Resources

Observation Guide

This document gives detailed instructions on how to use the telescopes. Please refer to it before and when you are using the telescopes.

Useful links

Stellarium: free open-source planetarium software useful for checking what you’ll be able to see on a given night and planning your observing sessions.

Sky and Telescope Observing News: find out about the latest bright comets and supernovae, storms on planets and other events that planetarium software probably won’t show you.

Heavens Above: find out when the International Space Station and Iridium satellite flares will be visible.

Clear Outside: weather forecast for Cambridge, including cloud cover (remember that no forecast is perfect!)

Institute of Astronomy all-sky camera: see what the weather is like right now at the observatory without having to go out and check.

Satellite cloud images: see which way the cloud is going and whether it’s breaking up or continuing to form (note that low cloud is not visible on infrared images).