Many lunar observers called the Full Moon at the tail end of August a Supermoon because it occurred less than a day from perigee when the Moon is closest and at its biggest in the sky. The Moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle. It’s an ellipse – an oval shape with the Earth closer to one end of the oval. When the Moon comes around that end of the oval and is closest to the Earth, it is called the perigee of its orbit. The farthest point is called the apogee. The full Moon this month is better than last month! It will be less than an hour from perigee and bigger than last month.

But wait! It gets even better. This month’s Full Harvest Moon will be eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow – a total lunar eclipse! Because the Moon’s orbit is tilted 5.1 degrees with respect to the Earth’s orbit, it usually passes below or above the Earth’s shadow – no eclipse. This eclipse should be the best of those seen in recent years. The eclipse occurs on the evening of September 27. The partial eclipse, when the Earth’s shadow first slices into the Moon, begins about 9:07 EDT with totality following at 10:11 EDT. Mid eclipse is at 10:48 and totality ends at 11:23 EDT. This is early enough for kids to get out and watch the Moon as it turns a nice shade of red – a blood Moon! The Moon will be closer to the centre of the Earth’s shadow during this eclipse and will, as a result last longer. Get out and see it! This will be the last eclipse visible in North America until January 31, 2018. Between now and then there will only be one partial eclipse to look forward to.

For you numbers freaks: Apogee this month is on the 14th and the Moon is 406,465 Km away at 07:28 EDT. Perigee occurs at 21:47 EDT on the 27th and the distance is 356,876 Km. The Sun sets about 19:30 EDT at the start of September and sets around 18:50 EDT by the end of the month. I think it’s time to make sure enough firewood has been set aside.

At dawn on the 10th, Mars, the crescent Moon and Venus shine low in the east. Look for the waxing Moon to be close below Saturn (3 degrees) in the southwest at evening twilight.

September 23rd at 16:21 marks the Fall Equinox – autumn has arrived.

From September 24th and for the next few early mornings watch for Mars less than 1 degree from the bright star Regulus. This pair will be about 10 degrees to the lower left of Venus.

The best excitement this month is the Total Lunar eclipse. The Moon should turn a nice blood red shade as the eclipse occurs. Don’t miss it, please! It’s a long wait until 2018 to see another.

You may contact Fred Garrett through this paper or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..

After a nine and then some year trip, the New Horizon space probe arrived at Pluto last month. It’s incredible that it wasn’t hit by any space debris over that long trip or suffer any major electronic or mechanical failures. It’s even more astonishing that it flew past Pluto and its five moons without hitting anything in that complicated and busy area.

The fly-past was a picture perfect success – you couldn’t ask for more! Speaking of pictures, the initial images showed spectacular structure and very varied features on Pluto’s surface and with a good smattering of mountains thrown in for good measure too. Who could have expected such a dynamic and active terrain way out there in the hinterlands of our Solar System? The surface is actually quite young – a few million years old. This means that an active interior is changing the surface constantly. There may even be an ocean under the ice crust with a possibility of simple life forms. It will take a year and a half to receive all the data from the probe. New Horizon’s radio equipment had to be low power and small due to power and weight considerations. This meant that its rate of data transmission ended up being very slow.

The highlight for me this month is the Perseid meteor shower that peaks around 2 pm on August 13 (clear skies please, please, please!). This shower can show off as many as 100 meteors per hour. The meteors are debris from the Comet Swift Tuttle, which last returned in the 90’s and isn’t expected to make another appearance until 2122.

The New Moon is on the 14th so the sky will be moon free and as dark as it can be. This will allow us to see even the faintest meteors. There will be very good meteor watching for several nights leading up to and for several nights after the peak. The radiant is in the constellation Perseus and there should be some Earth skimming meteors (Earthgrazers) early in the evening when the constellation is low to the north northeastern horizon. Later in the night, as Perseus rises higher in the sky, conditions will become better. The meteors start hitting the Earth more head on. An average around 2 am would be about a meteor a minute. Remember to let your eyes get dark adapted when you go out and dress warmly. I know we’ve been suffering a heat wave lately but it sure can get chilly late at night, especially when you’re not moving around much.

