Skylights

Science Outreach Specialists

A Meager Moon means more Galaxy-viewing, Mars Moseys through the Tips of Taurus, and Gas Giants Gleam before Dawn!

This amazing composite photo by my friend Bill Longo has it all! The arc of the International Space Station crossing the sky, the green glow of the Aurora Borealis, the northern Summer Milky Way, and numerous Perseids meteors! Hello, Spring Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of April 11th, 2021 by Chris…
Read more

Lepus Leaps for Easter in Evening, Luna Passing Pre-Dawn Planets Grants Galaxy Viewing!

This image of the Whale Galaxy (top left) and the Hockey Stick Galaxy (lower right) was captured by AstroDoc Ron Brecher of Guelph on March 16, 2019. The image spans about 1 degree of sky. Ron’s galleries of images are at www.astrodoc.ca Hello, Galaxy-season Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of April…
Read more

Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of April 4th, 2021

Tom Glenn of San Diego, CA used software to work out when the International space Station would fly past Mars, and captured this amazing image on Monday, September 21, 2020. He recorded a video through his camera affixed to a tracking telescope. NASA APOD for Sept 23, 2020. Artificial satellites are visible because they are…
Read more

Meek Mars and a Nova in Evening, Prominent Predawn Planets, and a Leaving Moon lets Leo Launch Galaxy Season!

This image of the LeoTrio of Galaxies was captured by Marcus Bauer. It was a NASA APOD for April 18, 2019. Top to bottom, the image spans one degree of the sky. The Hamburger Galaxy (NGC 3628) is at centre left. Messier 65 is at top centre and Messier 66 is at centre right. The…
Read more

Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of March 28th, 2021

As shown above, on Thursday, April 1, 2021 from 8:54 to 8:59 pm EDT, the International Space Station will fly over the GTA in a very bright pass, rising from the northwestern horizon, flying past the bowl of the Big Dipper, and then disappearing into Earth’s shadow over the east-southeastern horizon. Artificial satellites are visible…
Read more

A Marvelous Moon Week, Mars before Midnight, Bright Pre-dawn Planets, and a Paschal Supermoon!

This beautiful photo of the Aurora Borealis was captured by my friend Yvonne Wong in Alaska recently. The aurorae are more frequent around the two equinox periods each year because the N-S component of the Earth’s magnetic field is reduced and less able to fend off the solar wind. Hello, Spring Stargazers! Here are your…
Read more

Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of March 21st, 2021

As shown above, on Monday, March 22, 2021 from 8:43 to 8:49 pm EDT, the International Space Station will fly over the GTA in a bright pass, rising from the western horizon, flying through the “W” of Cassiopeia, and then disappearing into Earth’s shadow over the northeastern horizon. Artificial satellites are visible because they are…
Read more

A Peek at Polaris, the Waxing Moon and Dim Mars Duo in Evening, and the Equinox Arrives with a Lunar X!

This image of the waxing crescent moon was taken by Michael Watson of Toronto on March 2, 2014. It nicely shows the Earthshine phenomenon, and the way the position of the lit crescent on the young moon at this time of year resembles the Cheshire Cat’s smile. Michael’s gallery of images are hosted on his…
Read more

Greater Toronto Area Space Station Flyovers for the week of March 14th, 2021

As shown above, on Saturday, March 20 from 8:39 to 8:44 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 closely past Mars and then through the bowl of the Big Dipper, and then disappearing into Earth’s shadow over the…
Read more

Decoding Daylight Saving Time, Morning Moon Passes Planets, Mars nears the Bull’s Eye, and Gemini’s Gems!

This spectacular image by Petr Horalek od Institute of Physics in Opava shows reddish Mars (bottom centre) just below the blue Pleiades star cluster on March 3, 2021, and Mars’ “twin”, the reddish star Aldebaran above the “V” of Taurus at lower left. The red streak at the upper right is the California Nebula in…
Read more