Latest news with #skygazing
CTV News
5 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
How to see the full moon and planets this weekend
The full sturgeon moon appears in the sky over Rocca Calascio Castle in Calascio, Italy, in August 2024. (Lorenzo Di Cola/NurPhoto/Shutterstock via CNN Newsource) Sky-gazers can catch a glimpse of the full moon at its peak illumination this week. August's full moon, also called the sturgeon moon, will be visible from Friday night into the early hours of Saturday. It will be at its fullest around 3:55 a.m. ET Saturday, according to EarthSky. 'The good thing about the full moon is that even if you're in a big city with a lot of city lights, you can really appreciate the full moon,' said Kelsey Young, the lead for the lunar science objectives of NASA's Artemis II mission. For the most spectacular view, however, she advises that the moon be observed away from the glow of the city. Though the moon will be at its peak in the middle of the night, it will appear to be full for a few days, Young said. 'Even at a much more reasonable time of night, you can peek outside and see the full moon, especially if you're away from ambient light,' she added. Historically, August's full moon is called the sturgeon moon because it marks the time of year when sturgeon fish are most readily caught, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. Other monikers for August's full moon from indigenous tribes are indicative of the end of summer. The Cree, located primarily in Canada, know it as the flying up moon, denoting the time of year when young birds are learning to fly, while the Assiniboine people, who are originally from the Northern Great Plains, call it the black cherries moon to mark when cherries are becoming ripe. Keep an eye out for planets and meteors The full moon will be accompanied by three meteor showers: the Southern Delta Aquariids, the Alpha Capricornids and the Perseids. The Aquariid and Capricornid showers reached their peaks last week, while the Perseid shower is expected to peak next week. It is unlikely that the showers will be visible under the full moon. However, you may be able to catch a glimpse of Venus and Jupiter, which will be observable in the early morning hours throughout August. The planets will appear close together in the sky Tuesday and Wednesday mornings — a bright celestial meetup. During the second half of the month, early in the mornings, Mercury will be visible 20 to 30 degrees below Venus on the horizon, Young said. You can also see Mars 'if you look to the west right after sunset,' she said. Upcoming full moons Look out for four more full moons this year, with supermoons — full moons that appear while the moon is at its closest to Earth — occurring in October, November and December. Here's the list of full moons remaining in 2025, according to the Farmers' Almanac: September 7: Corn moon October 6: Harvest moon November 5: Beaver moon December 4: Cold moon Lunar and solar eclipses in 2025 Two eclipse events will take place as summer draws to a close. A total lunar eclipse will be visible in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, parts of eastern South America, Alaska and Antarctica on September 7 and 8, according to Time and Date. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly into Earth's shadow as the sun, Earth and the moon line up. This causes the moon to appear darker or dimmed. When the moon sits in the darkest part of Earth's shadow, the sun's rays peek out from behind the Earth and the light refracts, giving the moon a reddish hue, according to London's Natural History Museum. Some people call the result a 'blood moon.' Two weeks after the total lunar eclipse, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Australia, the Atlantic, the Pacific and Antarctica on September 21. Solar eclipses occur when the moon moves between the sun and Earth. In the case of a partial solar eclipse, the moon will not fully block out the sun, according to NASA. It creates a crescent — as if the moon took a bite out of the sun. By Gina Park, CNN
BBC News
7 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Venus and Jupiter Conjunction 2025: Two brightest planets to 'meet up' in the sky
Calling all skygazing fans, there's a real treat in store later this month. Despite being millions of miles apart, Venus and Jupiter will look as if they're close to bumping into each other in the night sky this planetary meet up is known as the conjunction and it takes place over several 2025, the planets will appear closest over the 11 and 12 August. When can I see the Venus and Jupiter Conjunction? A conjunction is when two planets appear close together or even touching in the night sky as seen from Venus and Jupiter conjunction is a rare opportunity to see two of the brightest planets in the Milky Way, side by to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, Venus will outshine Jupiter with its white glow, while Jupiter will appear more best time to see this happen is in the early morning sky on Tuesday 12 order to best see this, if you can, find a high spot and look for two dazzlingly bright spots very close don't need a telescope and you should be able to see it with the naked eye or the event, the two planets will go their separate ways as they begin to drift apart again in the night makes it more special, is that the conjunction is not the only space event to look forward to in the night sky on that day, at around 9pm, the Perseid meteor shower is due to to Nasa, during this time, it could be possible to see up to 100 meteors an hour. Five top facts about Venus 1. Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system and the brightest object after the Sun and our Moon, which means on a clear night you might be able to see it without using a telescope.2. Because of this, people have known about its existence for centuries and Venus was the first planet to be reached from Earth by a spacecraft.3. Venus is named for the ancient Roman goddess of love and beauty. Most features on Venus are named for women. It's the only planet named after a female god.4. Venus is the slowest spinning planet in our solar system, meaning one day on Venus is the same as 243 days on Earth.5. But for Venus to orbit the Sun takes around 225 Earth days, which means that a year on Venus is shorter than its day! Five top facts about Jupiter 1. Jupiter is the oldest and largest planet in the Milky Way - it's so big you could fit around 1,000 Earths inside it!2. It's also the fastest rotating planet too, with one day only lasting 9.9 hours - meaning it has the shortest day of any planet in the solar system.3. Jupiter doesn't have a solid surface and is mostly made up of swirling gases and liquids, giving it the name 'gas giant'. 4. It has winds that have been known to travel up to 400mph that swirl around the planet giving it bands and stripes.5. Its most famous feature is its 'Red Spot', which is a storm that's so big it is visible from Earth with a telescope. It's thought to have been raging for 300 years!
