This terrific image of the Orion’s sword was taken on January 7, 2019 by Rick Foster of Markham, Ontario. Even binoculars will reveal that the central patch of light is the splendid Orion Nebula, also known as Messier 42. The grouping of bright stars at bottom right are “the Lost Jewel of Orion’s Sword”, particularly…
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This wonderful image was captured around 8:30 pm EST on Saturday, February 11, 2023 by Andrea Girones from her backyard in Ottawa, Canada. It shows the green comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as it slid past reddish Mars. The dusty tail is material left behind as the comet travels downwards (celestial southbound) in the sky. The…
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This image by Michael Watson from September, 2017 shows the sliver of shadow that appears along its right-hand (eastern) limbs just hours after it is officially full. Hello, February Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of February 5th, 2023 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and…
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This terrific image by Gabor Balazs shows the bright planet Mars (top centre) shining between the little Pleiades CLuster (right of centre) and the V-shaped Hyades Cluster, which forms the face of Taurus, the Bull in late December, 2022. The bright reddish star Aldebaran shines at the corner of the V. The image spans about…
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This amazing image of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) shows the narrow blue ion tail and the broad dusty debris tail. Celestial north is up. It was imaged by Michael Jäger of Austria on January 20, 2023 at 1:40 UT. He posted it on Twitter, where you can find a fantastic animated version. Follow him at…
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This amazing composite image by Detlef Hartmann shows the continued expansion of the Crab Nebula Supernova Remnant (aka Messier 1) in Taurus over 10 years (Sept 29, 2008 through Sept 22, 2017). It spans about 0.1 degrees of the sky. In the heart of the nebula sits a rapidly rotating neutron star that emits radio…
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This spectacular image of the Pleiades Star Cluster (Messier 45) in Taurus was captured and processed by Shawn Nielsen of Kitchener, Ontario. Notice both the bright blues of reflection nebulosity and the darker dust in the background. Shawn posts his images on social media as @Visible Dark_ . His website https://visibledark.ca/ contains many more treasures.…
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This fantastic widefield composite image of the 2020 Quadrantids meteor shower over Flajšová, Oravská Lesná, Slovakia was captured by Czech astronomer Petr Horálek on the nights bracketing the peak of January 4.The radiant is out of frame to top left. That year, the star Betelgeuse in Orion (right of centre) was unusually dim. The glowing…
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NGC 457, better known as the Owl Cluster, ET Cluster, and Dragonfly Cluster, was imaged by “Astrodoc” Ron Brecher of Guelph, Ontario. The bright stars are the eyes. The body and feet extend down to the right. Squint to see the upswept, curving chains of stars for the wings. This image covers a finger’s width…
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The circumstances for Tuesday’s partial solar eclipse, which will occur during the new moon syzygy. The eclipse will only be visible with protective solar filters across parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. This scene shows the position of the moon’s shadow on Earth at 11:01 GMT on October 25, 2022. (Starry Night) Hello, Late-October Stargazers!…
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