Between the 17th and 23rd, Mars is quite close to the very large Beehive Cluster (Messier 44). The Moon, waxing and in its first quarter, is 4 degrees east of Saturn on the 22nd. Saturn is the only planet this month that can be seen in the dark of the night. The other visible planets are viewable only during twilight. It is well up in the south southwest in Libra as night falls. The rings are well open to view and the shadow of Saturn’s globe on the rings is at a maximum this month.

The Full Moon this month is on the 29th. One name for it is the Full Sturgeon Moon. The sturgeon is a big fish that can be found in the Great Lakes and other large bodies of water. The best time for catching this fish is during August. It is also called the Red Moon due to hazy August weather conditions. The recent 2nd Full Moon of July, frequently called a Blue Moon, was actually red in colour! Another name is the Corn Moon because corn starts ripening by the beginning of August.

August is fantastic for viewing DSOs (Deep Space Objects) in the Milky Way. One special place to look with your binoculars is above the constellation Sagittarius, often referred to as the Teapot. This asterism (a shaping of stars within a constellation that looks like an everyday object) can be found low in the south about mid evening. The southern section of the Milky Way rises up from this area. Magnificent star fields and star clusters are very easy to find. Look a few degrees east of the summer triangle star Deneb at the tail of Cygnus, the Swan. See if you can find the North American Nebula in your binoculars. It’s shaped just like North America complete with Florida. Get out a star chart of the region and go exploring!

You may contact Fred Garrett through this paper or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..

Pluto is almost in the camera sights of the New Horizons deep space probe! It is scheduled to arrive on July 15. This event is especially exciting for me. I’ve had an endless fascination for the far off Dwarf planet all my life. It has caused me much frustration seeing Pluto in my pictures and through my telescope as a bright spot in a field of view filled with stars. I can only find it because it shifts position a bit each night.

It was originally discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 as the ninth planet of the solar system. In recent years it has been reclassified as a Dwarf planet. He spent several years comparing photographic plates taken nights apart, trying to find a small bright spot shifting position. Calculations suggested that something was gravitationally tugging at the orbit of Neptune, so there must be another planet out there in the area he was searching. Pluto is part of the Kuiper Belt, a collection of large and small debris that stretches from Neptune to the far reaches of the solar system.

Dim Pluto is 41 times the distance of the Earth to the Sun. Very little was known about it until the late 1970s. In 1978 planetary astronomers discovered that Pluto had a Moon. It orbited close to Pluto and at that distance, was very difficult to see. It was later named Charon. Our technology has advanced remarkably since then and investigation of their orbital interactions have revealed details on their mass, density, reflectivity (albedo) and even rough outlines of surface features.

One surprise was that Pluto had an outer layer of methane around a large core of rock. Objects out at that distance are expected to have a water ice outer layer and indeed, Charon has a small rocky core surrounded by ice. That could only happen as a result of a collision with a large object far back when the solar system was young. Pluto has a very thin atmosphere of methane and a polar cap. Its surface features don’t remain the same but seem to shift about. So far five moons have been found orbiting Pluto.

By far the biggest discovery that has resulted from studying Pluto is the existence of the Kuiper belt. The vast number of objects that were and are being discovered every day came as a surprise. Many of these orbiting objects are near Pluto in size and more are being found as our telescopes grow larger. Some are as large as 1000 kilometers and can, in their own right, be classified as Dwarf planets. They come in all compositions both standard and exotic.

From all these discoveries, many I don’t have space to describe, arose a push to send a probe out there to investigate what has become a very complex and complicated, even bizarre, celestial situation and region. New Horizons was launched in 2006 on its epic five billion kilometer journey. This year observations began in January and it has been taking pictures and measuring the makeup of the area surrounding Pluto. It will make its closest approach on July 15 when it passes between the orbit of Charon and Pluto. That’s pretty good aiming! I try to visualize it by picturing me sitting on a beach in Newfoundland with a six shooter and trying to hit a dime at the top of a building in Vancouver!

