This image taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the fascinating Aristarchus Plateau. The crater Aristarchus at lower right is very prominent, and can be seen even with unaided eyes as a very bright patch. To its left is the similar-sized, but darker crater Herodotus. Vallis Schröteri, the largest sinuous rille on the moon, starts…
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The western portion of the moon is largely covered by the dark Oceanus Procellarum. Major craters Copernicus and Kepler are surrounded by blankets of ejecta and ray systems. Under magnification, look for small craters with dark haloes around Copernicus. The Reiner Gamma Swirl and Aristarchus regions are interesting, too. Hello, April Stargazers! Here are your…
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This image of the LeoTrio of Galaxies was captured by Marcus Bauer. It was a NASA APOD for April 18, 2019. Top to bottom, the image spans one degree of the sky. The Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628) is at centre left. Messier 65 is at top centre and Messier 66 is at centre right. The…
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This beautiful photo of the Aurora Borealis was captured by my friend Yvonne Wong in Alaska recently. The aurorae are more frequent around the two equinox periods each year because the N-S component of the Earth’s magnetic field is reduced and less able to fend off the solar wind. Hello, Spring Stargazers! Here are your…
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