Scotland’s Sky in September 2023
Nightly planetary procession ends with Venus at brightest before dawn
Scotland’s Sky in August 2023
Dark skies return for peak of Perseids meteor shower
Scotland’s Sky in July 2023
New space observatory, Euclid, to probe the cosmic dark side
Alan Pickup
I came to Edinburgh in 1968 to join the Satellite Tracking Section at the ROE, and I joined the ASE in the same year. I wrote my first newspaper notes on the night sky for both the Guardian and the Scotsman for the month of 1974 August, initially as (I thought) a temporary stand-in for Norman Matthew. Sadly, he never took the reins again and I continued with both papers, adding the Sunday Times in late 1979 (exactly 40 years ago). I still write those monthly notes for the Scotsman and weekly ones for the Sunday Times. My Guardian writing expanded over the years with more frequent notes on astronomy, space and satellite visibility, but I ended my Guardian career with a final Starwatch note published on 2018 January 1 in anticipation of its switch to a more restrictive tabloid format. You can still access quite a large number of my Guardian notes on their webpage.
As satellite tracking ended at the ROE in the 1970s, I got involved with the Observatory’s site testing, working for short periods in Spain, Italy and Tenerife at potential locations for what eventually became the UK’s observatory on La Palma. Having become involved, also, with software for the design and operation of the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) and its instruments, I continued this in Hawaii between 1981 and 1987, where I was interviewed by Patrick Moore for the 25th anniversary programme of The Sky at Night. After returning to the ROE, I continued to work on software and instrument development, including several commissioning trips back to Hawaii, until I retired in 2005.
Obviously, I’m still involved with the ASE of which I am a past-President and the proud recipient of its Lorimer Medal in 2011. I think my first PowerPoint presentation of the monthly night sky for the ASE was in 2003 November, and I’ve done a fair proportion of them ever since. I now do a similar monthly presentation for Edinburgh’s University of the Third Age (U3A) Astronomy Group with which I am also active.

Sky Diary Archive
Scotland’s Sky in June 2023
Watch for noctilucent clouds as planets buzz the Beehive
Scotland’s Sky in May 2023
Brilliant Venus chases Mars in our western evening sky
Scotland’s Sky in April 2023
Mercury at its evening best as JUICE sent to Jupiter
Scotland’s Sky in March 2023
Venus and Jupiter rendezvous in the west at nightfall
Scotland’s Sky in February 2023
Three-tailed green comet closest to Earth as month begins
Scotland’s Sky in January 2023
Orion competes with three bright planets in evening sky
Scotland’s Sky in December 2022
Mars slips behind Moon at its hour of opposition on 8th
Scotland’s Sky in November 2022
Mars the pick of the five outer planets in our evening sky
Scotland’s Sky in October 2022
Sun eclipsed on 25th as Mars and Jupiter dominate nights
Scotland’s Sky in September 2022
Giant planet Jupiter at its closest and brightest in 166 years
Scotland’s Sky in August 2022
Perseids suffer in the moonlight as Saturn reaches opposition
Scotland’s Sky in July 2022
Saturn and Jupiter return to midnight sky as twilight abates
Scotland’s Sky in June 2022
The three stellar lighthouses in our twilit midsummer nights
Scotland’s Sky in May 2022
Totally eclipsed Moon to set at sunrise on the 16th
Scotland’s Sky in April 2022
Open season for galaxies as Mercury well placed in evening
Scotland’s Sky in March 2022
Planets hide in dawn twilight as sunspot activity builds
Scotland’s Sky in February 2022
James Webb reaches new home and prepares for science tasks
Scotland’s Sky in January 2022
January’s Quadrantids meteor shower could be the best of 2022
Scotland’s Sky in December 2021
Planets align as the James Webb telescope readies for launch
Scotland’s Sky in November 2021
Moon eclipsed on the 19th as dawn twilight floods our sky
Scotland’s Sky in October 2021
Saturn and Jupiter lead parade of watery constellations
Scotland’s Sky in September 2021
Escape light pollution to savour Milky Way in evening sky
Scotland’s Sky in August 2021
Jupiter and Saturn shine brightly at opposition as the Tears fall
Scotland’s Sky in July 2021
Giant planets return to evenings as summer twilight subsides
Scotland’s Sky in June 2021
Scotland to enjoy a partial eclipse of the Sun on the 10th