight is too strong, but Venus has set by 18:45 with the other three planets down by 19:31.

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So with regret if you are able to visit the Observatory tonight there is a tiny window of opportunity to see two of the four planets and this means that most of you won’t.

But you could have looked at it any time in the last ten days.

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But aren’t there meant to be six planets?

Yes, Jupiter is high in the South East at Sunset and will be visible most of the night. Uranus is also visible high in the sky, it’s quite disappointing visually as it is also got a tiny disk and is too faint for the naked eye to see. A telescope makes it more obvious but won’t show any detail.

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So if we open don’t expect us to miraculously show you all six planets, we are astronomers not magicians!

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But there is lots more to view. We will have the Moon and the bright winter constellation’s which include many nebulae, galaxies and star clusters.

Public talks

The Society holds public talks, see the Talks tab for further details.  Talks will be held in the Small Hall of Shirley Methodist Church, Shirley.  Wel meet on the first and third Fridays of each month.

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Talks are open to all, there is no charge, but we have a suggested donation of £3 towards society funds. Refreshments priced at 50p are available during the break.

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Shirley Methodist is within walking distance of Trinity School and is easily accessible by bus from East Croydon.  The postcode is CR0 8SD.  There is parking on site but, if it is full, there is ample parking on nearby roads.

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