The moon at its first quarter phase, imaged by Michael Watson of Toronto in mid-twilight on April 22, 2018. The nights surrounding first quarter on Saturday, April 9 are the best ones for evening views of the moon through binoculars and any size of telescope. Welcome to International Astronomy Month, April Stargazers!l Stargazers! Here are…
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This mosaic of images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is centred on Mare Imbrium, the huge and ancient impact basin that covers much of the moon’s northern Earth-facing hemisphere. The mountains around its right (lunar west) edge are highlighted around the first quarter phase. Sinus Iridium and the curved Montes Jura are prominent about…
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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,…
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This wide field image of Orion was captured on January 2, 2020 by Alan Dyer of Alberta, Canada. Orange-tinted Betelgeuse, which marks Orion’s shoulder (top centre), normally shines as bright as Orion’s opposite foot – the bright, blue star Rigel. In the last few weeks, Betelgeuse has diminished noticeably in apparent brightness – a possible…
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