Look Out Of Your Window Now! Astronomical events.

[Withnail]

Yes, a good one in the end - did you remember to wave?

 

[Withnail]

Four planets visible in the same sky - Mercury, just above the sunset, Venus, Jupiter and Mars.

Must be a reasonably rare occurrence.

 

[Florence]

Anyone see the meteorite from a couple of nights ago?

 

[Gramaisc]

Ten to ten tonight should be a good pass of the ISS - http://iss.astroviewer.net/observation.php - clouds permitting..

 

[Withnail]

Ten to ten

Cowboy time.

 

[Withnail]

Fleeting glimpses but very bright - visible through the cloud at times - much obliged G.

 

[Gramaisc]

Would have been truly excellent without the cloud - still some good ones to come over the next few days.

 

[age'd parent]

It's a once in a lifetime moment: the transit of Venus across the Sun.

This year's transit of Venus offers a unique skywatching opportunity, since at least some of the transit will be visible from almost all of the most populated areas on Earth. It will also be the last time such a phenomenon can be witnessed until the year 2117.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/mar/25/venus-transit-sun

 

[Gramaisc]

It's a once in a lifetime moment

There was one eight years ago, wasn't there? - you've been around a bit longer than that...

 

[age'd parent]

OK twice, don't spoil the drama of it all!

 

[Withnail]

Vulcan!

 

[dawnofwar]

Just spotted it twice really low over our house on wildwood....hoping it will come round again to grab a photo.

 

[Gramaisc]

Nothing down for today - http://www.vulcantothesky.org/appearances.html - annoyed, didn't see, or even hear, anything..

With some way yet to go on our funding for the flying season ahead, we have been keen to avoid raising expectations of XH558's attendance at specific events, sometimes because we have been asked by the organisers to refrain from announcing our plans.

 

[Withnail]

Presumably part of the Falkland Memorial fly-by at Alrewas. Should be coming back this way as well i would've thought - well i hope so anyway.

 

[Gramaisc]

Never mind - I had three years of them rattling the house on an hourly basis anyway. I did see one do the 1g barrel-roll, though - but, I don't think they'll be doing that with this one any more...

The mark of a good Vulcan pilot was said to be that he could do that without the three in the back realising that it had happened..

 

[staffordjas]

Presumably part of the Falkland Memorial fly-by at Alrewas. Should be coming back this way as well i would've thought - well i hope so anyway.

We were driving down the Cannock Road near Brocton when it came overhead. Just pulled up by Brocton Nurseries and it came back over there.
We were told by the bloke who owns the nurseries that it was the actual only Vulcan Bomber to have made it to The Falklands and back.

 

[Mikinton]

The second pass, taken at around 12:37 today.

 

[Gramaisc]

^ Good pics.

We were told by the bloke who owns the nurseries that it was the actual only Vulcan Bomber to have made it to The Falklands and back.

I don't think that is so. It was involved some in the Black Buck missions as a flying reserve aircraft, but I don't think that it was actually called upon to drop any bombs on the Falklands. One Vulcan did end up in Brazil (I think) after the refuelling probe broke off and it couldn't receive enough fuel to make it back to Ascension.

XH558 is the only airworthy example in existence, though. Of that we can be sure.

 

[Mikinton]

One from RIAT, Fairford a few years ago.

 

[Gramaisc]

^ Another good pic.

The two pilots have ejection seats, but the three in the back had to rely on getting out of the hatch in the floor - not a great idea once the mission changed to low-level. There was an attempt at producing a system* whcih would fire the centre seat out, then pull one of the side seats in and fire that out, followed by the seat from the other side being pulled into the middle and fired out. It wasn't very successful and was abandoned..

*Test rig pictured.