Category: Skylights

Science Outreach Specialists

Comet Leonard Leaps to Evening, the Moon Moves to Full, the Twins Shoot Stars, and Evening Planets Party!

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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Comet Leonard Looms Larger, the Waxing Moon Poses with Planets, and Geminids Germinate!

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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The New Moon Eclipsed, Hanukkah Happens, Planets Gathered in Evening, and Night Sights in Cassiopeia and Andromeda!

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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Tips for Telescope-buying, Jupiter Sports Great Spots, Mars in Morning, and Night’s Brightest Lights!

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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The Full Beaver Moon, Mostly Eclipsed, Harms Leo’s Meteors, and Algol Brightens!

This image of a total lunar eclipse by Michael Watson from October 8, 2014 somewhat resembles the appearance of the eclipsed moon on Friday morning, November 19, 2021. During that eclipse the moon passed near the northern (upper right) edge of Earth’s umbra. For this week’s eclipse, a bright slice of the moon will extend…
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Diwali Details, Mercury Meets Mars, the Waxing Moon Passes Planets, Letters on Luna, and Taurids Tempt Us!

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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The Moon’s Mostly Missing Crescent Covers Planets, See Ceres Crossing Star-Shooting Taurus, and Aquarius’ Lucky Stars!

This colour-composite image of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) was created from images obtained using the Wide Field Imager camera on the 2.2-metre ESO telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile. The colours arise from a shell of gases energized by the radiation of the tiny central star. This image spans the same diameter…
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Inner Planets at Their Outer Range, and a Moonless Middle-night Hosts Halloween Treats!

The faint Witch’s Head Nebula aka NGC 1909 and IC 2118, is a ghostly reflection nebula near the bright star Rigel in Orion. It’s very large – stretching nearly three finger widths from her chin to her forehead! Image by Jeff Signorelli, NASA APOD for Oct 30, 2015 Happy Halloween week, Stargazers! Here are your…
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Morning Mercury, Evening Venus Leaves Antares, Orionids Meteors at Max, and Jupiter Sports Spots!

This spectacular long exposure composite combines twenty photographs of the Orionids Meteor Shower taken on October 21, 2006 near Bursa, Turkey by Tunc Tezel. It was NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for October 23, 2206. Orion, with his distinctive belt, shines at top centre. The shower’s radiant is at top left. Happy, mid-October, Stargazers!…
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Meteor Season Starts, the Waxing Moon Leaves Venus and Joins Jupiter and Saturn, Venus Kisses Antares!

This Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image shows Sinus Iridum, the Bay of Rainbows, on the northwestern edge of large Mare Imbrium, the Sea of Clouds. The “Golden Handle” is the curved Jura Mountains, the remains of an impact crater that has been flooded by basalt magma flows. The feature, which is easy to see without a…
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