The night sky is a fantastic collection of tiny dots. Most of these light sources are faint while a few are noticeably brighter. In addition to seeing hundreds or even thousands of distant suns residing at extreme distances, we can see the planets of our solar system.   Referred by the Greeks as the “wanderers”, five planets can be seen ...

What better way to open the new year than by spotting a hopefully bright comet? It is referred to as comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and it could be putting on a decent show in northern skies throughout January. This will be a great chance to test that new set of binoculars or telescope you may have received for Christmas.   ...

  Some three billion years ago, Mars was believed to have been a water world just like earth. It possessed great oceans and was most likely on its way to forming life in one form or another. Water is made up of hydrogen, the most common element in the universe and oxygen, the third most common element. Water is extremely ...

In the early morning hours of November 8, 2022, North America will witness the last total lunar eclipse of the year. This amazing sky show will play out with Eastern, Atlantic and Newfoundland time zones seeing most of the event until moonset. The rest of North America will enjoy the late but spectacular show. This is a very safe event ...

In the early morning hours of November 8, 2022, North America will witness the last total lunar eclipse of the year. This amazing sky show will play out with Eastern, Atlantic and Newfoundland time zones seeing most of the event until moonset. The rest of North America will enjoy the late but spectacular show. This is a very safe event ...

One of the best spectacles in the night sky is a total lunar eclipse. No special equipment is required to watch this cosmic lineup. In contrast to a solar eclipse, the lunar variety is very safe to witness and enjoy. On the night of May 15, the full Flower Moon with creep into the much larger earth’s shadow with the ...

For the most part, this past February 15 seemed like any ordinary day. We recognized Flag Day as the Canadian maple leaf that was first raised in Ottawa in 1965. But things played out differently on the surface of the sun with a huge explosion known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) into space. The good news for us, this ...

Looking back to 2021, there were many great space stories in the news including two lunar eclipses back in May and November. By coincidence, two more total lunar eclipses will occur in May and November 2022. We were also entertained by three great meteor showers in January, August and December but the moon ran major interference. The Northern Lights were ...

  One of the most captivating celestial events is a meteor shower. Everyone from time to time has seen meteors – aka “shooting stars” while taking a stroll or walking the dog at night. These are bits of debris from the creation of the solar system or even space junk such as nuts, bolts etc from old rockets and deployed ...

Nothing is more magical than viewing a lunar eclipse. A few times each year, the full moon steps into the earth’s shadow for a few hours, leaving us with lasting memories. Such an eclipse will take place on the night of Nov 18/19 with the Full Beaver Moon. This one will be extra special and appear very close to a ...

For thousands of years, the night sky was just a splash of random dots. Over time, constellations were formed by connecting the brighter points of light of a certain area of sky. Here, imaginary shapes were formed representing an object, person, animal or even a god – the constellations. Then came the mythologic stories and how they interacted in the ...

  As the sun sets in the west, the sky slowly turns pastel shades from light to dark blue. This is my favourite time of evening as the brighter stars and planets begin to reveal themselves. Over the next twenty minutes, more tiny dots emerge like celestial popcorn. About an hour after sunset, the sky is full of stars as ...

  Over the past few weeks, you have probably noticed a few meteors or “shoot stars” at night. You are witnessing one of the best meteor showers of the year. The Perseid Meteor Shower is now underway from July 14 to August 14. The best time to see the most meteors will be on the night of August 12 and ...

July and August are typically deemed the hottest months of the year in Canada. Nights can be warm and sultry making it difficult to sleep without air conditioning.  A term that you might have heard to describe this season of heat is the “Dog Days of Summer”. It begins in the first week of July and could last a couple ...

It was this time last year that Comet Neowise graced our skies and allowed the world to gaze upon the heavens following its nightly glide amongst the stars. Not since Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 has a comet been as bright. These mountains of rock and ice are usually small, faint targets only a telescope can reveal. July 2020 belonged to ...