Huge amounts of data will be collected and transmitted to Earth but the mission won’t end there. New Horizons will continue on farther into the Kuiper belt where many more discoveries will be made.

There are several names for the full moon on July 1. One name is the Full Thunder Moon. Thunder storms are most frequent during this time of summer. Buck deer have their horns pop out of their foreheads this month too. Thus – we have the Full Buck Moon. Haying gets going too and we might as well add the Full Hay Moon to our list! There’s another full moon this month on the 31st and that happens once in a Blue Moon. As a matter of fact it is called a Blue Moon event and is suppose to happen rarely. Actually, it’s not all that rare! A truly rare event occurs when dust particles in the Earth’s atmosphere cause the Moon to appear blue in colour.

On July 3 the Earth is at Aphelion. That means it is at its farthest distance from the Sun. Remember that it is the tilt of the Earth as it orbits the Sun that causes our seasonal changes, not its distance from the Sun.

Looking west about an hour after sunset on July 4, you will see Venus and Jupiter about two degrees apart with the star Regulus above and to the left of the close pair.

On the 6th, Pluto is at opposition or its closest approach to the Earth.

Venus is at its brightest on July 10. It is at a staggering - 4.7 magnitude. Magnitude brightness increases as the number becomes lower. When a number goes negative, the object is very bright indeed.

On July 17, 18 and 19, the crescent Moon, Venus, Jupiter and Regulus are tightly grouped together shortly after sunset in the west.

Saturn is well placed all this month for observing.

Don’t forget to watch for news on the Pluto flyby of the New Horizons spacecraft.

By the way, whenever I observe Pluto through my telescope, I try to make out Mickey Mouse and his loyal dog Pluto. After all, Walt Disney named Mickey’s hound after Clyde Tombaugh’s discovery of distant Pluto.

You may contact Fred Garrett through this paper or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..

