Welcome to UK Cloud Magnets, the family friendly place to be.

UK Cloud Magnets is a very friendly Facebook group full of like-minded people from all over the UK who have an interest in anything and everything to do with Astronomy.

We have members that are just starting out in this fantastic hobby that are looking for advice on everything ranging from which type of telescope to buy right through to how to take images with a telescope and fitted camera. Some of our members are seasoned Astro Photographers that await eagerly for dark clear nights so they can capture stunning images like those in our Gallery page which can sometimes take hours to capture and then many more to process the data using many different methods to make the final image look mind blowing.

We always have lots happening within the group including regular FREE giveaways of astronomy equipment.

We host a nominated photo of the week and photo of the month  along with an object of the month competition and a fun monthly space quiz. Not forgetting the highly sought after Wooden Spoon Award for those true Cloud Magnets! We have recently introduced a Mentorship program where you can either be a Mentor and help others or be a Student and choose a listed Mentor to help you with your journey into astronomy. Your Mentor will help you on a one-to-one basis in your dedicated Messenger chat room which is created automatically when you pair up with each other and your teaching is done at your pace and at your level of experience.

We have a dedicated section within a Learning Unit where there are lots of downloadable documents ranging from “types of telescope” to “star and galaxy charts” to assist you with Astronomy in the comfort of your own home. We also have a very large amount of free downloadable data that has been captured using remote telescopes from around the world which will assist your processing skills courtesy of Pete Williamson.

Astronomy is a very fun and enjoyable hobby which anyone can take part in.

You don’t have to own a telescope to join in. A set of binoculars is a great way to start looking at the moon, stars, planets or even galaxies. A visit to your local Astronomy shop will soon have you hooked into looking up and learning about the night sky. A quick Google search will also give you information about any local Astronomy clubs in your area that will be only too keen to invite you to their stargazing nights. If you are lucky enough to have clear skies on your very first experience of viewing the night sky through a telescope you will be immediately addicted and not want to give the next person in line their turn.

The beauty about Astronomy is that anyone can do it.

You don’t need to know everything about the night sky to start off with. One of the key factors to start the journey into astronomy is to learn the constellations in your night sky.

Imagine each constellation as a town, village or city on a map close to where you live. You could very easily travel from one village to another without thinking too much about it, the night sky is no different.

 

Once you know where one constellation is you can then easily find its neighbour, for example; if you can find Ursa Major (The Plough) you can find Polaris (The North Star) which is also one of the leading stars of Ursa Minor (Little Bear) and thus your journey of mapping the night sky begins.

 

If you are based in the UK and would like to join UK Cloud Magnets just click on the Facebook Logo which will take you directly to the “join group” page. Once one of our admins have accepted your request to join, you are then a fully-fledged Magneteer of UK Cloud Magnets.