Virtual event: Thursday 1st December @ 7pm GMT

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Planet Earth is not alone in the Solar System: we share our home star, the Sun, with the seven other worlds that also orbit it. But how do you get started exploring the wonders these worlds have to offer?

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In this talk, astronomer and author Will Gater will shine a light on how to identify planets in the night sky and how binoculars and telescopes can bring more details into view on these far-off worlds.

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PLUS we’ll also be investigating the rare and not-to-be-missed planetary event taking place just a week after this talk on 8 December, when the full Moon will appear to pass in front of Mars, the Red Planet, and block it from view, in an event known as a lunar occultation.

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Agenda

• The naked-eye planets and how to find and identify them

• Elongations and oppositions: the key planetary observing terms to know

• What you can expect to see through binoculars, and small and medium-aperture telescopes

• Studying the globes of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn

• Observing the more challenging ice giants

• Dates for your diary: the best times to see each planet this winter

• The Moon meets Mars: December’s rare lunar occultation of the Red Planet

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Book onto this Masterclass for £15 

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About the speaker

Will Gater is an astronomer, author and presenter with a lifelong love of observing the night sky. He has toured the UK with a live theatre show about the Solar System, and has written many popular books on astronomy and stargazing.