The parking ticket bit at the end is a classic
Explore the sky, space and astronomy with the Calgary Centre of The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada! Email us: inquiries@calgaryrasc.ca calgary.rasc.ca
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The parking ticket bit at the end is a classic
Pluto is a (dwarf) planet in our Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune. Pluto was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh by looking at two photographs of the same part of the sky taken at different times. Pluto changed position so jumped, like in this pair of images. #astronomy
Lots and lots and lots of birds taking off tonight. Here's what things look like detected by the Milwaukee radar (KMKX): Night of September 3, 2025.
So much interesting new ecological #lightpollution research being published, and I have to highlight this new paper in particular. Shielded lights and lower CCT (warmer colors) reduce flight call disruption of migratory birds in a pretty massive study in NM www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Interesting coverage on how we are fighting white-nose syndrome in bats (with a brief mention of our WCS Canada probiotic)! 🦇 youtu.be/GNPeHhpBAnE?...
Tried to get some pics of stars over the weekend, away from city lights. This was the very first attempt, turned out kind of neat with the fisheye lens. Not really very experienced with astrophotography but trying to learn more. Would love to capture the northern lights or a comet or something.
NGC 2392 is a planetary nebula located about 6500 ly away in the constellation of Gemini. The distance to planetary nebulae is difficult to determine due to the nebula obscuring the central star, making parallactic measurement difficult. #astronomy
🔭 I've just posted some new astro images with descriptions to my blog. Check it out here: visiblesuns.blogspot.com/2025/09/summ...
We continue to see protons in ACE EPAM rise. We may see the CME arrive soon, probably in the next few hours or sooner! Keep an eye out for the shock signature in solar wind L1 data. More info: go.theauroraguy.com/aurorapredic...
Best shot since spring to catch the northern lights over Canada tonight! www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/scie...
Woot! Got my advances! New title but same great content. Use it to plan for your 2026 night sky planning! @fireflybooks.bsky.social
August 31, 2025 Moon is in its waxing gibbous phase with 55% of the surface illuminated. #yyc #Astronomy
After our #astronomy outreach, we took some time with our UV lamps to hunt for scorpions in the badlands of #Alberta Parks’ #DinosaurProvincialPark. We found about a dozen. Here’s one.
✨ New Book - Oct 22nd ✨ Delighted to share with you the cover for my new book, ‘Creatures of Darkness’. Wildlife fans, come join me on the dark side as I introduce you to a wonderful and weird cast of 100 creatures that all depend on darkness 🌌 Available for pre order in all local shops
The Sun in hydrogen alpha today. #astronomy
More solar observing and talks today! And another #DarkSky outreach session tonight.
Last night’s waxing crescent #Moon. iPhone 11Pro through 20cm Newtonian #telescope. #astronomy
A lone cellist plays in the #Alberta badlands under the stars in Alberta Parks’s #DinosaurProvincialPark #astronomy
We’re at @Albertaparks’s #DinosaurProvincialPark for a #DarkSky weekend with solar telescopes and #astronomy presentations.
Last night’s waxing crescent #Moon. iPhone 11Pro through 20cm Newtonian #telescope. #astronomy
#Saganisms
Agree. The English one isn’t bad but doesn’t quite have the angst that the original one does.
A couple of nights ago, I set out capture a #timelapse of the #aurora. I got more than I bargained for. #astronomy #abstorm youtu.be/V8tj6EINHRI?...
🔴 Indigenous constellations show how much beauty we lose to light pollution. ✨ Our ancestors’ rich star lore is fading from the night sky. 🎥 Watch Dr. Danielle Adam (~39min): youtu.be/MAn3z1ClONM #Astronomy #LightPollution #DarkSkies
This year, I’ve noticed an unusual number of Cormorants. Last year it was Mourning Doves (saw a flock of 22 next to my rural home). Dove numbers are still a bit elevated this year. @fisherspeaks.bsky.social
Now, don’t go all “Avi Loeb” on me 😜
Here’s 2023’s Interpretation Canada’s national Gold Award level park interpretive program about snakes on the plains (at Milk River Provincial Park). youtu.be/_SXUT6Fssd4?...
A couple of nights ago, I set out capture a #timelapse of the #aurora. I got more than I bargained for. #astronomy #abstorm youtu.be/V8tj6EINHRI?...
New species of dinosaur-era dragonfly discovered by a research student in Alberta's Badlands. Also - it is named (Cordualadensa acorni) after my pal and legendary naturalist John Acorn. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Bats!
