Is the Yukon the best place for amateur astronomers? And how can I experience and discover the vast night sky? Let’s take these questions and sort them out for our distinguished visitors to the Conference of Science Writers. First of all, astronomy in the Yukon is unique. Most people that I chat with across the …
Distinguished Guests & Distinguished Night Skies Read More »
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 …
Four hundred years ago (actually in 1609), Galileo gazed up into the night sky with a new invention called the telescope. He was the first person do this and to record his observations. Now, by today’s standards, it really was not much of a telescope. All the same, he observed and recorded an amazing amount …
As the month of October closes and frosty November begins, the window of opportunity for observing Mars begins. This little red planet has captured everyone’s attention and curiosity. Is there life on Mars? and where are the Martians? The Earth and Mars share many similar traits such as the tilt to the planets’ axis, which …
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 …
The weather is returning to a more normal routine, and although I do love the warmer weather, it does make for cloudy nights, offering few opportunities for deep-sky observing. It is Saturday night, the temperature is minus 18 and the wind is light. All my astronomical viewing forecasters (The Weather Network, Clear Sky Clock and …
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 …
Here comes the Yuletide observing season, so get ready to tilt your neck up. There are plenty of cosmic events happening in those amazing Yukon night skies throughout the entire month of December. The month starts off with Jupiter rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. This means that Jupiter is in the sky all …
Friday was day two at Starfest, Canada’s most amazing astronomical gathering [Aug. 12-15, 2010], and we were not due to be on stage till 7 p.m. We’d only got back to the hotel room around 4 a.m. that morning, and were at the Starfest observing site at 10 a.m. So what do you do at …
Where were you on Saturday March 19, when the Super Moon occurred? Sounds kind of ominous doesn’t it? So, what is a super moon? As the moon orbits Earth, its path is not a perfect circle, but more elliptical in nature. When the moon is at its closest point to Earth (called the perigee) it …
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, …
Welcome to an exciting new year in astronomy that promises to be filled with fabulous cosmic events and happenings. The weather of late has been uncooperative at best, and just plain downright annoying the rest of the time. In Whitehorse we were washed out by clouds for the total lunar eclipse and a meteor shower. …
The month of February offers long, clear, cold nights, and a chance to explore five of the finest star clusters in the Yukon Night Skies. To begin our cosmic journey look high overhead and you will find the constellation of Auriga, the Charioteer. To identify this constellation, locate the brightest star overhead. This will be …
The month of May brings warm weather observing – parka not required – a pleasant change of pace. It still gets frosty, though. Last weekend at the observing site (Grey Mountain Lookout Point) the temperature dropped to minus 6 Celsius. It was supposed to clear off later in the morning hours, so I decided to …
Our Yukon night skies are hosting some special cosmic interlopers for the next couple of months, including Comet Garradd. This little fuzz ball of a comet can be found to the left of the keystone shape of the constellation Hercules. It is easily seen in November and December in the evening sky, and in January …
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 …
The Yukon night skies have been alive with planets playing tag with the moon. The last couple of weeks have presented a planetary show, including Mars, Venus and Jupiter in the evening hours, and Saturn in the early morning hours before sunrise. So let’s start with the brightest planet, Venus, which is at its greatest …
For most astronomers there is always the memory of that first, jaw-dropping, eye-popping, “I don’t believe this is real” experience at the eyepiece of a telescope. You even get the chance to hear the occasional, “Holy Smokes!” every once in a while at a star party, or a Saturday night at the local observing site. …
With springtime soon to arrive, Yukon astronomers are gearing up for the event of the year: galaxy hunting season. Unlike game hunting, you don’t need tags, and there is no limit. All you need is a clear dark sky and a pair of binoculars mounted on a tripod, or a telescope. Much like paycheques and …
With Christmas soon arriving I am usually bombarded with emails enquiring, what is the best gift this season for a budding Yukon amateur astronomer? The first suggestion would be to recommend a subscription to Sky News Magazine. This magazine can be purchased at the local book store. Full of helpful star charts and easy-to-understand descriptions, …
Summertime is here, and it is going to be a rip-snorting good time, astronomically speaking, that is. Let’s get started with holidays and star parties. If you heading out of the territories for the summer, take a few minutes before you leave, and check out the star parties in a Sky News Magazineor on the …
Starfest 2010, Summer Star Parties and The Solar Express Read More »
