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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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This image by Michael Watson from September, 2017 shows the sliver of shadow that appears along its right-hand (eastern) limbs just hours after it is officially full. Hello, February Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of February 5th, 2023 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and…
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The circumstances for Tuesday’s partial solar eclipse, which will occur during the new moon syzygy. The eclipse will only be visible with protective solar filters across parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. This scene shows the position of the moon’s shadow on Earth at 11:01 GMT on October 25, 2022. (Starry Night) Hello, Late-October Stargazers!…
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During evening in early October, the Great Square of Pegasus is visible in the eastern sky. the horse’s nose star, Enif, shines about two fist diameters to the right of the square. Orange-tinted Enif has a tiny companion star visible in binoculars and backyard telescopes. The spectacular globular star cluster named Messier 15 (upper right)…
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Getting ready for Monday’s close Jupiter opposition, Chris Curwin of Astronomy by the Bay in Saint John, NB recently captured the gas giant planets in evening with his Hauwei smartphone. Chris is very active in astronomy outreach in Southern New Brunswick. Find out about his events at http://sjastronomy.ca/ or watch his streams on YouTube at…
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Wayne Parker captured this terrific image of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) and its small, bright elliptical companions Messier 32 (to the left of the main core) and Messier 110 (to the lower right of the main core) during the annual Starfest Star Party near Mt. forest, Ontario in August, 2022. The image covers about…
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