🌎 Fall migration has begun! Wondering which birds may be in your area this long weekend? Find out using the Birds in Your Region tool on our website! This tool creates a photo guide that represents the birds most commonly expected for the selected date and region. tinyurl.com/duh2xah4
Today the sunspot number is 185. The last time we saw these sunspot numbers? Earlier this month! We've seen some pretty large swings in the past few weeks, but we may close out August with an average SSN of 130. July's average was 125.6. Solar flux was at 202 SFU today.
Bats are on the move #AB. Have a look for them roosting during the day on the walls of your house and even in patio umbrellas. They typically fly off at night, so there's no need to worry about them - simply enjoy with them their sleepy day. #AB
The Bortle Scale is a numeric scale that measures the night sky brightness of a location. Stellarium image. 🔭 🧪
Thank you!
A view of #Taurus with its two prominent star clusters: the Hyades, the "V" shaped face of the Bull and the compact Pleiades (7 Sisters). Visible are #satellites, aircraft and several meteors (abrupt short tracks). The #planet #Jupiter puts in an appearance at lower left. #astronomy
BirdCast forecasts for the next several nights have hundreds of millions of birds predicted to be on the wing, especially in central & eastern states. Turn off all unnecessary lights at night and check your favorite hotspots for new birds in the day! #birds #fall #migration #LightsOutForBirds
A view of #Taurus with its two prominent star clusters: the Hyades, the "V" shaped face of the Bull and the compact Pleiades (7 Sisters). Visible are #satellites, aircraft and several meteors (abrupt short tracks). The #planet #Jupiter puts in an appearance at lower left. #astronomy
Join us Alberta Parks' #DinosaurPP this weekend for an #astronomy extravaganza! www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/...
birds are migrating south now, lights out 11pm to 6am youtu.be/xfiY0tTjKxA?...
Those were the days…
Billions of lights pierce the night sky, disorienting migrating birds and leading to deadly collisions. Fall migration is underway—turn off unnecessary lights at night. A small act, but it saves lives. 🌌🕊️ youtu.be/_gXSN2GmI8M?...
Thank you!
Very nice. We’ve had clear skies lately in the lower 48, where the lunatics are running the asylum… 😉 Here’s a morning 30-second shot from a few days ago getting photobombed by the ISS…
Predawn #timelapse of the eastern sky. The sideways ‘V’ of Taurus the Bull’s face leads the parade with #Jupiter and #Venus showing up later. All the while, #Starlink #satellites punctuate the scene. #astronomy
Mesmerizing cloud action during #sunset
The planets #Venus (below) and #Jupiter accompanied by an aircraft contrail. #astronomy. You may need to click image to open fully.
Mesmerizing cloud action during #sunset
A couple of more photos of this evening’s #sunset
Crepuscular rays at #sunset
M67 is an open cluster located about 2700 ly away in the constellation of Cancer. It is an older cluster, on the order of a few billion years old. This means that most of the more massive stars that would have been in the cluster at its formation have long since evolved and died. #astronomy
If you were fortunate to have clear skies on the morning of August 20, you were treated to a stunning view of a waning crescent Moon near Venus & Jupiter. If you also had a clear view of the ENE horizon, you would have seen Mercury. On August 21 the crescent Moon will be near Mercury before sunrise.
At 5 G’s, many people would be passing out
Life on Earth emerged fast. It’s time to rethink how we study life’s origins. It emerged far earlier, and far quicker, than we once thought possible. aeon.co/essays/life-... via @aeon.co #palaeontology #cosmology #science #SciChat
albertawilderness.ca/product/adve... @albertawilderness.bsky.social hosts a bat night! It is very cool!
Was terrible last couple of nights trying to feed my horses. I had run inside.
M84 (galaxy on far right of image) is an elliptical galaxy located about 55 Mly away in the constellation of Virgo. Along with M86 (centre), M84 is a member of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. #astronomy
We have the same misapprehension here. There are certainly many challenges to raising honeybees, but they are a livestock animal that are doing well compared to their wild peers.
“Honeybees are not under threat and there are many hives maintained by beekeepers.” www.rhs.org.uk/wildlife/pol...
Honey bees aren’t really that threatened. It’s the native bees that need attention.
Had a bat clinging to my shoe outside the Sobeys in Strathmore on Sunday. Apparently fell from somewhere on the building and was scooting around on the sidewalk. I was able use the shoe to transfer it into a large flower planter. Very small, possibly a Little Brown (?).
Ever wondered if bats are in your neighbourhood? 🦇 Alberta libraries now offer borrowable "Bat Kits"! Each kit has a detector & resources to help you listen for bats. Check your library (and ask about inter-library loans) or learn more: www.albertabats.ca/batkits/
Thanks for digging into this. I agree; we need to visualize it in 3 dimensions. I strongly believe that what we are seeing is not folded strata, but the intricate pattern of aeolian erosion on flat lying beds.
