Skylights

Science Outreach Specialists

A Post-Midnight Moon Multiplies Gemini Gems, and Pleasing Pre-dawn Planets!

The Open cluster Messier 35, also known as the Shoe-Buckle Cluster and NGC 2168 sits near the westerly foot 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…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of March 20th, 2022

As shown above, on Monday, March 21, 2022 from 8:23 pm to 8:29 pm EDT, the International Space Station will fly over of the GTA in a very bright pass, rising from the west-southwestern horizon, and then flying closely past Polaris before disappearing into Earth’s shadow just above the northeastern horizon. Artificial satellites are visible…
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Pre-Dawn Planet Action, the Full Moon Passes Bees, Covers Stars, and Shows Rays, and Spring Begins!

On the early evening of Tuesday, March 15, 2022, the nearly full moon will occult the bright star Algieba in Leo. times vary by location. This scene shows the end of the event at 8:57 pm EDT, after the star has emerged near Mare Crisium. Hello, mid-March Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of March 13th, 2022

As shown above, on Saturday, March 19, 2022 from 8:19 pm to 8:25 pm EDT, the International Space Station will fly high overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, rising from the southwestern horizon, and then flying closely past the bright star Betelgeuse before disappearing into Earth’s shadow above the east-northeastern horizon. Artificial…
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The Terminator Returns, Peering at Pre-dawn Solar Neighbours, Peeking at Polaris, and Saving Daylight!

The southeastern sky, shown here at 6 am local time at the latitude of Toronto, hosts the bright planets Venus and Mars, with Saturn to the east (lower left). Before the sky brightens too much, observers can try to spot fainter main belt asteroid Vesta near Venus and Mars. Hello, March Stargazers! Here are your…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of March 6th, 2022

As shown above, on Monday, March 7, 2022 from 5:46 am to 5:52 am EST, the International Space Station will fly high overhead of the GTA in an extremely bright pass, exiting Earth’s shadow above the northwestern horizon, and then flying through the Big Dipper and the Summer Triangle before setting below the east-southeastern horizon…
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Pretty Planets Kiss and Dance at Dawn, and Some Dark Sky Delights Til the Librated Cat Comes Back!

The Sword of Orion imaged by John Deans in Bancroft, Ontario on February 2021. This image covers about a thumb’s width of sky, top-to-bottom. The trapezium cluster lies in the heart of the nebula (above centre). Hello, March Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of February 27th, 2022 by Chris Vaughan. Feel…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of February 27th, 2022

As shown above, on Saturday, March 5, 2022 from 5:46 am to 5:52 am EST, the International Space Station will fly over the GTA in a bright pass, exiting Earth’s shadow above the northwestern horizon, and then flying past Polaris before setting below the eastern horizon. Artificial satellites are visible because they are high enough…
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Waning Luna Passes Pretty Planets in Morning, Vesta Visits Mars, and Walking the Dog!

This north-up image of the Little Beehive Cluster, Messier 41 in Canis Major, shows the hot blue and cooler golden stars. It covers a thumb’s width of sky, measuring top to bottom. The green circle represents the field of view in a telescope at low magnification, 1.5 degrees. Hello, Winter Astronomers! Here are your Astronomy…
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Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of February 20th, 2022

According to www.transit-finder.com, Monday morning’s ISS pass will transit the moon for 1.34 seconds, visible to observers within a strip that starts west of Hwy 6, continues across southern Milton, Mississauga, northern Toronto, and ends south of Lindsey. Artificial satellites are visible because they are high enough to be bathed in sunlight while the sun…
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