Career scientist (retired) • Lifelong amateur astronomer • Publisher of The Evening Sky Map (PDF) each month since January 2000: skymaps.com/tesm/ • Interests: Astronomy outreach • Astro-imaging • Supernovae Kym Thalassoudis PhD
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I have on occasion used the C925 for planetary imaging which depends critically upon excellent atmospheric conditions. For deep sky imaging the C925's long focal length presents several challenges and is best used with an off-axis guider to keep stars round. Will try one day with an OAG.
I know what you mean. And it actually feels good to do some visual astronomy every so often. Nothing beats the pristine beauty of the brighter celestial wonders. However, that pleasure quickly turns to disappointment as faint objects remain elusive and their beauty is only revealed via imaging.
Made time for visual astronomy tonight (between clouds) using a Celestron 9.25-in SCT. Had some truly breath-taking views of the Moon and Saturn. And the carbon star V Aquilae also presented a fine view. However, planetary nebulae M57 & M27 were barely visible, but very easy targets to image. 🔭
Over the next few hours, Venus, the brightest planet in our sky, will be appear close to the star cluster known as the Beehive or M44. Find the pair in the pre-dawn sky. A pair of binoculars will provide a great view. 🔭 Sky Calendar: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
It's a Sunday #Sun Day! Lots of active sunspots facing Earth and giant group AR4197 has 50 of them alone. Watch this spaceweather! #astronomy #astrophotography @stormhour.com @photohour.bsky.social 1/2
🌓 31 August: First Quarter Moon at 6:24 UT (now). The days near First Quarter Moon are a great time to view craters and many other lunar features. Use binoculars or, better still, a telescope for some incredible views. 🔭 #stargazing #moon #space Sky Calendar: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
🌓 🌟 In a few hours, Antares the brightest star in Scorpius will be occulted by the First Quarter Moon. The event commences around 8h UT on 31 August and is visible from Antarctica, south-western New Zealand and Macquarie Island. A close conjunction will be visible worldwide. 🔭 #stargazing
The Moon will reach apogee (farthest from Earth) on 29 August at 16h UT (now). At this time the Moon's distance from Earth will be 404,548 km or 251,374 miles and it will span an angular size of 29.5 arc-minutes.🔭 #stargazing
Lovely story. And precious memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you for letting me know.
🌟 The September 2025 edition of The Evening Sky Map is ready for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF features a Sky Calendar and easy-to-use sky maps for the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as the equatorial regions. Feel free to share, and enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭 #stargazing
I'm sure Avi will present an absolutely logical explanation why it's still aliens. 🔭☄️
Coming up shortly, the crescent Moon will pass near Spica, the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. Closest approach is at 12h UT on 27 August with an occultation visible from Antarctica. 🔭 #stargazing August 2025 events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/ More: in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=...
Next week, I am hosting a unique gathering in McLaren Vale, South Australia, that combines fine wine with astronomy and stargazing. A highlight will be the Alpha Crucis wines by Chalk Hill, named after the brightest star in the Southern Cross constellation. 🔭 More info & tickets: cruxastro.com
What a difference a day makes. This is the sun yesterday (right) and today (left). Those "little" sunspots have grown quite large. #Astronomy #Astrophotography
🌙 In a few hours, the crescent Moon will pass near the red-planet Mars. Closest approach occurs at 15h UT on August 26th in Virgo, with the bright star Porrima nearby. The event will be visible across the globe as night falls. Simply look up! #stargazing #Mars More events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
23 August: New Moon at 6:06 UT (now). Start of lunation 1270. The next few days are a great time for evening stargazing. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) at skymaps.com/tesm/ and enjoy exploring the Universe with your eyes, binoculars or a telescope! 🔭 #astronomy #stargazing #space
🌟 🌙 🌟 The crescent Moon will pass close to Jupiter & Venus over the next 9 to 24 hours producing a worldwide spectacle in the pre-dawn morning sky. Closest to Jupiter at 23h UT on 19 August, and to Venus 15 hours later. Castor & Pollux, the Gemini twins, will add to the display. 🔭 #stargazing
🌙 The crescent Moon is currently near the M35 star cluster in the pre-dawn morning sky. M35 is located near the feet of Gemini. Closest approach is at 0h UT on August 19th. Use a pair of binoculars at a dark sky site for the best view. 🔭 #stargazing The Evening Sky Map: skymaps.com/tesm/
A screenshot from earlier tonight showing an #ASIAIR image capture in progress. The target is #supernova 2025tam in NGC 6708 (above centre). The supernova is the "bright star" to the right of the galaxy's core. Very happy with the 190mm Mak-Newt scope and AM5 guiding tonight. 🔭 #astrophotography
Oops. Make that in "about 2 hours time". 😀
16 August: 🌗 Last Quarter Moon at 5:13 UT (now). This Moon phase marks the arrival of dark moonless evening skies for the next 7 to 8 days. So download a free copy of The Evening Sky Map (PDF) from skymaps.com/tesm/ and enjoy a wonderful evening under the stars! 🔭 #Astronomy #Space
🌟 On 14 August, the Moon reaches its closest point to Earth, known as perigee, at 18:04 UT (now). At this time, the Moon is 369,288 km (or 229,465 miles) away, with an angular diameter of 32.4'. 🔭 #stargazing skymaps.com/skycalendar/
I imaged interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS two nights ago from my inner city backyard (Bortle 7) using my 190mm telescope (skymaps.com/ir2/). The video composed of 30x60sec images shows the comet's motion against the background stars, just as predicted. 🔭 🧪 #3IATLAS #comet #space
A few pics taken this morning and the two previous days: bsky.app/profile/badi...
