This image by Martin Gembec of the Czech Republic shows the rich starfield of the Alpha-Persei Moving Group stars surrounding Mirfak (above centre), the brightest star in Perseus (the Hero). The photograph spans about 3.5 degrees of the sky, nearly filling the view in binoculars. Mirfak is the very bright star shining about halfway up…
Read more
Prominent features on the moon for unaided eyes, binoculars, and backyard telescopes have been marked on this image by Michael Watson of Toronto. While none of the equipment is visible from Earth, the red numerals mark the Apollo landing sites. Hello, Mid-winter Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of February 18th, 2024…
Read more
Adrien Klamerius took this image of the Heart (upper left) and Soul (lower right) nebulas in Cassiopeia, also known as IC 1805 and IC 1848, respectively. The Double Cluster as at top centre. The area of sky covers about 10 degrees, or a fist diameter. NASA APOD for Sep 24, 2016 Hello, Night Sky Lovers!…
Read more
On Friday, July 23, the moon will reach its full phase. On that evening, the libration of the moon will cause the moon to appear to tilt downwards and twist to the left a bit, allowing Earthlings to see features along the moon’s northeastern limb that are normally not visible (green labels). Major lunar features…
Read more
This simulated view of Saturn for this month shows how the rings are closed enough now to reveal a bit of Saturn’s southern polar region. Hello, mid-July Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of July 11th, 2021 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me…
Read more
This terrific image by Amir H. Abolfath was featured in NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for October 14, 2020. The bright star inside the orange zone at lower left is Antares in Scorpius. The big and bright globular cluster Messier 4 sits to its lower right. The pink region is glowing hydrogen gas…
Read more
The well-known Pleiades open star cluster (Messier 45) has long been the centre of indigenous star stories around the world, including South Pacific island groups. The Maori of New Zealand tie their new year to the appearance of the Pleiades in the pre-dawn sky during June/July. The area of sky shown here spans 2 degrees.…
Read more