My friend Kerry recently captured this gorgeous view of morning clouds, the Milky Way and the Zodiacal Light extending upwards past bright Venus. Her stitched together panorama from the Bolivia High Dessert employed a 15mm fish-eye lens on her Canon R6 camera. For more treats like these, follow Kerry on Instagram and FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/kerryann.hepburn. Hello,…
Read more
This image by Martin Gembec of the Czech Republic shows the rich starfield of the Alpha-Persei Moving Group stars surrounding Mirfak (above centre), the brightest star in Perseus (the Hero). The photograph spans about 3.5 degrees of the sky, nearly filling the view in binoculars. Mirfak is the very bright star shining about halfway up…
Read more
This spectacular image by my friend Andrea Girones was taken recently at Morant’s Curve, Alberta using a DSLR with a 20mm lens on a star tracking mount. It captures the arc of faintly glowing reddish hydrogen gas around Orion and the nimbus around his head (at left), the bright compact Rosette Nebula (upper left), Mars…
Read more
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, October Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of October 22nd, 2023 by…
Read more
This annular solar eclipse occured on June 6, 2021. Proper solar filters or image projection is required to view every part of an annular eclipse. It’s Solar Eclipse Time, Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of October 8th, 2023 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and…
Read more
This fantastic image of the Heart and Soul Nebulae in Cassiopeia was captured by my friend Steve Mallia at Starfest in Ayton, Ontario on September 15, 2023. The pinks are produced by ionized hydrogen gas and the blues by starlight scattering from interstellar dust. The entire scene spans about a palm’s width the sky. Despite…
Read more
This terrific image of Jupiter was captured by my friend Claudio Oriani from his home in Richmond Hill, Ontario on September 5, 2023. More of his work can be enjoyed at his website https://www.wondersofthesky.com/about/ Hello, mid-September Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of September 10th, 2023 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to…
Read more
The relatively bright galaxy named NGC 2903 sits in front of Leo, the Lion’s nose, just below the reddish star Alterf. The magnitude 9 spiral galaxy is visible in medium-sized telescope under dark sky conditions. End-to-end the galaxy spans 11 arc-minutes, or one-third of the full moon’s diameter! While it didn’t make Charles Messier’s List,…
Read more
This beautiful image of Gemini’s Messier 35 and the smaller, but denser open star cluster NGC 2158 (below right of centre) was captured by “Mr. Eclipse” himself, Fred Espenak. Two more small open clusters shine at the far right – squint to see them! The image spans two thumb widths, or 2.5 angular degrees, left…
Read more
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…
Read more