The holidays are the perfect time to view one of the most dazzling star clusters in the night sky: the Pleiades, sometimes called the Seven Sisters.
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Stargazers have rare gift this Christmas, a spectacular lineup of the five naked-eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) in addition to the moon! It's all visible at sunset on December 24th.
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Rising low over the southern horizon on summer evenings is the ancient constellation Sagittarius, the celestial archer. Represented as a centaur as early as the 2nd century, Sagittarius sits at the base of the summer Milky Way, though most urban observers will not be able to detect the faint glow of the Milky Way behind it, instead seeing only the brighter stars that form an asterism known as The Teapot.
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This photo of the Moon was taken on an iPhone by Tonia Robinson at our last star party!
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Today’s post comes from Justin M., a young aspiring space enthusiast who shared this fantastic site that explains everything you need to know about eclipses!
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Catch a spectacular grouping of Mars, the Moon, and brilliant Venus just after sunset tonight!
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Now you can watch the two inner planets Mercury and Venus duel in the twilight immediately after sunset. Venus is significantly brighter, but just above it you’ll see the much fainter Mercury. Make sure you have a clear view of the western horizon and use binoculars if you have them, they’ll gather more light and increase the contrast if you have trouble locating the planets with the naked eye.
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This morning’s lunar eclipse was viewed from around the world, and now you can get a glimpse of it as seen all over the globe.
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Don’t miss this rare total lunar eclipse! Use this graphic and the following times to identify key moments, the greatest eclipse will be at 5:19 AM (Wednesday 5/26) when the Moon will appear deep red just before sunrise.
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For the first time in nearly two and a half years, a total lunar eclipse will be visible on the morning of May 26th! A lunar eclipse happens with the Moon crosses Earth’s shadow in space and turns deep red as a result of the sunsets/sunrises refracting through Earth’s atmosphere.
All the details can be found in Sky & Telescope’s article here:
https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/big-moon-short-eclipse-dont-miss-it/
Join Standley Lake Stargazing for “Exploring Distant Earths” this Wed. May 26 @ 6:00 PM as we look at far away solar systems around stars throughout our galaxy! Email register@standleylakestargazing.com to sign up.
Our ‘Summer of Stars’ star parties will begin in June! If you’d like to help broaden our reach, consider donating to our Community Telescopes campaign at www.standleylakestargazing.com/fundraising
Stay well, and clear skies!
#astronomy #space #stargazing #lunareclipse #eclipse #moon
The night sky is full of fascinating objects. Sometimes the awe and wonder get dampened when looking at a sky chart, so to change your perspective here’s the view of tonight’s sky drawn at 11 PM local time showing where a sample of stellar gems are found in the sky!
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In our recent virtual programs we’ve explored the lifecycle of stars and how a supernova is the inevitable outcome for most. We’ll cover more on stellar giants this week. Right now there’s a rare supernova visible in Cassiopeia, and all you need is a pair of binoculars and a good chart to find it!
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This weekend Mars will slowly overtake the open cluster M35 in the early evening sky. Look for it low in the sky underneath Gemini, directly above Orion. You’ll be able to see Mars apparent motion as its path brushes next to M35 with small steps each night, you’ll be able to clearly track its nightly progress relative to the cluster.
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Check out NASA’s Ingenuity flying on Mars, and get ready to watch the Lyrid meteor shower!
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We need your help! With the warm months just around the corner, Standley Lake Stargazing will be hosting star parties and partnering with local venues to bring events and programming to the community. You can help us by donating to our Community Telescopes 2021 campaign. The funds will go directly toward the purchase of telescopes for public events this summer!
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Figuring out the life cycles of stars is a bit like being dropped in the middle of a forest and trying to reconstruct the growth of a tree without being able to move around and explore. So how do scientists do this? Read on!
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Not all stars are created equal. In fact, stars range in size dramatically even though they all appear as pinpoints of light in the night sky. Here’s a short video from the always engaging visual effects house Corridor Digital that helps visualize the sizes of stars intuitively.
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Get ready for the Lyrids! For the next week the Lyrid meteors will begin to ramp up to the peak next week (April 22nd), but you can begin searching for them now and take advantage of the early moon set.
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Very few people today have access to truly dark skies. When you step outside and scan the sky, chances are you may be missing some of the most stunning objects the night sky has to offer even on a perfectly clear night due to artificial light pollution. The International Dark Sky Association is hoping to change that by raising awareness and offering ways everyone can help.
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High in the sky on Spring nights is the well known - and easy to find with binoculars or a small telescope - Beehive Cluster.
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