Tag: First Quarter moon

Watch the Moon Wax, Mercury at Max, Medusa Blink, and Bright Stars Blaze!

An ISS transit on Thursday night, January 21 will pass across the moon’s disk for 0.6 seconds at 6:08:39.8 pm EST. The pass will be observable by observers across Port Perry, northern Toronto / southern Richmond Hill, Brampton, and Cambridge, Ontario. Find details at https://transit-finder.com/ and www.astrogeo.ca/skylights/. This image by Eric Holland was taken from…
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The Solstice, Lunar X, and Great Conjunction on Monday – plus Meteors, Moon Doings, and a Christmas Reindeer Rides the North Pole!

Ian Wheelband of Ashburn, Ontario captured this pre-Great Conjunction image of Jupiter and Saturn through his telescope on Friday evening, December 18, 2020. The planets will be far closer together on Monday, December 21, 2020. Happy Solstice, Winter Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of December 20th, 2020 by Chris Vaughan. Feel…
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A Comet in Orion, and an Early Evening Crescent Moon meets Gas Giants, and Shows Morning Meteors from Leo!

This all-sky image from November, 1998 by Juraj Toth of Modra Observatory, operated by Comenius University in Bratislava, shows about 100 Leonids meteors emanating from the region of sky near Leo. It was compiled during a 4 hour period. NASA APOD for November 4, 2001 Hello, mid-November Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the…
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A Mid-Week Meteor Shower from Orion, and an Evening Moon Jumps under Giant Planets and then Exhibits an X and L-O-V-E on Friday!

Hello, mid-October Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of October 18th, 2020 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are expressed in Eastern Time.…
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Northern Autumn Arrives, the Evening Moon Clips the Scorpion’s Claw and Jumps Past Jupiter, and Venus Veers by Vesta!

This image of the young crescent moon by Dylan O’Donnell shows Earthshine – sunlight reflected off of Earth that slightly illuminates the dark portion of the moon’s Earth-facing hemisphere. Watch for it early this week. NASA APOD for March 20, 2015. Hello, Autumn Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of September 20th,…
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Some L-O-V-E on the Moon, which will Dance with Prominent Planets, Venus and Mars are Bright at Night, and Late Summer Stars are Colourful!

This amazing photograph by Sergio Scauso of Cordoba, Argentina shows the moon occulting Mars on August 9, 2020. NASA APOD for August 15, 2020. Since the moon travels within the same band of sky surrounding the ecliptic that the planets do, its large angular size allows it to pass in front of the planets from…
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Comet NEOWISE Becomes a Binoculars Object, the Evening Moon Meets Pretty Planets, Meteors, and Venus Kisses the Ruby Star!

This simulated image of Saturn for Sunday, July 26 at 10:30 pm EDT shows several of the larger moons labelled and the distinctive Cassini Division that splits the rings. Hello, Late-July Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of July 26th, 2020 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your…
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The Crescent Moon Delights during Evening, Jupiter and Saturn Salsa at Midnight, and some Sights Described for Moonlit Nights!

The Moon as it will appear at 11 pm Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, June 25, 2020. The prominent, dark, round crater Theophilus located mid-moon, near the terminator line, will change in appearance each night this week as its rim, and then its floor, fills with sunlight. These hourly images are available from NASA’s Moon…
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A Farewell to Venus, a Week of Waxing Moon Viewing, Jupiter Sports Shadow Spots, and then Enters the Evening Sky!

This inverted picture of the crescent Venus was taken by holding my smartphone over the eyepiece of my telescope at 9 pm on Thursday, May 21, 2020. The crescent was also visible in binoculars. If you have clear skies after sunset in the next several days, have a go! Hello, Late-May Stargazers! Here are your…
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Venus at Biggest Brightness, Love Letters on the Moon, a Second First Quarter, and Prominent Pre-dawn Planets!

On Sunday evening, April 26, the young crescent moon will sit beside the bright planet Venus in the western sky after sunset, as shown here at 9 pm local time. The sight will make a lovely photo opportunity. Hello, Moon and Venus Lovers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of April 26th, 2020…
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