This image from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the entire Mare Imbrium region. On Thursday and Friday this week, the terminator will bisect the huge region, casting in stark relief the ringed mountain ranges to the east: Montes Alpes, Montes Caucasus, and Montes Apenninus. On Saturday night, the terminator will highlight the curved Montes Jura…
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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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This image of the Fossil Footprint Nebula NGC 1491 in Perseus was captured by Adam Block at Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona. This image is nearly one degree wide, or about finger’s width. Wikipedia Hello, Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of January 23rd, 2022 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass…
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This image of the Alpha Persei Moving Group, also known as Melotte 20, was captured by Martin Gembec of Czechoslovakia in 2007. Mirfak is the very bright star above centre. The scattered bright stars are stellar siblings. The golden star to lower left is Sigma Persei. The entire image spans several finger widths left-to-right, or…
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With unaided eyes, three patches of light make up the sword of Orion, which hangs below his famous 3-starred belt. My friend John Deans of Toronto captured this image of Orion’s Sword while in Bancroft during February, 2021. Even binoculars will reveal that the central patch of light is the splendid Orion Nebula, also known…
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This terrific image of Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) was captured by RASC member Paul Mortfield using RASC’s Robotic Telescope in the sierra Mountains of California on December 8, 2021 at 4 am PST. The green glow of the coma is apparent, and the ion tail points anti-sunward. Hello, mid-December Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights…
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On November 24, 2021 Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) passed between two well-known galaxies, the Whale (top right) and the Hockey Stick (lower left), otherwise known as NGC 4631 and NGC 4656, respectively. Gregg Ruppel of Tucson, Arizona captured this beautiful image of the rendezvous through his telescope-mounted astro-camera. This image, which spans 1 degrees of…
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This image of Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard) was taken recently by Dan Bartlett from a dark sky site above the Eastern Sierras Mountains in California. The coma’s greenish glow should be apparent in a telescope. The dust tail may be a challenge. The image was featured as NASA’s APOD for November 21, 2021 Hello, Stargazers!…
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On Tuesday evening November, 23, observers in the Americas with telescopes can view a rare treat when the shadows of Ganymede and Callisto traverse Jupiter, accompanied by the Great Red Spot, as shown here for 8 pm EST Hello, late-November Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of November 21st, 2021 by Chris…
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An image of the moon by Michael Watson of Toronto, taken five hours after reaching first quarter on November 7, 2016 . More of Michael’s moon images can be enjoyed at https://www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/albums/72157634160736057 Welcome to the Darker skies of November, Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of November 7th, 2021 by Chris Vaughan.…
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