Category: Skylights

Science Outreach Specialists

Appreciating Pegasus While the Moon Abandons Evening, the Bull Bellows Meteors, and Mars Makes an Impression!

My friend Alan Dyer of Calgary, Alberta captured this wonderful wide-field image of the fully eclipsed moon on Tuesday morning, November 8, 2022. The brilliant white star Sirius (lower left), bright red Mars (top centre), and the blood red moon (far right) surround the winter stars of Orion and Taurus. Enjoy more of Alan’s work…
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Falling Back, the Beaver Moon Entirely Eclipsed, Evening Mars Makes its Move, Max Uranus, and Taurus Shoots Stars!

This terrific image of a total lunar eclipse was captured and processed by Michael Watson of Toronto on October 8, 2014. The circumstances were similar to the total lunar eclipse that North americans will witness during the morning hours of Tuesday, November 8, 2022. As with this previous eclipse, the northern hemisphere of the moon…
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The Moon Looms During Evening, the Mid-Autumn Sky Spits Spooky Sparks, Mars Mounts its Attack, and Jupiter Sports Spots!

NGC 457, better known as the Owl Cluster, ET Cluster, and Dragonfly Cluster, was imaged by “Astrodoc” Ron Brecher of Guelph, Ontario. The bright stars are the eyes. The body and feet extend down to the right. Squint to see the upswept, curving chains of stars for the wings. This image covers a finger’s width…
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Monday’s New Moon Brings Diwali and a Partial Eclipse, Arcturus Ghosts the Sun, and Jupiter’s Moons Say Boo!

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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The Waning Moon’s Crescent Covers Leo’s Heart, Orionids Meteors Multiply, and Autumn Sights to See!

This long exposure image of the Triangulum Galaxy, also known as Messier 33 and NGC 598, was captured by Steve McKinney of Toronto in 2012. His photo covers a thumb’s width of the sky, but it has been rotated by 180 degrees from a binoculars view. Look for the 2.7 million light-years-distant galaxy climbing the…
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A New Comet, Exploring the Fullish Moon’s Western Wastes, the Moon Covers Uranus, Mounting Meteors, and Mars Menaces a Crab!

I took this unprocessed image of Saturn through the 74″ (1.88 metre) diameter telescope at the David Dunlap Observatory in Richmond Hill, Ontario at 9:13 pm EDT on October 3, 2022. Note the bands on the planet, and the dark Cassini Division that separates the outer from the inner rings. The wedge of shadow cast…
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The Moon Waxes to Hunter Full, But We Can Still See Paired Stars and Pretty Planets!

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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The Moon Returns After New, An Extra-close Jupiter Sports Spots, and Mars Cruises by a Cluster!

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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Northern Autumn Arrives, Interplanetary Dust Appears, Evening Planets A-plenty, and the Waning Moon Gives Galaxy Views!

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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Moon Moves Post-midnight, Perusing Planets in Evening, and Diving into Diminutive Delphinus!

This gorgeous scene captures summer nights in Canada. It was taken by my friend Kerry-Ann Lecky Hepburn on April 23, 2022. While autumn will soon arrive, its earlier sunsets will allow us to continue to view the Milky Way’s treasures for some time to come. The pink patches in this image are nebulas. They are…
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