A labelled map of the Mare Imbrium region of the moon, shown for 8 pm on Friday, March 3. On the previous evenings, the pole-to-pole lunar terminator will sweep across Mare Imbrium, highlighting its features. (Starry Night Pro 8) Hello, Fellow Moongazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of February 26th, 2023 by…
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This wonderful image was captured around 8:30 pm EST on Saturday, February 11, 2023 by Andrea Girones from her backyard in Ottawa, Canada. It shows the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it slid past reddish Mars. The dusty tail is material left behind as the comet travels downwards (celestial southbound) in the sky. The…
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This spectacular image of the Pleiades Star Cluster (Messier 45) in Taurus was captured and processed by Shawn Nielsen of Kitchener, Ontario. Notice both the bright blues of reflection nebulosity and the darker dust in the background. Shawn posts his images on social media as @Visible Dark_ . His website https://visibledark.ca/ contains many more treasures.…
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Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! This wonderful object, known as the Christmas Tree Cluster or NGC 2264, is located in the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn), which occupies the winter sky between Orion and Gemini. The red glows are hydrogen gas being energized by the clump of hot, young stars recently born in the…
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When the very bright “dog star” star Sirius (aka Alpha Canis Majoris) climbs high enough to clear the treetops around 10 pm local time on Christmas, its intense light and flashes of festive colour are bound to catch your eye, and just might fill you with Holiday spirit! Happy Hanukkah and Winter Solstice, Stargazers! Here…
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Geminids Meteors viewed from Chile, a four-hour composite imaged by Yuri Beletsky at Las Campanas Observatory in 2013. Orion is upside-down at left and the twin stars Castor and Pollux sit near bright Jupiter at centre. NASA APOD for December 8, 2019. Hello, mid-December, Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of December…
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This image by Kent Wood was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 27, 2017. It shows the bright star Mirach aka Beta Andromedae and the distant background elliptical galaxy NGC 404 positioned just to its north-northwest (upper left of centre). The galaxy, which is nick-named Mirach’s Ghost, can be seen in 6″ or…
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My friend Alan Dyer of Calgary, Alberta captured this wonderful wide-field image of the fully eclipsed moon on Tuesday morning, November 8, 2022. The brilliant white star Sirius (lower left), bright red Mars (top centre), and the blood red moon (far right) surround the winter stars of Orion and Taurus. Enjoy more of Alan’s work…
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This terrific image of a total lunar eclipse was captured and processed by Michael Watson of Toronto on October 8, 2014. The circumstances were similar to the total lunar eclipse that North americans will witness during the morning hours of Tuesday, November 8, 2022. As with this previous eclipse, the northern hemisphere of the moon…
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NGC 457, better known as the Owl Cluster, ET Cluster, and Dragonfly Cluster, was imaged by “Astrodoc” Ron Brecher of Guelph, Ontario. The bright stars are the eyes. The body and feet extend down to the right. Squint to see the upswept, curving chains of stars for the wings. This image covers a finger’s width…
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