This gorgeous patch of sky spans 6 by 11 degrees, or about a palm’s width by a fist’s diameter, held at arm’s length. The red nebulas at right are the Heart and Soul (IC 1805 and IC 1848) in Cassiopeia, 2500 light-years distant. The two bright star groups at left, in next-door Perseus, is collectively…
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This terrific image of the sword of Orion was taken on January 7, 2019 by Rick Foster of Markham, Ontario. The colourful Messier 42 nebula is glowing by the light of young stars formed within it. The area shown here covers about 2 finger widths of the sky. Hello, mid-winter stargazers! Here are your Astronomy…
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This spectacular photograph of the pre-dawn zodiacal light was captured on September 25, 2020 at 5:37 am by Malcolm Park of Prince Edward County, Ontario. The bright point at centre is the planet Venus. The knot of stars above Venus is Messier 44, also known as the Beehive Cluster, in Cancer. Malcolm’s gallery of beautiful…
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This image of the young crescent moon by Dylan O’Donnell shows Earthshine – sunlight reflected off of Earth that slightly illuminates the dark portion of the moon’s Earth-facing hemisphere. Watch for it early this week. NASA APOD for March 20, 2015. Hello, Autumn Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of September 20th,…
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The bright and large open star cluster known as the Pleiades or Messier 45 is composed of sibling stars (the daughters of Atlas and Pleione in Greek mythology) that formed of the same gas cloud. Interstellar dust in the foreground scatters the stars’ light with a blue colour. The cluster is very easily seen with…
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This image of the moon by Michael Watson of Toronto was taken 9 hours after it was full on February 22, 2016 – replicating how the March, 2020 full moon will appear on Monday night. Note that the moon’s right-hand edge shows some shadowing – evidence that it is slightly past full. The many bright…
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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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The beautiful Triangulum Galaxy, also known as Messier 33, dim because it is oriented nearly face-on to Earth, spans 1.5 full moon diameters in the sky. Some people have been able to see it with unaided eyes. At 2.75 million light-years from Earth – that’s the farthest object a human eye can see! This image…
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