Latest news with #MaryMcIntyre
South Wales Argus
02-08-2025
- Science
- South Wales Argus
How to see the Milky Way in the sky over the coming days
This presents us with an excellent opportunity to see our own galaxy, humankind's place of residence in the universe. Captured recently by Mary McIntyre using a Canon 1100D and 10-18 mm lens, the sprawling array of stars and what appears to be patchy cloud presents itself over the roof tops, as we look at what's known as the 'galactic bulge'. This 'bulge' contains a dense population of older, more established stars, surrounded by interstellar dust. All told, our galaxy measures 100,000 to 120,000 light-years across and essentially looks like a massive Catherine Wheel, with spiral-arm structures winding their way out from the centre with the Earth sat in one of the outer regions. When we look at the rest of our galaxy from Earth, we are looking inwards toward the centre, about 28,000 light-years distant. Because of this distance and the limitations of the human eye, it all looks a bit hazy, misty, and gaseous in appearance, but right at the heart of the 'bulge', astronomers believe that a supermassive black hole exists. For the best chance of seeing the Milky Way you need to have clear, dark skies, away from light pollution such as house lighting or street lights. Looking in a south-easterly direction, preferably when there is no moon present, let your eyes adapt to the night sky and in time, the Milky Way should reveal itself. The Perseid meteor shower continues to build momentum as we head toward the latter part of next weekend when the height of activity occurs. The shower is generated as the Earth passes through the path of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the largest object in our solar system to pass the Earth repeatedly. Every 133 years, the comet, which was last in our vicinity in 1992, rounds the Sun and re-seeds the original path it left with fresh debris. These mostly sand-size particles come into contact with our atmosphere at about 133,000mph, with the friction of the encounter causing them to burn up in a streak of light, hence, 'shooting stars'. Generally speaking, the larger the size of the debris, the brighter the meteor. The best time to watch the shower will be on the nights of August 11/12, but they can be observed now by looking in a north-easterly direction after dark, or if possible, after midnight and towards dawn. Remember, you don't need a telescope or binoculars to see the meteors, as the display can be seen with the naked eye. In the early hours of Sunday, August 3, there's a nice pairing in the northeast morning sky of Venus and Jupiter, Venus being the brighter of the two planets. We have a full Moon later this week as the so-called full Sturgeon Moon lights up the sky on Friday and Saturday. Other names given to the full Moon in August include Corn, Lynx, and Lightning Moon. Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
An excellent opportunity to see the Milky Way in the skies
From around April until September, the galactic centre of the Milky Way, where the most stars can be found, reaches its highest point in the sky. This presents us with an excellent opportunity to see our own galaxy, humankind's place of residence in the universe. Captured recently by Mary McIntyre using a Canon 1100D and 10-18 mm lens, the sprawling array of stars and what appears to be patchy cloud presents itself over the roof tops, as we look at what's known as the 'galactic bulge'. This 'bulge' contains a dense population of older, more established stars, surrounded by interstellar dust. All told, our galaxy measures 100,000 to 120,000 light-years across and essentially looks like a massive Catherine Wheel, with spiral-arm structures winding their way out from the centre with the Earth sat in one of the outer regions. When we look at the rest of our galaxy from Earth, we are looking inwards toward the centre, about 28,000 light-years distant. Because of this distance and the limitations of the human eye, it all looks a bit hazy, misty, and gaseous in appearance, but right at the heart of the 'bulge', astronomers believe that a supermassive black hole exists. For the best chance of seeing the Milky Way you need to have clear, dark skies, away from light pollution such as house lighting or street lights. Looking in a south-easterly direction, preferably when there is no moon present, let your eyes adapt to the night sky and in time, the Milky Way should reveal itself. The Perseid meteor shower continues to build momentum as we head toward the latter part of next weekend when the height of activity occurs. The shower is generated as the Earth passes through the path of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the largest object in our solar system to pass the Earth repeatedly. Every 133 years, the comet, which was last in our vicinity in 1992, rounds the Sun and re-seeds the original path it left with fresh debris. These mostly sand-size particles come into contact with our atmosphere at about 133,000mph, with the friction of the encounter causing them to burn up in a streak of light, hence, 'shooting stars'. Generally speaking, the larger the size of the debris, the brighter the meteor. The best time to watch the shower will be on the nights of August 11/12, but they can be observed now by looking in a north-easterly direction after dark, or if possible, after midnight and towards dawn. Remember, you don't need a telescope or binoculars to see the meteors, as the display can be seen with the naked eye. In the early hours of Sunday, August 3, there's a nice pairing in the northeast morning sky of Venus and Jupiter, Venus being the brighter of the two planets. We have a full Moon later this week as the so-called full Sturgeon Moon lights up the sky on Friday and Saturday. Other names given to the full Moon in August include Corn, Lynx, and Lightning Moon. Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How to see the letters X and V on the moon tonight
