On Friday, March 20 from 8:57 to 9:02 pm EDT, the International Space Station will fly high overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, rising from the west-southwestern horizon, flying past Orion, Taurus, and Gemini, and then disappearing into Earth’s shadow in the Big Dipper, just over the northeastern horizon. Artificial satellites are…
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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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The Open cluster Messier 35, also known as the Shoe-Buckle cluster sits near the feet of Castor in Gemini. The small open cluster NGC 2158 is to the lower right of it in this image from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The area of sky shown here measures about one finger’s width of the sky,…
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This composite photograph of the international space station was taken through a 10 inch reflector telescope by James Boone from Tampa, Florida on April 27, 2014. It takes a steady hand and some practice, but you can see a magnified view of the ISS through your own backyard telescope. Artificial satellites are visible because they…
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A close-up view of Messier 41, also known as the Little Beehive Cluster, in Canis Major. The area of the sky shown here is about four finger widths below Sirius, and spans about one finger width (or 1 degree) in height – so the cluster is as large as a full moon. Hello, Late-February Stargazers!…
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This image shows Comet C/2017 T2 (Panstarrs) passing the Double Cluster in Cassiopeia on January 24, 26, and 28, 2020. It was taken by Rolando Ligustri and appeared as the NASA APOD for January 30, 2020. Comets will exhibit the greenish glow shown here when viewed through a good-quality backyard telescope. Hello, February Stargazers! Here…
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This heart-shaped feature on Mars was imaged by the Mars Orbiter Camera in 1999. It measures 2.3 km across at its widest, and is located on the eastern flank of the Alba Patera volcano in northern Tharsis. The sunlight is illuminating the scene from the left. The feature is a pit formed by collapse within…
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This image of the Winter Hexagon / Football was taken by Jeff Dai. Start with bright Sirius just above the hills at lower right, then head straight up to Rigel, and to the upper left to reddish Betelgeuse, and then bright yellow Capella on the left. Next head down to Castor and Pollux, and finally…
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Valentine’s Day is right around the corner! This beautiful object is called the Rosette Nebula (or NGC 2244). It’s located in the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn), just to the left (east) of Orion. The Rosette is a cradle of glowing Hydrogen gas that has birthed about 2500 young stars in its centre. This image…
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This spectacular astrophotograph of Orion’s Sword by Michael Watson of Toronto has been annotated to highlight the many and varied deep sky objects in this part of the sky. 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…
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