Tag: planets

A Comet in Orion, and an Early Evening Crescent Moon meets Gas Giants, and Shows Morning Meteors from Leo!

This all-sky image from November, 1998 by Juraj Toth of Modra Observatory, operated by Comenius University in Bratislava, shows about 100 Leonids meteors emanating from the region of sky near Leo. It was compiled during a 4 hour period. NASA APOD for November 4, 2001 Hello, mid-November Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the…
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Comet NEOWISE Climbs Higher in Evening, a Perfectly Placed Moon for Evening Viewing, Mars before Midnight, and Seeing Planets Simultaneously!

This stunning image of Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was captured in cottage country, near Haliburton, Ontario, by Kersti Meema of Toronto using her Canon T7i camera. She took the image at 11:15 EDT on July 13, 2020. Serendipitously, she also captured an auroral display! The fainter, blue ion tail of the comet can be discerned…
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The Old Moon Meets Mars and Mercury in Morning, Maybe Many Meteors, Venus Kisses Jupiter, and Seeing the Seven Sisters!

This image of the beautiful Pleiades open star cluster, also known as the Seven sisters, Subaru, and Messier 45 was captured by Stuart Norman of Toronto from a dark sky location near Georgian Bay, Ontario on October 19, 2017. The blue nebulosity is light from the sibling stars being reflected off interstellar gas and dust.…
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The Evening Moon Wades through the Water Constellations and Blue Planets, Taurus’ Horns Strikes Sparks, and Vesta is Visually Easier!

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…
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The Crescent Moon Plays Planetary Hopscotch, Falling Back, Wading into Water Constellations, and Some Spooky Treats!

The Witchhead Nebula in Orion is very large, but dim. It’s best seen in long exposure astrophotos – like this image taken by Jeff Signorelli in the NASA APOD for October 30, 2015. The name is a misnomer. The blue colour is produced when light from the bright star at centre left reflects off nearby…
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Maximum Meteors on Monday, the Old Moon’s Crescent Covers a Star, Medusa’s Eye Gleams, and some Binoculars Delights

The Double Cluster in northwestern Perseus makes a fantastic target for binoculars at this time of year. This wide field image was taken by Volker Wendel and was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day on December 7, 2007. Hello, October Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of October 20th, 2019 by Chris…
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The Dragon Spits Fire, the Full Moon is Puny, and Jupiter Sports Two Spots!

On Sunday evening, October 13, observers in the Americas can see a rare double-shadow transit on Jupiter. At dusk, Europa’s shadow will be midway across the northern hemisphere of the planet – accompanied by the Great Red Spot. Shortly before 8 pm EDT, Io’s shadow will join in the fun for approximately 35 minutes –…
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See Jupiter in the Daytime, the Evening Moon Meets Many Planets, and then Exhibits an X on Saturday!

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…
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Early Evening Planets, the Waning Moon Tackles Taurus, and Cygnus Soars Above!

Hello, Late Summer Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of September 15th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeo.ca/skylights/ where all the old editions will be archived. You can…
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The Crown’s Jewels, the First Quarter Moon Meanders through Bright Planets, Jupiter bears Black and Red Spots, and Neptune Kisses a Star!

Hello, Late Summer Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of September 1st, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also…
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