Tag: Mare Crisium

Pre-Dawn Planet Action, the Full Moon Passes Bees, Covers Stars, and Shows Rays, and Spring Begins!

On the early evening of Tuesday, March 15, 2022, the nearly full moon will occult the bright star Algieba in Leo. times vary by location. This scene shows the end of the event at 8:57 pm EDT, after the star has emerged near Mare Crisium. Hello, mid-March Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the…
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Pretty Planets Kiss and Dance at Dawn, and Some Dark Sky Delights Til the Librated Cat Comes Back!

The Sword of Orion imaged by John Deans in Bancroft, Ontario on February 2021. This image covers about a thumb’s width of sky, top-to-bottom. The trapezium cluster lies in the heart of the nebula (above centre). Hello, March Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of February 27th, 2022 by Chris Vaughan. Feel…
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Groundhogs Have a Happy Lunar New Year, Young Moon Meets Jupiter, Mars Moves Past Messiers, and Winter Way Wonders!

This amazing image of the young crescent moon, which triggered the Lunar New Year, was captured by Michael Watson from mid-town Toronto on February 19, 2015 at 6:37 pm EST, when the Moon was 23 hours 48 minutes past its new phase. Such moons are difficult to see it and to photograph. Happy Lunar New…
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The Harvest Moon Hosts Rays and Maria, and the Equinox Announces Northern Autumn!

I’ve annotated this image of the full moon taken by Michael Watson of Toronto. The dark maria are labelled in yellow with their Latin names. Major craters and those with ray systems are in blue. the red numerals show the Apollo landing sites, although the equipment is not visible from Earth. Hello, Autumn Harvest Stargazers!…
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Shooting Star Season Starts, Pallas Pauses, and the Librated Full Thunder Moon Greets Gas Giants!

On Friday, July 23, the moon will reach its full phase. On that evening, the libration of the moon will cause the moon to appear to tilt downwards and twist to the left a bit, allowing Earthlings to see features along the moon’s northeastern limb that are normally not visible (green labels). Major lunar features…
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Bright Planets Bracket Night, Luna Limits the Lyrids, but There’s Much Moon to Appreciate!

This annotated image of the Lyrids Meteor Shower was captured by Petr Horalek when the Lyrids streaked over Seč Lake in the Czech Republic in April, 2020. The meteors appear to radiate from a point in the sky in Hercules near the very bright blue star Vega of Lyra (the Harp). Don’t watch the radiant…
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