Here come the Perseids! This is the best, most dependable meteor storm of the year. Actually, looking up now will give you more meteors than usual and they are Perseids! The calculated peak this year is at 10 pm on August 12. We will get a build up to that moment and then a slow decrease afterwards. Unfortunately the Moon will be just past full and bright in the sky on the night of the peak but we have the lead up and afterwards to see some good fireballs in the sky. Watch for them through now to late August.
Remember that they are called Perseids because their radiant is in the constellation Perseus. A radiant is an area of the sky where they seem to shoot from. If you trace their bright trail back to a point in the sky, it originates in point in the constellation Perseus. But that doesn’t mean that you have to look towards Perseus. They can be seen all over the sky.
Here’s a fun thing to do: bundle up and go out and look up. Watch out for mossys too! Make a line on a piece of paper for every meteor trail that you see. Don’t forget to use a red or blue flashlight to conserve your night vision. Put a ruler line through each trail at the end of your observations and you’ll see that they point back to the same spot in the sky! Any that don’t, we refer to as ‘sporadic’ meteors. That meteor is an unexpected random visitor from beyond, far out in the the Oort cloud. I’ll fill you in about the Oort cloud in a future column. Or better still, look up info on the Oort cloud and be ready for the column! Our Solar system is such an unbelievable place!
This leads me to report results from last month’s quiz. I’m afraid that there wasn’t a winner. I have to be fair when I view the answers. Let’s have a go at another question for this month: what is a “Mare” on the Moon (no, it’s not a horse, a mare!)? An example for Mare would be ‘Mare Tranquillitatis’. It’s where the first Moon landing occurred. I have a few Star Finders (also called planispheres) burning a hole in my pocket for the first few correct answers I get. For the first to respond, I have a nice little plasticized map of the Moon. It’s about 10 inches by 10 inches and the plastic keeps the dew off. It won’t sag like a paper one.
Since we’re watching for the Perseid meteor shower this month, let’s have a look at where to find the constellation Perseus in the night sky. Remember that as the Earth rotates, the constellations and stars shift across as the sky as the night passes. To find Perseus about mid- August around 11 pm, look to the north and you will see the ‘W of the constellation Cassiopeia. Now look just a little farther north and you will see an arrowhead shape. That’s Perseus! I would be somewhat negligent if I didn’t mention that there’s a beautiful double cluster of stars exactly between them called – surprise(!) the “Double Cluster”. They appear as cotton candy fuzz in the sky. Binoculars are a great help but they are still observable as naked-eye deep space objects (DSOs).
Well, let’s see what else is going on this month. There’s been a lot of talk about the Supermoon last month. There are two more coming! This month’s full Moon is actually the largest of the bunch! A somewhat larger Moon occurs when it is closest to the Earth. That point is called its perigee. The apogee is when the Moon is farthest from the Earth. The orbit of the Moon around the Earth is not a perfect circle. It is more like an egg or oval shape. Following the oval curve around the Earth, you can see that there are close passes and more distant passes. The moon is actually about 13% larger at a close pass but it is only noticeable when seen close to the horizon. Then you have the horizon to give you a sense of scale.
The Full Moon this month is called the Full Sturgeon Moon. First Nations settled near the Great Lakes and close to other major water bodies would find this month to be the best for harvesting this large fresh water fish. Some other names are Full Red Moon, mainly due to fires in the wilderness and corn or grain Moon as ripening of those crops approach.
Here are a few things to watch for this month. Most are in the morning but heading off to work at an early hour, I always take a therapeutic moment to prepare my mind for the day and find peace and preparation by resting my eyes on what is passing through the sky. On the 15th and 16th, you will see a very bright Venus to the upper right of Jupiter in the early morning and it moves above Jupiter on the 17th. This is their closest approach in 14 years. You should follow their dance in the sky in the following mornings. On the 23rd, you will see Jupiter just south of the Beehive nebula (M44) - a very eyeball object, a cotton candy of stars prominent in the east at dawn. Venus and a crescent Moon are close by. On the 31st, watch for the Moon, Mars and Saturn very close in the evening in the southwest just after sunset. It will be a beautiful sight!
A special solar telescope will be at the Maberly Fair on August 23 and it will show active views of the sun – prominences and surface details.
I am in the middle of organizing a Star Party at the Maberly Fair grounds in mid-October. I will have more information in the next column. Those of you who need help learning about your telescope and where to find objects in the sky will find this an especially useful night. There will be experienced amateur astronomers there who will show you the sky and how to use and get the best out of your scope.
“The Beginner’s Observing Guide” by Leo Enright is an invaluable companion for adventures in the sky. It contains star charts and is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy. It can also be ordered from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications. A subscription to our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine “SkyNews”, with its centerfold sky chart, can be arranged at the RASC website as well.
Let me know how your observing has gone this month, especially anything unusual. I enjoy the feedback. If you have any questions or suggestions you can contact me through this paper or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Clear Skies! Fred.

by Fred Barrett

Humidity, clouds and rain just about sums it up for June. On the few nights that were cloudless, high humidity made for poor transparency. It was like looking through a foggy window with only the brightest stars showing. It was also a month for an amateur astronomer’s favourite sport – mosquito wrestling!

Let’s hope the weather improves because the summer months are rich with the most spectacular binocular and telescope objects to observe. On a dark, clear night there are star clusters and even a galaxy (Andromeda) that can be seen by the eye, and who can forget the vastness of the Milky Way stretching above from horizon to horizon.

