AstroKenya

Amateur Astronomy Society of Kenya exists to share the wonders of the universe with Kenya, East Africa, and beyond.

[John Kraus @johnkrausphotos]

Moon & Mars

[Larry Madowo @LarryMadowo]

This goes hard! 🇰🇪 🙌🏾

[Con Stoitsis @vivstoitsis]

Comet C/2025 R2 SWAN - dust tail is now prominent
Date: 18 09 2025 UT 17h40m
Credit Gerald Rhemann, Michael Jäger

[Andrew McCarthy @AJamesMcCarthy]

I’m proud of this one.

I brought a solar telescope to Florida to capture a Falcon 9 rocket launch transiting the sun. While these have been captured before, never with the details of the sun’s chromosphere, which makes this one the first!

See the video or get the print below 👇

[Michael Jäger @Komet123Jager]

For the past few days, the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has been displaying a blue-green gas coma measuring 2.5 arcminutes across. A short tail was also visible on September 9 when photographed with the 12"/f-3.6 astrograph in Namibia. image Gerald Rhemann, Michael Jäger

[Chris Hadfield @Cmdr_Hadfield]

Tiny plankton, visible from space. They create half the oxygen we breathe (and are the base of the marine food chain). Understanding our world.
https://t.co/OJyft6DEJE
(compare the two @NASA images)

[Kenya Met Department 🇰🇪 @MeteoKenya]

🌦️ WEEKLY WEATHER FORECAST & REVIEW 🌦️
📅 Period: 9th – 15th September 2025

⸻

🌧️ Forecast for 9th – 15th September 2025
•Rainfall:
Rainfall is expected to continue in a few parts of the Highlands East and West of the Rift Valley, the Lake Victoria Basin, and parts of the Rift Valley.
•Temperatures:
🌡️ Daytime (maximum): Above 30°C expected in much of the Coast, North-eastern, and North-western Kenya.
❄️ Night-time (minimum): Below 10°C in parts of the Central Highlands, Central Rift Valley, and the Mt. Kilimanjaro region.
•Winds:
💨 Strong southerly to south-easterly winds exceeding 25 knots (12.86 m/s) expected over the Coast (including Kenya’s territorial waters), South-eastern Lowlands, North-eastern, and North-western Kenya.

⸻

🌍 Regional Outlook (9th – 15th Sept)
•Highlands West of Rift Valley, Lake Victoria Basin & Rift Valley:
Morning sunny intervals with occasional rains in a few places. Afternoon showers and thunderstorms over a few to several places. Night showers likely in some areas.
•North-western Kenya (Turkana & Samburu):
Mostly sunny during the day, partly cloudy nights. Occasional morning, afternoon, or night showers may occur.
•Highlands East of Rift Valley (Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kiambu, Nairobi, Meru, Embu, Tharaka-Nithi, Laikipia, Kirinyaga, Murang’a):
Cloudy mornings with light rains in some areas, giving way to sunny intervals. Afternoon and night showers likely in a few places.
•North-eastern Kenya (Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Isiolo):
Sunny intervals during the day, partly cloudy nights. Occasional morning rains possible.
•South-eastern Lowlands (Machakos, Kitui, Makueni, Kajiado, Taita Taveta, inland Tana River):
Cloudy mornings, followed by sunny intervals. Nights partly cloudy.
•Coast (Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, coastal Tana River):
Sunny intervals during the day, partly cloudy nights. Morning and night showers possible in a few places.

⸻

🌡️ Temperatures (Selected Towns)
•Hottest: Mandera 37.0°C | Lodwar 36.0°C | Garissa 35.0°C
•Coolest nights: Nyahururu 7.0°C | Nyeri 9.0°C | Narok 10.0°C
•Coastal towns: Mombasa & Malindi ~30–32°C (max), 21–23°C (min)

⸻

📊 Weather Review (1st – 7th Sept 2025)
•Rainfall:
•Rainfall observed in parts of the Highlands West of the Rift Valley, Lake Victoria Basin, and Central Rift Valley.
•Highest 7-day total: 91.2mm at Kibisi Secondary School (Bungoma).
•Highest 24-hour rainfall: 59.2mm at Eluuya Girls’ Secondary School (Bungoma, 7th Sept).
•Temperatures:
•Hottest day: 37.4°C at Mandera (7th Sept).
•Coldest night: 7.2°C at Nyahururu (6th Sept).
•General increase in daytime temperatures countrywide. Night-time temperatures rose in some places (Narok, Nakuru, Nyahururu) but dropped in others (Kitui, Makindu, Meru).