The morning of August 19, provided another mostly clear morning. One could easily observe the waning crescent Moon above Jupiter and Venus. Mercury was low in the ENE. There was even some aurora over Calgary. Tomorrow, August 20, the crescent Moon will be even closer to the two bright planets.
Thank you very much
This morning’s view of #Venus, #Jupiter and the #Moon. #astronomy
On August 18, three planets were visible in the NE morning sky. The two brightest were Jupiter and Venus. Much lower to the horizon you can also observe Mercury. On August 19, the crescent Moon will be above Jupiter. On August 20, the Moon will be between Jupiter and Venus.
M4 is a globular cluster located about 6 kly away in the constellation of Scorpius. Studies of the motion of stars in M4 suggest that there is an 800 Solar mass object at its centre. This could be a intermediate mass black hole. #astronomy
Thanks!
This morning’s view of #Venus, #Jupiter and the #Moon. #astronomy
I would neither make light of or throw shade if you wish illuminate or highlight glaring issues associated with #lightpollution in thi manner.
Tonight’s #sunset #timelapse
Wrap around #sunset in northern Vulcan County. Click to open #panorama
Asperitas clouds en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperit...
“Wilson's Warbler populations show greater resilience & reduced negative responses to rising temperatures in areas with higher proportions of old-growth forests“ fall bird migration is now birdcast.info turn lights out 11pm-6am to help migrating birds & their young reach their destination flap.org
Bright planet Venus and Jupiter rise early August 12, 2025. Overlooking the town of Osoyoos, BC. A single 5 second exposure. #astrophotography #astronomy #planets #jupiter #venus
Too bad I can only ❤️ this once on Bluesky.
My complaints have not yet been resolved. medium.com/@steve.desch...
I read the whole thing, hoping that it explained something that was missing in the post
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Found my sister on the list.
My latest feature about how we’re losing the night sky. @darkskyintl.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/newsinteract...
As a structural geologist, I’m not seeing anything that indicates that those layers are folded. I just see the imprint of complex topography on horizontal layers. Is there other information that points to the tectonic interpretation?
Galactic bubbles like never before! @eric-koch.bsky.social introduced BubbleZoo, a citizen science project cataloging JWST’s mesmerizing voids in galaxies, at the JWST session on galaxies at the 6th Shaw-IAU Workshop! 🔭 #astroedu www.youtube.com/watch?v=726s...
less than ideal #Perseid viewing conditions last night...did catch one with some faint #aurora in Southern Manitoba
fall bird migration is beginning flap.org
These make my pics look so… boring! 🤣 Nice stuff. 👍👍
#astronomy
So sorry for your loss. I have several at home and know how special they are.
The Veil nebula, made up of NGC 6960, 6992, 6995, 6974, 6979 amongst others, is a supernova remnant located about 2400ly away in the constellation of Cygnus. It is what is left over of a massive star that exploded at the end of its life over 10000 years ago. #astronomy
It's still kinda strange to me that the top download of "Birds of Alberta" podcast (of the 29 episodes). But #2 to #4 do kinda make sense. 1) Red-winged Blackbird 2) Great Blue Heron 3) Common Loon 4) Yellow Warbler podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
The predawn pairing of the #planets #Venus (below) and #Jupiter. #astronomy
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💫 Who taught us that the calcium in our bones and the iron in our blood were born in stars — and then fought to open observatories to women? Born #OTD in 1919, Eleanor Margaret Burbidge changed both science and who gets to do it. 🔭🧪 #Astronomy #WomenInScience
I am very sad to learn that former NASA astronaut Jim Lovell has passed away at the age of 97. He was one of my early hero’s and he will be missed by so many spaceflight enthusiasts. My condolences to his family and friends. RIP Jim🙏
Even with the bright full moon last night, the colourful aurora borealis was visible over Calgary, Canada. The northern lights were active most of the night. As morning twilight appeared, you could see Venus and Jupiter rising in the ENE. These two bright planets are in conjunction on August 12.
IC 434, the Horsehead nebula, is a dark nebula located about 1400 ly away in the constellation of Orion. The unusual colour in this image is due to the hydrogen alpha spectral line being mapped to the green channel. #astronomy
Here is a portion of Messier 24, the Sagittarius Star Cloud, which is mostly just a vast number of stars with some dark dust. There's an open star cluster, NGC 6603, visible just above the red star, right of center. 🔭
Here’s a great event coming up at one of my favourite places on Earth, Waterton Lakes National Park. It looks like the Dark Sky Guides have put together a stellar program of events, activities and presenters — for Waterton’s first dark sky festival, Sept. 26-28. See darkskyguides.ca/discovery-days
