Skylights

Science Outreach Specialists

The Mid-summer Waning Morning Moon Promotes Perusing of Perseids and Looking at Lyra!

Bill Longo of Toronto captured this amazing sequence of images on August 15, 2014. The International Space Station climbs the sky through the Big Dipper at left, while a Perseids meteor briefly streaks across the sky at right. Hello, Meteor Lovers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of August 6th, 2023 by Chris…
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Bright Stars Battle with the Full Sturgeon Supermoon While Mercury Mounts and Saturn Shines by Night!

This Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image shows the major features of Mare Imbrium, the Sea of Rains. Oceanus Procellarum mare material appears along the far left side of the image. Welcome to August, Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of July 30th, 2023 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to…
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Lunar Lighting Explained, the Moon Meets the Scorpion, a Modest Meteor Shower, and Planets Populate the Night!

This simulated 3D model of the solar system shows the position of Earth on July 30 while it is crossing through the debris field dropped along the orbit of comet P/2008 Y12 (SOHO), producing the peak of the Southern Delta-Aquariids Meteor Shower. You can manipulate the model at the website https://www.meteorshowers.org/ Hello, Summer Stargazers! Here…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of July 23rd, 2023

As shown above, on Thursday, July 27, 2023 from 9:49 to 9:55 pm EDT, the International Space Station will be visible flying high overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, rising over the northwestern horizon, flying through the Big Dipper and the Summer Triangle, and then entering Earth’s shadow low in the east-southeastern…
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The Crescent Moon Cruises Post-sunset Planets, Pluto Peaks, and Admiring the Summer Milky Way!

This beautiful annotated image of the summer Milky Way arching over the Great Wall of China was captured by Steed Yu. The bright star at centre far right is Antares. It’s little claw stars shine to its upper right. The dark dust patches and lanes are apparent. It was the NASA APOD for July 3,…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of July 16th, 2023

As shown above, on Saturday, July 22, 2023 from 10:38 to 10:43 pm EDT, the International Space Station will be visible flying over the GTA in a bright pass, rising over the northwestern horizon, flying through Cassiopeia, and then entering Earth’s shadow while inside the Square of Pegasus above the east-northeastern horizon. (courtesy: Heavens-above.com) Artificial…
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Matariki for the Maori and the Morning Moon Joins Jupiter in Daytime, Letting Us See Sights in Mighty Hercules!

This image of Messier 13, the Great Globular Star Cluster in Hercules was imaged by Claudio Oriani in Richmond Hill, Ontario on May 30, 2023 using an 8″ SCT telescope. The cluster, also known as NGC 6205, is 24,000 light-years away from our sun. The cluster appears as a faint fuzzy patch in binoculars, and…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of July 9th, 2023

As shown above, on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 from 10:34 to 10:41 pm EDT, the International Space Station will be visible flying overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, rising over the west-southwestern horizon, then flying past the very bright star Arcturus, and setting below the east-northeastern horizon. (courtesy: Heavens-above.com) Artificial satellites are…
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A Super and Southerly Full Thunder Moon, Earth at Greatest Gap, and Venus Peaks in Brilliance!

This image of the crescent Venus from August 12, 2015 was taken by holding a smartphone camera over the eyepiece of a telescope. (Chris Vaughan) Welcome to the July Sky, Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of July 2nd, 2023 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of July 2nd, 2023

As shown above, on Sunday, June 9, 2023 from 4:56 to 5:03 am EDT, the International Space Station will be visible flying over the GTA in an extremely bright pass, rising over the northwestern horizon, and then flying past Jupiter just before it sets below the east-southeastern horizon. (courtesy: Heavens-above.com) Artificial satellites are visible because…
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