The full moon is a glorious sight, and the sliver of a brand-new moon a wispy delight, but tonight's first-quarter moon has its own unique treat — for a few hours, you can make out the letters X and V on the lunar surface. Here's how. As the photo shows, the lunar X appears about a third of the way from the bottom of the moon, while the Lunar V is a little above the centre. Both features straddle the line between the light and dark sides of the moon, known as the terminator, with the X appearing a little into the dark side, and the V closer to the light side. They're not really there on the surface, and you can't see them at any other time. What you're looking at is called the 'clair-obscur' effect, in which the play of light and shadow on the surface creates the appearance of shapes; in this case, giant letters, formed by the partially lit edges of craters. According to British astronomer Mary McIntyre, the effect kicks off tonight at about 7:30 p.m. ET, and should last about four hours. That means by the time the sun has set and the moon is at its brightest, you should be able to get a good look, clouds permitting. Naked eye is a little tricky, since they are quite small. But decent binoculars (or better yet a small telescope) should bring them into focus. Humans have been looking at the moon since we were human, and through telescopes since they were invented, so it's not surprising that other transient shapes have been noticed and given evocative names, including the jewelled handle, Cassini's moon maiden, Plato's hook and the eyes of Clavius, not to mention the so-called 'man in the moon' that many people see in the full moon. McIntyre has a chart of when to look for them, while BBC's Sky at Night Magazine has a nice picture that shows their locations. The best part about all this is that if you miss them, they'll come back again every 28 days, forever. The European Space Agency just made Lego bricks out of moon dust China plans to wave its flag on the surface of the moon — literally Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our newsletters here.
Calgary Herald
02-07-2025
- Science
- Calgary Herald
How to see the letters X and V on the moon tonight
The full moon is a glorious sight, and the sliver of a brand-new moon a wispy delight, but tonight's first-quarter moon has its own unique treat — for a few hours, you can make out the letters X and V on the lunar surface. Here's how. Article content Article content As the photo shows, the lunar X appears about a third of the way from the bottom of the moon, while the Lunar V is a little above the centre. Both features straddle the line between the light and dark sides of the moon, known as the terminator, with the X appearing a little into the dark side, and the V closer to the light side. Article content Article content Why do the letters appear? Article content Article content They're not really there on the surface, and you can't see them at any other time. What you're looking at is called the 'clair-obscur' effect, in which the play of light and shadow on the surface creates the appearance of shapes; in this case, giant letters, formed by the partially lit edges of craters. Article content When do the letters appear? Article content According to British astronomer Mary McIntyre, the effect kicks off tonight at about 7:30 p.m. ET, and should last about four hours. That means by the time the sun has set and the moon is at its brightest, you should be able to get a good look, clouds permitting. Article content What's the best way to see them? Article content Naked eye is a little tricky, since they are quite small. But decent binoculars (or better yet a small telescope) should bring them into focus. Article content Humans have been looking at the moon since we were human, and through telescopes since they were invented, so it's not surprising that other transient shapes have been noticed and given evocative names, including the jewelled handle, Cassini's moon maiden, Plato's hook and the eyes of Clavius, not to mention the so-called 'man in the moon' that many people see in the full moon. Article content McIntyre has a chart of when to look for them, while BBC's Sky at Night Magazine has a nice picture that shows their locations. The best part about all this is that if you miss them, they'll come back again every 28 days, forever.
National Post
02-07-2025
- Science
- National Post
How to see the letters X and V on the moon tonight
The full moon is a glorious sight, and the sliver of a brand-new moon a wispy delight, but tonight's first-quarter moon has its own unique treat — for a few hours, you can make out the letters X and V on the lunar surface. Here's how. Article content Article content As the photo shows, the lunar X appears about a third of the way from the bottom of the moon, while the Lunar V is a little above the centre. Both features straddle the line between the light and dark sides of the moon, known as the terminator, with the X appearing a little into the dark side, and the V closer to the light side. Article content Why do the letters appear? Article content Article content They're not really there on the surface, and you can't see them at any other time. What you're looking at is called the 'clair-obscur' effect, in which the play of light and shadow on the surface creates the appearance of shapes; in this case, giant letters, formed by the partially lit edges of craters. Article content According to British astronomer Mary McIntyre, the effect kicks off tonight at about 7:30 p.m. ET, and should last about four hours. That means by the time the sun has set and the moon is at its brightest, you should be able to get a good look, clouds permitting. Article content What's the best way to see them? Article content Naked eye is a little tricky, since they are quite small. But decent binoculars (or better yet a small telescope) should bring them into focus. Article content Humans have been looking at the moon since we were human, and through telescopes since they were invented, so it's not surprising that other transient shapes have been noticed and given evocative names, including the jewelled handle, Cassini's moon maiden, Plato's hook and the eyes of Clavius, not to mention the so-called 'man in the moon' that many people see in the full moon. Article content McIntyre has a chart of when to look for them, while BBC's Sky at Night Magazine has a nice picture that shows their locations. The best part about all this is that if you miss them, they'll come back again every 28 days, forever. Article content
