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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
The Open cluster Messier 35, also known as the Shoe-Buckle cluster sits near the feet of Castor in Gemini. The small open cluster NGC 2158 is to the lower right of it in this image from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The area of sky shown here measures about one finger’s width of the sky,…
Read more
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! This beautiful object is called the Rosette Nebula (or NGC 2244). It’s located in the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn), just to the left (east) of Orion. The Rosette is a cradle of glowing Hydrogen gas that has birthed about 2500 young stars in its centre. This image…
Read more
This wide field photograph of the sky shows Orion at left and Taurus to the upper right. The stars have been slightly overexposed to emphasize their colours and relative brightnesses. Normally, reddish Betelgeuse at Orion’s shoulder (left above centre) is the same brightness as blue Rigel at Orion’s opposite foot. But recent images shows Betelgeuse…
Read more
Several times a year at the moon’s first quarter phase, a feature called the Lunar X becomes visible in strong binoculars and small telescopes. For a few hours starting at approximately 11:15 pm EST on Monday, December 2, the illuminated rims of the craters Purbach, la Caille, and Blanchinus will combine to form a small,…
Read more
While we’re used to looking for the Lunar X that appears every few months near the first quarter phase, a group of Japanese astronomers decided to add a little LOVE to the half-illuminated moon. This image by Masaru Takeo and Junichi Watanabe was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for November 3, 2018. See if…
Read more
On Thursday, October 3, the moon will guide you to see nearby Jupiter in daytime. This correctly oriented view for 3 pm EDT (00:19 GMT) simulates what binoculars will show. The planet is visible without binoculars, too. Look for a tiny, brilliant point of light below the moon. Hello, Early Autumn Stargazers! Here are your…
Read more