If you’re at all interested in astronomy or space exploration then I’m sure you’ve heard of Patrick Moore and his show the Sky at Night. The shows has been around for a staggering 55 years and has captivated generations of star gazers – me included. Last April to celebrate the anniversary, Patrick selected 55 of his favorite night sky objects and challenged the public to try and spot as many as possible. It was an incredible success and so it is going to be repeated with a new challenge – The Moore Winter Marathon.
The idea is that 50 more objects have been selected and viewers are invited to compete on their own or as part of a group to try and spot as many of the objects as possible. They are split into two sections, one which you can view with the naked eye or binoculars and the others which you will need a telescope.
You can download them here – Telescopic Targets and Naked Eye Targets. Just download the documents, print them out and then you can fill them by hand. The details are included to post them back to the BBC when you are finished but you only have until the end of January.
The objects are perfect for a beginner and include times when you are most likely to see them. They are all covered in the broadcasts of the Sky at Night which you can catch on BBC Iplayer. Unfortunately if you’re outside Britain you may have difficulty accessing these broadcasts – you’ll need to grab a UK IP address like this – http://www.theninjaproxy.org/tv/a-fake-uk-ip-address/ to watch the shows.
Follow the above link and it will show you how to hide your current address and use a fake one using either a proxy server based in the UK or a VPN. It’s well worth the effort to watch The Sky at Night on BBC Iplayer outside the UK. This privacy program will also help achieve the same results – http://ngbconsult.co.uk/Privacy/anonymous-surf.htm