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Strawberry Moon will be lowest in UK skies since 2006
If you love skygazing, you won't want to miss a rare viewing opportunity tonight – and you should be able to catch it before you go to bed. According to astronomers, the Full Strawberry Moon will be lower in the sky than any full moon since 2006. A Strawberry Moon is simply the full moon when it appears in June. This year, it will coincide with a rare celestial phenomenon called the 'major lunar standstill' which makes the moon appear lower. It should be visible as long as you're in the Northern Hemisphere – but the further north you are, the closer to the horizon the moon will seem. 'The moon will appear unusually low on the southern horizon,' Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, told MailOnline. 'It will appear very dramatic, especially in northern parts of the UK.' Here's everything you need to know about the rare celestial event. What is the Strawberry Moon? Strawberry Moon is simply the name traditionally given to the full moon when it appears in the month of June. But it's a common misconception that the name 'Strawberry Moon' refers to the moon's colour or any kind of resemblance to the popular summer fruit. Whenever the full moon appears, it is given a nickname depending on the month of the year – a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. Will the moon be lower than usual? The June full moon will be lower than usual this year due to an astronomical phenomenon called 'major lunar standstill'. Occurring about once every 18.6 years, a major lunar standstill is when moonrise and moonset are furthest apart along the horizon, as viewed from Earth. It means the moon appears unusually low in the horizon and the sun unusually high in the Northern Hemisphere. At the same time, the moon appears unusually high and the sun unusually low in the Southern Hemisphere. Major lunar standstill actually lasts for a period of roughly two years, which is why we saw a very low Strawberry Moon this time last year , but this month it'll be lower. This week marks the lowest a full moon has been in the sky since 2006 – and it won't be this low again until 2043. According to Dr Massey, the best time to see the event is simply when the moon rises – which in London is 21:18 BST tonight and at 22:20 BST tomorrow night – meaning you won't have to camp out all night for this one. The website Time and Date lets you search for a specific location and see exactly when the moon rises in your area. It's worth noting the moon will be lower the further north you are – so it will be especially low in places like northern Scotland and the Shetland Islands. How will the moon look different? The moon will appear to take on different coloured hues, although this is a trick of the light and usually depends on how low it is on the horizon. 'A red or yellow colored moon usually indicates a moon seen near the horizon,' NASA says. 'There, some of the blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth's atmosphere, sometimes laden with fine dust. 'A blue-colored moon is more rare and can indicate a moon seen through an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles.' But the moon may also appear slightly bigger. When the moon is especially close to the horizon, our brains experience something called the 'Moon Illusion', The optical illusion causes the moon to appear bigger compared to when it's higher in the sky (although scientists still aren't sure why or how it works). What's the forecast like? According to the latest update from the Met Office, the clearest, cloud-free skies tonight will be in the north of Britain. 'It will be dry for most tonight, with variable cloud and clear spells,' Met Office spokesperson Andrea Bishop told MailOnline. 'Western parts will tend to cloud over later, with some low cloud and fog patches likely in the south where it is mild.' if you don't get a chance to see the Strawberry Moon tonight, you'll get another chance on Wednesday night, but conditions won't be as good. 'Wednesday will be a cloudier night than Tuesday, with the east hopefully staying dry with clear spells,' said Bishop. 'Showers will affect some western and then central areas though, followed by a more organised area of thundery rain, which may be heavy, moving erratically north across western areas overnight, which may affect visibility.'
