This image of the beautiful open star cluster around the bright star Mirfak in Perseus was taken by Martin Gembec of the Czech Republic in 2007. Mirfak dominates the centre, with the stars of the cluster, also known as Melotte 20, the Alpha Persei Moving Group, and the Little Cloud of Pirates, sprinkled mainly to…
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As shown above, on Monday, December 16, 2024 from 6:33 to 6:40 am EST, the International Space Station will be visible flying high overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, exiting Earth’s shadow just above the southwestern horizon and then flying past the Big Dipper’s handle and the bright star Vega before setting…
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In this long exposure composite during the Geminids Meteor Shower by Yin HaoC, the bright “twin” stars of Castor and Pollux are framed by the meteors, which appear to radiate from that point in space. (NASA APOD for December 15, 2017) Hello, Early-December Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of December 8th,…
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As shown above, on Saturday, December 14, 2024 from 6:35 to 6:41 am EST, the International Space Station will be visible flying over the GTA in a bright pass, rising from the south-southwestern horizon and then flying below the bright star Arcturus before setting in the east-northeast. (courtesy: Heavens-above.com) Artificial satellites are visible because they…
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This image of the Fossil Footprint Nebula NGC 1491 in Perseus was captured by Adam Block at Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona. This image is nearly one degree wide, or about one finger’s width. (Wikipedia) Happy December, Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of December 1st, 2024 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free…
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As shown above, on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 from 5:09 to 5:15 pm EST, the International Space Station will be visible flying overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, rising from the west-northwestern horizon and then flying close to the bright stars Vega and Deneb before setting in the southeast. (courtesy: Heavens-above.com) Artificial…
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NGC 7479 aka the Superman Galaxy and the Propeller Galaxy is located below (south of) the bright star Markab in Pegasus. One of my favourite galaxies, it is considered peculiar due to its asymmetrical arms. It spans about 1/15th the diameter of a full moon and is visible in larger telescopes on dark nights. This…
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As shown above, on Saturday, November 30, 2024 from 5:57 to 6:02 pm EST, the International Space Station will be visible flying overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, rising from the northwestern horizon and then cruising through Cassiopeia and Cepheus and their daughter Andromeda before entering Earth’s shadow low in the east-southeastern…
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The globular star cluster known as Messier 22 and the Great Sagittarius Cluster. Venus will shine near this object this week. The cluster spans about one-third of the full moon’s diameter and is visible in binoculars and backyard telescopes. The best time to view its rich, “sugar on black velvet” spectacle is during the summer…
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As shown above, on Monday, November 18, 2024 from 5:55 to 6:00 pm EDT, the International Space Station will be visible flying over the GTA in a very bright pass, rising from the west-southwestern horizon and then flying past the bright star Vega before entering Earth’s shadow in the northeastern sky above Jupiter. (courtesy: Heavens-above.com)…
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