Let’s go on a little tour. There is a trio of constellations that make for rewarding binocular observing throughout the summer. They are Hercules, Corona Borealis and Bootes and they stretch straight overhead in a line from east to west. The best way to find them is to use the Summer Triangle as a reference point to orient you in the sky. I have mentioned the Summer Triangle in previous columns but let’s review finding it. Face south and look up. Almost overhead is a bright star called Vega. It’s in the constellation Lyra. Let your eyes slide about 25 degrees (a clenched fist at arm’s length is 10 degrees; your little finger is 1 degree) to the east. You are now in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan, and the star that is almost as bright as Vega is called Deneb. To find the final star, look southeast from Vega about 30 degrees. You have arrived at Aquila, the Eagle, and the star that is as bright as Vega is called Altair. Now that you have the Summer Triangle in your sights, move your eyes west from Vega about 20 degrees. This is the middle of Hercules. It is shaped like a box with stars branching off from its 4 corners. The globular cluster, Messier 13, is about a third of the way down the west side of the box. Messier 92, also a globular, can be found about 8 degrees above the middle of the top (north) side of Hercules. Both of these DSOs (Deep Sky Objects) are easy binocular objects. Moving west 10 degrees and down a bit, there is an oval of stars that form a bowl. This is Corona Borealis and, although there are no DSOs nearby, it is a beautiful constellation to observe and investigate. There is a fascinating star sitting about a third of the way from the east side of the bowl and about 2 degrees above the bottom. It is called R Coronae and it fades and brightens at unpredictable intervals. It is the most prominent star in the bowl even at minimum. Astronomers believe that the star accumulates clouds of ‘soot’ in its atmosphere that masks the light coming from its surface. When the soot disperses, the star brightens up! Now move west another 10 degrees to Bootes. It is shaped somewhat like a violin and the bright star Arcturus is at the bottom where the finger board would be. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere and has a lovely light orange colour. Seamen of ancient times considered this star unlucky! Up to the north west of Bootes you will bump into the end of the handle of the Big Dipper - the asterism that is part of the constellation Ursa Major. About 5 degrees above the end star of the handle (or ‘tail’ of the Great Bear) is the Pinwheel galaxy (Messier 101) and roughly 4 degrees below the end of the tail is the Whirlpool galaxy (Messier 51). A modest telescope is advisable for both of these DSOs.

Earth was at aphelion on July 3rd. I always get a kick out of thinking that the Earth is farthest from the Sun during the hottest time of the year! Of course, it’s the tilt of the Earth that governs our winter/summer seasons.

The full Moon this month is on the 12th. It is often called the Full Buck Moon. This is the month when the antlers of buck deer are developing and growing. We can all use a few extra bucks of the other kind too! It’s also often called the Full Thunder Moon since thunderstorms are more frequent during this month– and we’ve had a few lately for sure. It’s haying season too and another name is the Full Hay Moon.

Mars is about 1 ½ degrees above Spica in the evening. Do you remember how to find Spica? Use the saying “around the arc to Arcturus and speed on to Spica”. Along a great curving arc from the end of the handle of the Big Dipper we go about 25 degrees to find Arcturus. Continuing on about an equal distance, we bump into Spica. On the 22nd the Moon is 1 ½ degrees to the left of Aldebaran at dawn and on the 24th , just before sunrise, the waning crescent Moon is 5 or so degrees to the right of Venus low in the east north east. Jupiter is behind the Sun on this date. Saturn can be found in the south west at dusk and sets about 2 am. The new moon makes an appearance on July 26th.

This is your first heads up for one of the finest meteor showers of the year. The dependable and active Perseids will light the sky on the evening of August 12-13. Mark that date!

Now I offer you a challenge: the first person to send me the proper name of the star ‘Alpha Coronae’ and describe or make a drawing of where it is in its constellation, will receive a handy little planisphere to use to find your way around the night sky! Add anything special that you can tell me about the star. Can you describe a Globular Cluster?

“The Beginner’s Observing Guide” by Leo Enright is an invaluable companion for adventures in the sky. It contains star charts and is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy. It can also be ordered from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada at www.rasc.ca/publications. A subscription to our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine “SkyNews”, with its centerfold sky chart, can be arranged at the RASC website as well.

