May was a difficult month to stargaze, with several high-wind thunderstorms and lots of rainy nights. I was able, however, to get a few shots on still, clear evenings. This is Messier 88, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. Coma Berenices means the hair of Berenice. Berenice was an Egyptian queen who had […]
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The evening skies of May begin with Arcturus just above the eastern horizon! With a visual magnitude of 0, Arcturus is the brightest star is the northern hemisphere and the 4th brightest star in the night skies! South of Arcturus, you will see two bright “objects.” Jupiter is the brighter of the two (magnitude -2.4) […]
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By GERRY LEBING
By GERRY LEBING The Sun will set at 5:57 PM on March 1, and the moon, Mars, Venus and Uranus will all be just above the western horizon at sunset. With a magnitude of -4.6, Venus is very easy to spot. The moon is the only other object in the night sky that is brighter […]
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By GERRY LEBING Mars and Venus will be visible in the SW at sunset for all of February. Uranus starts the month slightly higher in the skies but you will probably need a good pair of binoculars to see it. Throughout most of the month, it will appear to get closer and closer to Mars. […]
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By GERRY LEBING As January starts, the constellation Orion will be visible near the eastern horizon as the skies get dark. This is a good opportunity to look for M42, the Orion Nebula, with your naked eye. At magnitude +4, it’s pretty easy to see on a clear winter’s night. The nebula will appear as […]
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By GERRY LEBING The evening of Tuesday, Dec. 13, will feature the last supermoon 2016. It will not be quite as spectacular as November’s full moon, but it will still be pretty bright. December’s full moon will have a visual magnitude of -12.5! That’s bright enough to throw shadows. Unfortunately, the supermoon will also make […]
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Although the Orionids meteor shower peaked in October, it is still active until Nov. 7. Expect 20 to 25 meteorites per hour. The shooting stars can appear in any part of the skies but they will seem to originate from the constellation, Orion. Look for the Orionids between midnight and dawn. Similarly, the Southern Taurids […]
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By GERRY LEBING You can expect both the Orionids and the Taurids to put on meteor shows this month. The Orionids meteor shower will be active from the Oct. 4 through the end of the month — and into November. It peaks on the night of Oct. 21. Expect 20 to 25 meteorites per hour. […]
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September is good month to view the Andromeda galaxy, which I got a good photograph of during August. The galaxy is about 2.5 million light years away from us. Scientists estimate that the galaxy, known as M31, contains a trillion stars. If that number is meaningless, think of it this way: A trillion pennies is […]
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