Living in the North has many advantages. We have crystal clear skies, no air pollution and many hours of darkness in the winter season. This adds up to excellent opportunities for viewing and taking pictures of the Northern Lights. Another great advantage of living in the North is the extremely dry air. In humid parts …
Keep warm, stay watching: Winter star gazing is fun, but you have to know how Read More »
April is the month of great change in the Yukon night sky. It is a time when the constellation of Orion is no longer high in the sky all evening and Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, sets on the horizon early after dusk. As for what else is happening in the sky this …
The month of April is at a close and, as May begins, great changes are taking place high overhead in the amazing Yukon Night Skies. It is a time of discovery and exploration with an endless supply of cosmic jewels that can be easily seen with a little bit of careful planning and preparation. For …
If you were taking note of the High Lights in the last issue (and this one), you would have discovered that December is chock full of planetary action. The month started off with a very rare event: on December 1st, Venus, Jupiter and the Crescent Moon joined together in the western sky in the early …
With the middle of winter upon us, the Yukon Night Sky is alive with amazing sights for the cosmic tourist. Dark skies and stable air makes for excellent opportunities to explore and discover this vast universe around us. From galaxies and nebulas, to star clusters and planets, there is an abundance of deep sky treasures …
Sometimes, night-time excursions do not always go the way one envisions them. Case in point, the other evening the Moon and Venus were supposed to be a mere 5 degrees apart from each other. Considering that 10 x 50 binoculars will give you a 5-degree field of view, this event should make for an impressive …
Springtime is finally here and, along with it, unstable weather. Our last outing to Grey Mountain was a washout due to clouds and strong wind. This was to be expected because my mirror set has recently arrived from being tested, re-configured and with a fresh mirror coating. It is a well-known amateur-astronomy rule that if …
December is, as always, an action-packed viewing experience full of discovery and adventure for all Yukon amateur astronomers. There are dazzling delights for anyone with binoculars or a telescope and the inclination to look up. All we need now is some clear transparent night skies. November’s weather had proved to be so cloudy that we …
As the International Year of Astronomy winds down, I am often asked, “What was it all about?” and “Was there anything to come out of it that the average person in the street could benefit from?” The answer to that last one is a resounding, “Yes!” Let’s take one question at a time. The International …
With all this wonderful warm weather, there is a price to pay for amateur astronomers in the Yukon. As a springtime rule, warm weather brings cloudy and unstable skies. Every once in a while though, we get a break, and the next thing you know you are observing in clear skies with nice warm weather. …
Welcome to nightlife in the Yukon night skies. For starters, let’s get acquainted with the night sky as we see it: directly overhead we find the familiar constellation of Auriga and Perseus. Auriga is the home to a triple shot of open star clusters that are easily seen in binoculars. Looking high overhead, we locate …
March is one of the most active months for Yukon amateur astronomers. And, this year, we have a visitor making our observing sessions all the more memorable. The timing and location of this visitor is perfect. And who is this cosmic visitor you ask? The answer is the ringed gas giant, Saturn. To locate Saturn …
Where are the Northern Lights? The answer as far as I can tell is two-fold. First, we have been pummelled with atrocious weather and, second, most of the Northern Light activity seems to be taking place in the High Arctic. One of my favourite websites (www.spaceweather.com) has an aurora map and alert system for aurora …
The month of December promises to be an action-packed month of celestial events for every amateur astronomer and nighttime photographer. As long as the weather holds, we will be in for a very busy month. The month starts out with Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. This little planet is always elusive to find …
With the oncoming of spring, the nights are shorter and temperatures are struggling to rise. The Yukon night skies are also in a state of celestial change. The constellations Leo the Lion and Virgo the Virgin are now clearing the eastern horizon well before midnight. This is a marvellous time for any deep sky observer, …
It’s going to be a busy season in those amazing Yukon night skies, with the possibility of three more meteor showers taking place in November. My attempt at observing the Orionid meteor shower in October was a wash due to the fact that is was snowing heavily, but there will be more chances to see …
We are in for a rare astronomical treat this month. On December 10, early in the morning hours, we are going to experience a total lunar eclipse. This eclipse favours western and northern Canada for a change, and we will be able to see all 51 minutes of totality. To view this eclipse you will …
Wondrous views await the cosmic tourist in the month of April. The end of March and the first two weeks of April are sometimes referred to as, the Changing of the Guard. This means the winter constellations are slowly sinking lower into the horizon, while springtime constellations are rising higher each evening into the night …
After a rather busy weekend down at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Center for the Erik’s Main Event consumer electronics show, [what day are we on here?] we were unloading a large truck and as we looked up, there were the northern lights. While there are many avid aurora-watchers in the Yukon, I still find it …
