Month: October 2019

Science Outreach Specialists

The Crescent Moon Plays Planetary Hopscotch, Falling Back, Wading into Water Constellations, and Some Spooky Treats!

The Witchhead Nebula in Orion is very large, but dim. It’s best seen in long exposure astrophotos – like this image taken by Jeff Signorelli in the NASA APOD for October 30, 2015. The name is a misnomer. The blue colour is produced when light from the bright star at centre left reflects off nearby…
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Greater Toronto Area ISS Passes and Iridium Flares for the week of October 27th, 2019

On Tuesday, October 29 from 6:13 to 6:17 am EDT, the International Space Station will fly over the GTA in a very bright pass, exiting Earth’s shadow high in the northwestern sky, and then setting in the east-northeast.  The ISS (International Space Station) is visible gliding silently over the GTA this week. The best passes…
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Maximum Meteors on Monday, the Old Moon’s Crescent Covers a Star, Medusa’s Eye Gleams, and some Binoculars Delights

The Double Cluster in northwestern Perseus makes a fantastic target for binoculars at this time of year. This wide field image was taken by Volker Wendel and was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on December 7, 2007. Hello, October Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of October 20th, 2019 by Chris…
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Greater Toronto Area ISS Passes and Iridium Flares for the week of October 20th, 2019

On Saturday, October 26 from 6:59 to 7:05 am EDT, the International Space Station will glide high over the GTA in a very bright pass, exiting Earth’s shadow over the west-northwestern horizon, passing through the Big Dipper, and then setting below the east-northeastern horizon. The ISS (International Space Station) is visible gliding silently over the…
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Yom Kippur, Sunday Brings a Punymoon and Rare Double Spots on Jupiter, Mercury at Max Visibility, and Orionids Appear!

This image of the full moon was captured by Michael Watson of Toronto hours after it was full in September, 2017. Notice how the craters along the right-hand edge show some shadowing while the rest of the moon is “flat”. Michael’s gallery of wonderful astro-images are here. Hello, October Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights…
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Greater Toronto Area ISS Passes for the week of October 6th, 2019

On Saturday, October 6 from 7:59 to 8:03 pm EDT, the International Space Station will glide high over the GTA in a very bright pass, rising from the west-northwestern horizon, passing near the bright star Deneb, and then disappearing into Earth’s shadow over the east-southeastern horizon. The ISS (International Space Station) is visible gliding silently…
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The Dragon Spits Fire, the Full Moon is Puny, and Jupiter Sports Two Spots!

On Sunday evening, October 13, observers in the Americas can see a rare double-shadow transit on Jupiter. At dusk, Europa’s shadow will be midway across the northern hemisphere of the planet – accompanied by the Great Red Spot. Shortly before 8 pm EDT, Io’s shadow will join in the fun for approximately 35 minutes –…
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Greater Toronto Area ISS Passes for the week of September 29th, 2019

On Saturday, October 6 from 7:58 to 8:03 pm EDT, the International Space Station will glide high over the GTA in a very bright pass, rising from the west-northwestern horizon, passing near the bright star Deneb, and then disappearing into Earth’s shadow over the east-southeastern horizon. The ISS (International Space Station) is visible gliding silently…
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