What’s Up in the Night Sky? August 2021
The longer summer nights in August give us more time for viewing the majesty of the Milky Way but August also has one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Perseid shower is the annual big one with its radiant centered near the top portion of the constellation… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? July 2021
That time of year when the days are long and the nights are short has come again. But you can’t find better months than July and August for the sheer beauty and quantity of constellations and deep sky objects to feast your eyes upon. The only catch is that observing… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? June 2021
On June 10th, an Annular Solar Eclipse will be visible over northern Ontario. An annular eclipse happens when the Moon doesn’t quite cover the whole solar disk and the Sun can still be seen around the shadow of the Moon. It occurs when the Moon is at apogee or farthest… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? May 2021
Just about every month I give you a reminder about what meteor shower or showers to watch out for. I also point out that meteors result when Earth plows through dust and particle trails left behind by comets. That started me thinking about, well, dust! There’s dust everywhere in the… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – April 2021
My neighbours and I were walking our dogs this morning when they, as they often do, asked me if there was anything interesting going on up in the sky. I mentioned the medium size meteor shower going on later this month. It’s the annual Lyrid meteor shower. They asked me… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – March 2021
The landing on Mars of the rover Perseverance on February 18th had to be the best live action adventure I’ve watched since the last rover landing. The sophisticated technology that allows these rovers to land successfully, time after time, is simply breathtaking. Speaking of Mars, it’s in a great position… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – February 2021
It’s once again that time of the year when the Zodiacal light makes its appearance. It’s a beautiful, spectacular sight rising in a pyramid shape from the horizon. Some of this was written in a 2019 column but it bears review. It’s well worth the extra effort to find a… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – December 2020
One marvelous meteor shower and another OK shower grace our sky this December. The first is the Geminid shower and it’s one of the best of the best each year. It peaks on the evening of the 13th and it’s our luck that the waning Moon is the slimmest crescent… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – November 2020
We have a meteor shower this month that is one of my favourites. It’s the Leonid shower which has its radiant or source point, near the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo the Lion. The meteors come from the debris trail of the Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. The Earth will be… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – October 2020 by Fred Barrett
October is a beautiful month for observing the night sky. The bugs are mostly gone, temperatures are comfy with a little help from a sweater and darkness comes early and lasts through to a late sunrise. This October is especially exciting. As mentioned in last month’s column, we have a… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – September 2020 by Fred Barrett
If you haven’t already, start getting excited about Mars! Every two years and 50 days, a Martian year, Mars is in opposition –the Earth passes between Mars and the Sun and the 2 planets are as close as they can be in their orbits. Since the Earth’s year is roughly… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – August 2020
The summer nights in August are still long, giving us more time for observing. This is great because the main event this month is the annual Perseid meteor shower. Comet Neowise was a good show last month (I didn’t put it in my column - I thought it would break… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – July 2020 by Fred Barrett
What a month for planets! Wild banded Jupiter and ringed Saturn are up all night by mid month as they move from the southeast through to the southwest. After the beauty of Saturn’s rings, it’s hard to beat observing Jupiter’s four most prominent moons as they shift and dance in… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? June 2020 by Fred Barrett
The Moon is leaving us! Well, not right away. I’ve mentioned in a few columns over the past few years that the only reason that we have a solar eclipse is that the Moon is at the exact right distance to block the Sun completely. In the very distant past,… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? May 2020 by Fred Barrett
Well, Comet Atlas was a bust! I said in my April column that it might disintegrate and it did just that. It broke into multiple fragments and now needs a good telescope to be seen. But as luck would have it, there is a new comet that has the potential… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky? – April 2020 by Fred Barrett
In these times of isolation and distancing, there’s still an activity that provides plenty of fresh air, awe and delight. Observing the night sky can be done solitary or shared at a safe talking distance from others without diminishing the enjoyment. A caution: be careful about sharing equipment without careful… READ MORE