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Look up tonight! Full Strawberry Moon will be the LOWEST in UK skies since 2006 - here's the best time to see the rare phenomenon
If you love skygazing, you won't want to miss a rare viewing opportunity tonight – and you should be able to catch it before you go to bed. According to astronomers, the Full Strawberry Moon will be lower in the sky than any full moon since 2006. A Strawberry Moon is simply the full moon when it appears in June. This year, it will coincide with a rare celestial phenomenon called the 'major lunar standstill' which makes the moon appear lower. It should be visible as long as you're in the Northern Hemisphere – but the further north you are, the closer to the horizon the moon will seem. 'The moon will appear unusually low on the southern horizon,' Dr Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, told MailOnline. 'It will appear very dramatic, especially in northern parts of the UK.' Here's everything you need to know about the rare celestial event. What is the Strawberry Moon? Strawberry Moon is simply the name traditionally given to the full moon when it appears in the month of June. But it's a common misconception that the name 'Strawberry Moon' refers to the moon's colour or any kind of resemblance to the popular summer fruit. Whenever the full moon appears, it is given a nickname depending on the month of the year – a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. So January is Wolf Moon, February is Snow Moon, March is Worm Moon, April is Pink Moon, May is Flower Moon and so on. June's full moon is known as Strawberry Moon because it historically appeared when the strawberry harvest first took place. Will the moon be lower than usual? The June full moon will be lower than usual this year due to an astronomical phenomenon called 'major lunar standstill'. What is major lunar standstill? Major lunar standstill is when moonrise and moonset are furthest apart along Earth's horizon. This astronomical event occurs once every 18.6 years, last occurring in 2006. During a major lunar standstill, the northernmost and southernmost positions of the moon are at their furthest apart along the horizon. It is believed that these distinct lunar movements may have been observed during the early phase of Stonehenge, potentially influencing the monument's design and purpose. Occurring about once every 18.6 years, a major lunar standstill is when moonrise and moonset are furthest apart along the horizon, as viewed from Earth. It means the moon appears unusually low in the horizon and the sun unusually high in the Northern Hemisphere. At the same time, the moon appears unusually high and the sun unusually low in the Southern Hemisphere. Major lunar standstill actually lasts for a period of roughly two years, which is why we saw a very low Strawberry Moon this time last year, but this month it'll be lower. This week marks the lowest a full moon has been in the sky since 2006 – and it won't be this low again until 2043. According to Dr Massey, the best time to see the event is simply when the moon rises – which in London is 21:18 BST tonight and at 22:20 BST tomorrow night – meaning you won't have to camp out all night for this one. The website Time and Date lets you search for a specific location and see exactly when the moon rises in your area. It's worth noting the moon will be lower the further north you are – so it will be especially low in places like northern Scotland and the Shetland Islands. How will the moon look different? The moon will appear to take on different coloured hues, although this is a trick of the light and usually depends on how low it is on the horizon. 'A red or yellow colored moon usually indicates a moon seen near the horizon,' NASA says. 'There, some of the blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth's atmosphere, sometimes laden with fine dust. 'A blue-colored moon is more rare and can indicate a moon seen through an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles.' But the moon may also appear slightly bigger. When the moon is especially close to the horizon, our brains experience something called the 'Moon Illusion', The optical illusion causes the moon to appear bigger compared to when it's higher in the sky (although scientists still aren't sure why or how it works). What's the forecast like? According to the latest update from the Met Office, the clearest, cloud-free skies tonight will be in the north of Britain. 'It will be dry for most tonight, with variable cloud and clear spells,' Met Office spokesperson Andrea Bishop told MailOnline. 'Western parts will tend to cloud over later, with some low cloud and fog patches likely in the south where it is mild.' if you don't get a chance to see the Strawberry Moon tonight, you'll get another chance on Wednesday night, but conditions won't be as good. 'Wednesday will be a cloudier night than Tuesday, with the east hopefully staying dry with clear spells,' said Bishop. 'Showers will affect some western and then central areas though, followed by a more organised area of thundery rain, which may be heavy, moving erratically north across western areas overnight, which may affect visibility.' Full moon, supermoon, Strawberry moon: What's the difference? A FULL MOON is the phase of the moon in which its whole disc is illuminated. During the 29.5-day lunar cycle, we observe a new moon (with 0 per cent illumination), a waxing moon (when the amount of illumination on the moon is increasing), a full moon (100 per cent illumination) and then a waning moon (when its visible surface area is getting smaller). Because our modern calendar isn't quite in line with the Moon's phases, sometimes we get more than one full Moon in a month. This is commonly known as a blue moon. Meanwhile, a SUPERMOON is when the full moon nearly coincides with perigee – the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the Earth. This means a supermoon can appear as much as 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when it's furthest away from Earth. There are about three or four supermoons per year, most astronomy websites claim, and they happen at different times each year. In a nutshell, a supermoon is a full moon. But it's bigger and brighter than a normal full moon. Lastly, STRAWBERRY MOON simply refers to the time of the year the full moon is appearing. In June, it's known as Strawberry Moon because because it historically appeared when the strawberry harvest first took place. Other months of the year correspond to different nicknames - so January is Wolf Moon, February is Snow Moon, March is Worm Moon, April is Pink Moon, May is Flower Moon and so on. Full moon names were historically used to track the seasons and therefore are closely related to nature. The full list of full moon nicknames: February: Snow Moon to coincide with heavy snow. April: Pink Moon as it heralded the appearance of Phlox subulata or moss pink – one of spring's first flowers. May: Flower Moon because of the abundance of blossoms. July: Buck Moon as it arrived when a male deer's antlers were in full growth mode. August: Sturgeon Moon after the large fish that was easily caught at this time. September: Corn Moon because this was the time to harvest corn.