It’s that time of year when some of the most spectacular and observable objects can be found in the night sky. But there’s a price to pay. The stars don’t come out until close to 10 p.m. You have to expect to stay up late if you go out to tour our dark skies.

When viewed around midnight in June, the Milky Way stretches high in the east, arching from the southern to the northern horizon. It will be prominent and high in the sky through to October. It contains a large number of the most spectacular constellations observable in the northern hemisphere. Starting in the south near the horizon, we can see the constellation Sagittarius, which contains the asterism affectionately called the “Teapot” because it looks just like a teapot. An asterism is an arrangement of stars in a constellation that looks like an everyday object. An example would be the Big Dipper. Just off the teapot’s spout is the physical centre of our galaxy. Around it, and especially above its lid, can be found some of the most beautiful star clusters in the sky and they are easily viewable with binoculars. If you have a modest telescope and a good star chart, many evenings of enjoyment can be found in that area. Those of you with a smart phone can download a broad range of applications (Apps) to guide you through the sky.

Moving up from the south, we find Aquila (Latin for eagle), with its very bright star Altair. Next up and roughly overhead is Cygnus (the Swan) with its bright star Deneb at its tail. There are many deep sky objects (DSOs) through and around Cygnus that are more than worthy to find and view. Looking to the west of Cygnus we find Lyra (the Lyre or Harp). It’s a small constellation but with a very noticeable star, Vega, at its top. It was also called in olden days, the Weaver, because its shape resembled a yarn spinner.

There’s a method to my mentioning the three bright stars of summer. Altair and Deneb and Vega are known as the Summer Triangle. As we dip down to the northern horizon, we bump into the W (or M) of Cassiopeia. There are some lovely galaxies around it. Farther down just north of Cassiopeia is the constellation Perseus. It has a V shape with the V pointing south towards Cassiopeia. Between these two constellations we find what is called the Double Cluster. It is spectacular and easily seen in binoculars. Stay tuned as I point out more DSOs in this column later in the summer or alternately, get your Glass out (fancy slang for binoculars and telescopes) and adventure into the sky to see what you can hunt down and discover on your own.

In the west northwest and soon after sunset in early June, Jupiter is very bright alongside the constellation Gemini. It will set about three hours after sunset in early June and soon after sunset by the end of the month. Mercury is on the other side of Gemini and very faint down near the horizon and to the right – a challenge. Mars can be found in the south about 45 degrees above the horizon (4½ fist widths) about an hour after sunset on the 7th. It will be a little above the Moon and on its right. On the 10th in the south southeast soon after sunset, Saturn will be above and to the right of the Moon. Throughout June it can be found sitting above the tail of Scorpius. The rings will be quite a sight for the remainder of the month.

Summer Solstice occurs at 6:51 a.m. EDT on June 21 and is the longest day of the year. It marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere. On that day the Sun will rise about 5:10 a.m. and set around 8:53 p.m. The exact time depends on your northern latitude. We are roughly 45 degrees north.

The Full Moon occurring on the 13th is called the Full Strawberry Moon. The snow seems to have left only a few days ago and we’re already thinking about strawberries!? It also is named the Rose Moon. The New Moon is on the 27th. At sunrise on the 24th, the waning crescent moon is on the right of Venus. The open star cluster, the Pleiades, is to the upper left of Venus. Looking west soon after sunset on the 29th, the waxing new Moon sits to the left of bright Jupiter.

I sat outside on May 23rd & 24th from 11:30 p.m. until 3:50 a.m. waiting for the much talked about and hyped new meteor shower to arrive –the Camelopardalids. It was a dud. I saw three meteors and one of them wasn’t even a Camelopardalid. Well, better luck next time. It was a very beautiful night with the Milky Way spread clearly across the sky and a fine consolation prize for the lack of meteors.

If you have questions or suggestions, Fred Barrett may be contacted at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Beginner’s Observer’s Guide by Leo Enright is available at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy or by contacting the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada www.rasc.ca/publications, subscriptions for our very own excellent Canadian astronomy magazine, Sky News, are also available from RASC..