This image of the Lunar Straight Wall or Rupes Recta in Mare Nubium was captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. While the feature can be seen through binoculars, a backyard telescope will reveal more detail. (Adapted from NASA LRO) Hello, Autumn Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of October 6th, 2024 by…
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This image of the North American Nebula was captured in 2018 near Thornbury, Ontario by my friend Sailu Nemana. Several of the surrounding bright stars and star clusters within it are highlighted. The Pelican Nebula (at right) is formed by the dark dust of LDN 935. The re/pink colour is produced by ionized hydrogen gas.…
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The globular cluster NGC 6934 in Delphinus as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is also known as Caldwell 47. This image covers about 3 arc-minutes of the sky, or 1/10th of the full moon’s diameter. (Wikipedia) Hello, Autumn Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of September 22nd, 2024 by Chris…
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Hello, mid-August Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of August 11th, 2024 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are expressed in Eastern Time.…
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This composite image of Perseid Meteors streaking across the Milky Way was captured by Ali Hosseini Nezhad from Shiraz, Iran in 2023. The three bright stars of the Summer Triangle asterism frame the galaxy. NASA APOD for August 24, 2023 Hello, August Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of August 4th, 2024…
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The beautiful Rosette Nebula in Monoceros consists of a circular patch of glowing hydrogen gas and an internal star cluster, created as the hydrogen gas collapsed. Stan Noble tool this image, which was featured as the SkyNews picture of the week for November 3, 2017, in Aneroid, Saskatchewan. The image spans about two finger widths…
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This terrific image of the Orion’s sword was taken on January 7, 2019 by Rick Foster of Markham, Ontario. Even binoculars will reveal that the central patch of light is the splendid Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42. The grouping of bright stars at bottom right are “the Lost Jewel of Orion’s Sword”, particularly…
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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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This magical image of the sword of Orion was captured and processed by my friend John Deans when he was in Bancroft, Ontario on February of 2021. All three patches of light from top to bottom are visible to unaided eyes below Orion’s three-starred belt. Binoculars and backyard telescopes will reveal the spectacular details in…
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My friend Lisa Ann Fanning of New Jersey captured the spectacular morning conjunction of the crescent moon and Venus from the Cape May Lighthouse on November 10, 2023. Hello, November Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of November 12th, 2023 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends…
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