⸻

✅ This forecast should be used together with daily (24-hour) and 5-day forecasts from @meteokenya.
📌 County-specific forecasts are available from County Meteorological Offices.

🌐 Visit: https://t.co/UeChEeqyTg
#KenyaWeather #WeeklyForecast #ClimateServices #EarlyWarnings

[Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell]

A new image of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS yielded some serendipitous art.

The Gemini South telescope observed the comet through 4 color filters. While tracking its motion, the telescope split the light from surrounding stars into little rainbows.

https://t.co/luCPnKBzE2

[AstroKenya @AstroKenya]

🌕 Tonight in Lavington: Lunar Eclipse Star Safari!
🔭 Eclipse peak 9:12pm | Saturn, Neptune, deep sky views
🎶 Space music + guided stargazing
🧺 BYO blanket – join us under the stars!
🎟️ Adults KES 2,000 | U18 KES 1,000
📍 Untapped, Kabarsiran Ave
#Astronomy #NairobiEvents

[AstroKenya @AstroKenya]

Pez dispensing.

[Marcus House @MarcusHouse]

Hell yes!

[SpaceX @SpaceX]

Liftoff of Starship!

[Kenya Met Department 🇰🇪 @MeteoKenya]

🌧️ Why did Kenya experience heavy rains from 17–19 August 2025?

The rains were influenced by two major global weather drivers:

✅ The Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO), which was in Phases 2 & 3 over the Indian Ocean, enhanced convection and rainfall over East Africa.
✅ A pressure gradient caused by a cooler Atlantic Ocean pulled the rain-bearing system further east than usual, leading to wetter-than-expected conditions across parts of Kenya.

These conditions have since eased, but the Kenya Meteorological Department (@meteokenya) continues to monitor evolving patterns closely.

For a deeper look into Kenya’s shifting weather trends, see this article from The Standard @StandardKenya :
🔗 https://t.co/zvPiw2x61v

⸻

Stay informed:
•Weekly Forecast: https://t.co/cBx6cfdRjt
•FASTA-Ken Early Warnings: https://t.co/wqdkvDXR4E
•Join us on WhatsApp: https://t.co/hxKngV85ez
•More updates: https://t.co/TdzCONDCGg

@FASTAweather

#WeatherUpdate #Kenya #KMD #ClimateTrends

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Standing under Starship

[AstroKenya @AstroKenya]

Shining bright like true stars, you have given us an unforgettable #CHAN2025 run!
Your stellar performance lit up the pitch and inspired the nation 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪.
Keep shining on and off the pitch @Harambee__Stars ✨⭐

[Chris Hadfield @Cmdr_Hadfield]

Went to the Moon twice, flew in space 4 times, commanded Apollo 13 - Jim Lovell has died at 97. A superb, humble and inspiring man. Rest in peace.

[AstroKenya @AstroKenya]

ESA astronomers are tracking 3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed interstellar comet to pass through our Solar System, offering a rare glimpse into objects from beyond our cosmic neighborhood innit.
https://t.co/24TF8vfBtc

[Ars Technica @arstechnica]

Astronomers may have found a third interstellar object https://t.co/4GVyLDuvtt

[Shaun Maguire @shaunmmaguire]

This is pretty incredible

It seems like we've detected a *third ever* object entering our solar system from outside of it

It's moving FAST

[Larry Madowo @LarryMadowo]

Kenyan police cornered peaceful protesters in a blocked alley, beat them up, then teargassed them.

"Larry ukienda tutauliwa," one of them said. "If you leave, we'll get killed."

Police brutality during protests against police brutality

[space & chill 🌔🪐☄️ @astro_bram]

I wanna be that dad that let's his kids look through the telescope all the time from a young age so they get into astronomy.