A portion of a frame from NASA’s Lunar Visualization Tool, showing the northwestern quadrant of the moon at 9 pm on January 14, 2022, annotated. The Dial-A-Moon page is at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4955 Hello, January Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of January 9th, 2022 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along…
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This Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image shows Sinus Iridum, the Bay of Rainbows, on the northwestern edge of large Mare Imbrium, the Sea of Clouds. The “Golden Handle” is the curved Jura Mountains, the remains of an impact crater that has been flooded by basalt magma flows. The feature, which is easy to see without a…
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This mosaic of images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is centred on Mare Imbrium, the huge and ancient impact basin that covers much of the moon’s northern Earth-facing hemisphere. The mountains around its right (lunar west) edge are highlighted around the first quarter phase. Sinus Iridium and the curved Montes Jura are prominent about…
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This spectacular image by “AmazingSky” guy Alan Dyer of Calgary, Alberta, taken on November 15-16, 2020, captured the fuzzy green blob of comet C/2020 M3 (ATLAS) as it passed the bright, bluish star Bellatrix in Orion (the Hunter). The red nebulosity at top left is glowing Hydrogen gas surrounding Meissa, aka Lambda Orionis, the head…
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This image of the young crescent moon by Dylan O’Donnell shows Earthshine – sunlight reflected off of Earth that slightly illuminates the dark portion of the moon’s Earth-facing hemisphere. Watch for it early this week. NASA APOD for March 20, 2015. Hello, Autumn Stargazers! Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of September 20th,…
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This simulated view of Sinus Iridum, the Bay of Rainbows, and the Golden Handle that envelops its western perimeter, was made using Starry Night software. Every month, a few days before full moon, the handle effect is visible with sharp, unaided eyes, and very easily through binoculars and backyard telescopes. The latter might also reveal…
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A close-up view of Sinus Iridum and the Golden Handle to its west. The large feature is located in the northwestern (upper left) quadrant of the moon’s disk. The handle effect is visible with sharp, unaided eyes, and through binoculars and backyard telescopes. Note the N-S aligned dorsae, or wrinkle ridges. Image from Wikipedia. Happy…
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