Big Dipper

The Story of Stuff Sir Patrick Moore, Dr Chris Lintott and Dr Chris North find out what the universe is made of, from the 'dark matter' that shapes our galaxies to the infinitesimally small particles that make up atoms. Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel show how to use a planisphere as a guide to the night sky and what objects can be ticked off on the 'Moore Winter Marathon'. Click on this link to see all upcoming broadcasts of 'The Story of Stuff'

Jupiter is 0.6 degree north of the Moon, with an occultation visible from southern Africa and most of southern South America occurring, at 1:00 UT.

Full Moon, known as the Beaver or Frost Moon, occurs at 14:46 UT; a penumbral lunar eclipse visible from western Canada, the western United States, the Pacific, Australia, and eastern Asia begins at 12:14 UT; the Moon is at apogee, subtending 29 arc minutes from a distance of 406,362 kilometers (252,501 miles), at 20:00 UT.

Venus is 0.6 degree south of Saturn at 5:00 UT.

Uranus is 5 degrees south of the Moon at 14:00 UT.

The Lunar X (Purbach or Werner Cross), an X-shaped illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to occur at 1:30 UT.

First Quarter Moon occurs at 14:31 UT; Neptune is 6 degrees south of the Moon at 22:00 UT.

Mars is 4 degrees south of the Moon at 10:00 UT.

Venus is 4 degrees north of Spica at 23:00 UT.

The Moon is at perigee, subtending 33 arc minutes from a distance of 357,361 kilometers (222,054 miles), at 10:00 UT.

New Moon (lunation 1112) occurs at 22:08 UT.; a total solar eclipse begins in northern Australia at 20:35 UT.

The Moon is 0.8 degree south of the first-magnitude star Spica (Alpha Virginis), with an occultation visible from most of Antarctica and Mauritius occurring, at 2:00 UT; the peak of the Northern Taurid meteor shower (5 to 10 per hour) occurs at 4:00 UT; Saturn is 4 degrees north of the moon at 21:00 UT.

Venus is 5 degrees north of the Moon at 18:00 UT.

Last Quarter Moon occurs at 0:36 UT; Mercury is stationary at 4:00 UT; the Curtiss Cross, an X-shaped illumination effect located between the craters Parry and Gambart, is predicted to occur at 14:37 UT.

The peak of the Southern Taurid meteor shower (5 to 10 per hour) occurs at 5:00 UT.

Jupiter is 0.9 degree north of the Moon, with an occultation visible from most of South Africa occurring, at 1:00 UT.

Full Moon, known as the Blood Moon and this year’s Hunter’s Moon, occurs at 19:49 UT.

Uranus is 5 degrees south of the Moon at 10:00 UT.

Mercury is at greatest eastern elongation (24 degrees) at 22:00 UT.

Saturn is in conjunction with the Sun at 8:00 UT.

Neptune is 6 degrees south of the Moon at 16:00 UT.

First Quarter Moon occurs at 3:32 UT; the Lunar X, also known as the Purbach or Werner Cross, an X-shaped illumination effect involving various rims and ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach, is predicted to occur at 11:01 UT.

The peak of the Orionid meteor shower (10 to 20 per hour) occurs at 4:00 UT.

Mars is 4 degrees north of first-magnitude star Antares (Alpha Scorpii) at 6:00 UT.

Mars is 2 degrees south of the Moon at 13:00 UT.