All types of Space topics

The first space stations to be placed in Earth orbit were the Russian Salyut 1 in 1971 and the NASA launched Skylab in 1973. These have been developed, discontinued, replaced over the years with the International Space Station(ISS) in collaboration with Russia, USA and other nation's space agencies for manned orbits. It is a manned research station conducting scientific experiments and studying the space environment.

Check below to find when the ISS will be flying above your location.

The Night Sky Map from
is a tool where you can enter your location and view the planets visibilty.

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Lunar/Solar Eclipses

Following Table shows Lunar/Solar Eclipses occurring in 2026, dependant on your location in the world:

Annular Solar Eclipse	17 February, 2026
Total Lunar Eclipse	02-03 March, 2026
Total Solar Eclipse	12 August, 2026
Partial Lunar Eclipse	27-28 August, 2026

Ancient Chinese and Egyptian civilisations were making fairly accurate forecasts of lunar and solar eclipses. They kept records of these without fully understanding the significance of such an event. The Stone-Age circle at Stonehenge, England may have been used to predict eclipses.

As with any solid body, the Earth casts a shadow. For a lunar eclipse, the Moon moves directly into the shadow so that the Sun and Moon are aligned either side of the Earth and so the source of the Moon's light is cut off. This causes the Moon to be in semi-darkness for a few minutes. It does not disappear completely as the Earth's atmosphere bends some of the light from the Sun facing side onto the Moon's surface and can be seen as a dim, shadowy object.
The Moon can be often seen with a slight red tint and is why it is sometimes referred to as a blood moon.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are lined up so that the Sun is exactly obscured by the smaller but much closer disk of the Moon and darkness pursues.
An annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon is too far away to completely cover the Sun which will show a 'ring of fire' around the Moon.
A partial solar eclipse happens when the Moon blocks only part of the Sun.