Tag: Stargazing

The gorgeous Ring Nebula makes a stunning skywatching sight this week

NeRD

I would suppose that just about any good book on astronomy would contain a photograph of what might best be described as the “smoke ring” of the sky. Others might call it a doughnut or a cosmic bagel, but the popular name for this object is simply the Ring Nebula, located in the constellation of Lyra, the Lyre. Although generally considered a summer constellation, Lyra, it is still very well placed for viewing, now more than two weeks into the autumn season. Head outside this week at around 10 p.m.…

Read More

Sweet Strawberry Moon, first full moon of summer, thrills stargazers around the world (photos)

NeRD

The first full day of summer 2024 ended with the ultimate cherry on top, or, in this case, a strawberry. The Strawberry Moon of 2024, the full moon for the month of June, rose across the world just after sunset last night, delighting stargazers across the world. The Strawberry full moon gets its name from the Algonquin tribe of the northwestern United States, according to Space.com’s list of full moon designations, but has also been recognized by other names, such as the Rose moon, in Europe. This year, the Strawberry Moon…

Read More

Midnight sun: What it is and how to see it

NeRD

The midnight sun is a natural summertime phenomenon in which the sun never sets below the horizon, not even at midnight. While this may sound like an otherworldly scenario, for those living in the polar regions, it’s just another summer’s day, albeit one that never ends.  Here, we explore the midnight sun — also known as the “polar day,” “white night” and “nightless night” — in more detail. Learn what causes the strange phenomenon, as well as where and when you can see the midnight sun for yourself.  Related: Goodbye…

Read More

See Jupiter close to a crescent moon (Mars near Saturn, too) in the ‘View a Planet Day’ night sky

NeRD

In an unofficial sense, I would like to dub today (April 10) as “View a Planet Day.”  In the early morning hours will be two planets that will appear very close to each other and then later that same day, in the early evening sky we’ll have a chance to see Jupiter hovering near to a slender waxing crescent moon, making for a rather eye-catching sight. And there will be other celestial objects out there to see and find as well among the brightest planets in the night sky. Here…

Read More

Full Worm Moon brings 1st lunar eclipse of 2024 next week. Here’s how to see it

NeRD

During the next two weeks, there will be two eclipses on the astronomical docket. The main event, of course, will be the Great North American Eclipse on April 8 that will stretch from the Pacific coast of Mexico, on to Texas and across southern and eastern portions of the United States and Atlantic Canada, before coming to an end over the north Atlantic Ocean.  But two weeks before the total solar eclipse, during the overnight hours of March 24-25, it will be the moon’s turn to undergo an eclipse; a…

Read More

A rare nova ignites a ‘new star’ in the sky this year. Here’s how to see it

NeRD

A nova outburst visible to the naked eye is expected to decorate the night sky this year, offering a rare skywatching opportunity.  The star system offering us this opportunity is known as T Coronae Borealis (T CrB). It’s located some 3,000 light-years away from Earth and consists of a red giant star and a white dwarf that orbit each other. When the white dwarf steals enough stellar material from its red giant companion, it ignites a brief flash of nuclear fusion on its surface, triggering what is known as a…

Read More

Photographing the northern lights with the Sony A7R V

NeRD

Armed with my Sony A7R V camera and the FE 12-24mm f/4 G lens, I set off in search of the northern lights in Abisko National Park. Located in the heart of Swedish Lapland, 121 miles (195 kilometers) within the Arctic Circle, Abisko National Park is the perfect place to photograph the northern lights. All you need are the right conditions, a lot of patience and of course a little bit of luck.  Before I left I had never photographed the northern lights on anything other than a smartphone and…

Read More

January’s Full Wolf Moon looks stunning in 1st full moon photos of 2024 (photos)

NeRD

The first full moon of 2024 rose over Earth on Thursday (Jan. 25), in the form of January’s Wolf Moon.  The January full moon takes its name from packs of hungry wolves that would howl outside native American villages amid the cold and deep snows of winter, according to NASA.  Wolves weren’t the only ones who braved the frigid weather on Thursday to observe the moon, as skywatchers across the globe bundled up and went hunting for incredible images of Earth’s lunar companion.Related: Full moon calendar 2024: When to see…

Read More

See a bright half moon meet up with Jupiter in the night sky tonight

NeRD

Two skywatching favorites will meet up in the clear winter night sky tonight. The moon and Jupiter will appear close together in the Aries constellation, offering the chance to see five moons at once through the right binoculars. Jupiter’s four largest satellites, called the Galilean moons, will appear in pairs on either side of the largest planet in our solar system.  The moon, meanwhile, will be just seven days past new moon in a bright waxing gibbous phase, appearing 59% illuminated as it heads toward the first full moon of…

Read More

Welcome to the next step in smart telescope astronomy: Unistellar Odyssey

NeRD

On January 7 2024 Unistellar proudly unveiled the new Odyssey range of smart telescopes at the world’s biggest tech show, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, held in Las Vegas. Smart telescopes are here, and they are here to stay — with numerous optics brands battling it out to come up with the very best smart telescope or intelligent home observation station. Unistellar boasts that the Odyssey stands out as the first smart telescope that can observe both nearby planets and objects situated tens of millions of lightyears away at…

Read More