• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cosmic Pursuits

Basic astronomy and night sky information

  • Subscribe
  • Start Here
  • Articles
  • Sky This Month
  • Courses
  • About
  • Contact

Recent Astronomy Articles at Cosmic Pursuits

Comet Update | Aurora, Aurora Everywhere

October 15, 2024 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Celestial Events, Solar System

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) in the western sky after sunset on Oct. 14, 2024 from Calgary, Canada. Single image captured with a Nikon Z7ii camera and 70-200mm lens at f/4, ISO1600, 3s exposure, cropped. The comet’s tail spans about 15 degrees; a small anti-tail is also visible in this image. Image credit and copyright: Brian Ventrudo.

“There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen”, said V.I. Lenin. That, in a way, is what October feels like for stargazers and skywatchers who have enjoyed wave after wave of auroral displays, massive sunspots across the solar disk, and a bright, long-tailed comet in the morning and evening skies [Read more…] about Comet Update | Aurora, Aurora Everywhere

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Filed Under: Celestial Events, Solar System

The Elephant Trunk Nebula

September 24, 2024 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

The nebula IC 1396, embedded star cluster Trumpler 37, and red supergiant star Mu Cephei (top). The nebula gets its power from the star HD 206267 near the center of this image. The tip of the Elephant Trunk Nebula lies just right of center.

Cepheus, the King, is an ancient and rather dim constellation, but its position along the northern Milky Way means it harbors more than its share of deep-sky sights including star clusters, nebulae, even the lovely Fireworks galaxy (NGC 6946). But the best field of view in the constellation encompasses three deep-sky sights including a star-forming nebula, a star cluster, and an aging red supergiant that’s one of the reddest and most luminous stars in the sky [Read more…] about The Elephant Trunk Nebula

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Filed Under: Deep Sky dark nebula

Get Ready for a Bright Comet!

August 30, 2024 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in June 2024 captured with an 8″ telescope. Image credit: ‘C. Messier’/Wikipedia under Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

The comet lives! At least so far…

In July, some astronomers suspected the promising comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was on its way to breaking into pieces and fading from view. But as the comet became lost in the Sun’s glare from Earth, satellite images showed it apparently still intact. This offers hope that this little interloper from the Oort Cloud will put on an appealing – and possibly spectacular – display in late September and October 2024 [Read more…] about Get Ready for a Bright Comet!

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Filed Under: Solar System

Guide to Observing Saturn in 2024

August 20, 2024 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Solar System

This composite image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 6 June 2018, shows the ringed planet Saturn with six of its 62 known moons.

Many casual observers get hooked on amateur astronomy after a first look at Saturn through a telescope.  More than a few have looked through my small refractor on a night of good seeing and asked of Saturn, “Is it real?”

Oh, it’s real, all right.  And incredibly beautiful… the color, the proportions, the apparent 3D perspective of this grand icy world.  It is arguably the finest sight accessible with a small telescope. The planet reaches opposition on the September 7-8, 2024 and will remain bright and large in a telescope over the next few months. Here’s how to find it and see it in a small telescope.

[Read more…] about Guide to Observing Saturn in 2024

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Filed Under: Solar System saturn, solar system

Summer Star Clouds

July 30, 2024 by Brian Ventrudo Filed Under: Deep Sky

At this time of year, just after darkness falls, we get to see the thickest part of the Milky Way extending over more than half the sky from Cygnus to Scutum to Sagittarius. And where there’s Milky Way, there are star clouds. Grab your binoculars or small telescope and take a tour of the best star clouds of a northern summer (and southern winter) with the recent article published in Sky & Telescope magazine. Inspired by the photographic work of E.E. Barnard in the early 20th century, this sky tour starts with the ‘Great Cloud’ of Sagittarius and works northwards, stopping to see many star clusters and dark nebula in and around these regions of shimmering starlight.  It also includes visuals, especially the recent black-and-white film photography of James Cormier. Click on the image to the left to download the article on PDF format (it’s about 6MB). Then enjoy the tour!

Share This:
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Filed Under: Deep Sky

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 64
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Cosmic Pursuits

Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter for free astronomy tips and updates

Featured Astronomy Course


Search This Site

Recent Posts

  • Our Sun’s Lost Sibling
  • Galaxy Hopping with a 2-Inch Telescope
  • The Winter Milky Way
  • Winter Reflection Nebulae
  • Gaia Space Telescope Simulation of the Milky Way

Copyright © 2025 Mintaka Publishing Inc.