🌟 There is a spectacular celestial sight in the pre-dawn morning sky over the next few days, with the two brightest planets -- Venus & Jupiter -- appearing very close to each other. This rare conjunction will be visible worldwide with closest approach (0.9°) at 7h UT on 12 Aug. 🔭 #stargazing #space
The Perseid meteor shower peaks over the next 2 nights, producing swift, bright meteors (up to 50-75 per hour) with persistent trains. Best seen after midnight from the northern hemisphere. Moonlight interferes in 2025. 🔭 Map: skymaps.com/tesm/ #Perseids #stargazing
Last night I captured this image of SN 2025tam (15.8 mag.) and its host galaxy NGC 6708 -- a 12th magnitude spiral galaxy in the southern constellation Telescopium. The larger companion galaxy NGC 6707 is located nearby. Imaging rig details: skymaps.com/ir2/
🌟 120 million years ago in a galaxy far, far away a star exploded. Now known as SN 2025tam the light from the Type II (core collapse) supernova eventually reached Earth in early August 2025 when it was detected by the ATLAS global telescope network.🔭 🧪 #astronomy #supernova #space
Jupiter and Venus approaching their August 12th conjunction. #Astronomy #Astrophotography
New studies of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS show that it's a lot smaller than those early estimates, which were really upper limits. Our interstellar visitor is no more than 5 km (3 miles) wide, probably smaller. Which makes sense--small objects are a lot more common than big ones. 🧪🔭
Venus reaches its northernmost declination (22.0°) at 8h UT on 5 August (now). Mag. −4.0. Venus is currently visible in the pre-dawn morning sky where it is slowly approaching Jupiter for a conjunction on 12-13 August. 🔭 #stargazing
You will soon find yourself hopping from star-to-star "discovering" celestial objects among the constellations. Want to learn more? The book Nightwatch (2023) is a highly recommended practical guide. More books for Getting Started at: skymaps.com/learn/
Start by reading the instructions along the perimeter of the sky map. Then use the map and just your eyes to find a bright star, planet, or a star pattern in the night sky. Use a pair of binoculars to reveal fainter stars and celestial objects.
New stargazers can begin to learn the night sky with The Evening Sky Map -- a 2-page PDF available for free each month at: skymaps.com/tesm/ #stargazing #astronomy #space
🌔 🌟 In just over two hours, Antares the brightest star in Scorpius will be occulted by the waxing gibbous Moon. The event commences around 0h UT on 4 August and is visible from Antarctica, southern Argentina, southern Chile and the Falkland Islands. 🔭 #stargazing in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=...
🌙 In a few hours the Moon will pass near the red-planet Mars. Closest approach is at 19h UT on July 28th, midway between the bright stars Regulus and Spica. The event will be visible worldwide in the early evening sky. Simply look up! Use a pair of binoculars if available. #stargazing #Mars
🌟 The August 2025 edition of The Evening Sky Map is ready for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF features a Sky Calendar and easy-to-use sky maps for the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as the equatorial regions. Feel free to share, and enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭 #stargazing
🌟 An image of AT2025rwt, an astronomical transient discovered 22 July 2025 by ASAS-SN (All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae). It is a suspected nova -- a thermonuclear explosion on the surface of a distant star. The image shows the star at mag 15.8 (V) 36 hours after discovery. 🔭 🧪
Pluto reaches opposition at 21h UT on 24 July (now). Mag. 14.4. 🔭 #stargazing
24 July: New Moon at 19:11 UT (now). Start of lunation 1269. The next few days are a great time for evening stargazing. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) at skymaps.com/tesm/ and enjoy exploring the Universe with just your eyes, binoculars or a telescope! 🔭 #astronomy #stargazing #space
Last night, after several technical glitches, I managed to capture the faint and fast moving interstellar comet 3i/ATLAS from my Bortle 7 light-polluted backyard. The comet trail is barely visible in this 9x60sec image stack. ASTAP was used to place a marker on the comet's predicted position. 🔭🧪
Set up and ready to image. Tonight's targets are the fading novae V462 Lupi and V572 Velorum, and the recently discovered, and very faint, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. 🔭 Scope and camera details: skymaps.com/ir2/
The crescent Moon will pass close to Jupiter over the next few hours. The event takes place in the pre-dawn morning sky with closest approach at 6h UT on July 23rd, and with Jupiter only 21° from the Sun. 🔭 #stargazing
Finally, clear skies tonight! So another opportunity to again image and measure the brightness of the two recent novae V572 Velorum and V462 Lupi. 🔭 🧪 #stargazing
🌙 The crescent Moon will soon pass near the M35 star cluster in the pre-dawn morning sky. M35 is located near the feet of Gemini. Closest approach will be at 17h UT on July 22nd. Use a pair of binoculars at a dark sky site for the best view. 🔭 #stargazing The Evening Sky Map: skymaps.com/tesm/
🌙 🌟 Over the next few hours the crescent Moon will appear close to the planet Venus, with closest approach at 19h UT on July 21st. The pairing will be visible worldwide in the pre-dawn sky. 🔭 #stargazing #Moon #Venus
Over the next few hours the crescent Moon will appear close to the Pleiades star cluster (aka The Seven Sisters or M45). Closest approach is at 12h UT on July 20th. Simply look up in the pre-dawn sky to enjoy the view. 🔭 #stargazing Image taken with an Askar SQA55: skymaps.com/ir0/
🌗 This photo was taken just a few minutes ago and shows the Last Quarter Moon in the daytime. There it is, hiding in plain sight amongst the banana trees. 🙂 🔭 #Moon
18 July: 🌗 Last Quarter Moon at 00:38 UT (now). This Moon phase marks the arrival of dark moonless evening skies for the next 7 days. Perfect for viewing The Milky Way! So download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) from skymaps.com/tesm/ and enjoy a wonderful evening under the stars! 🌟 #Astronomy #Space
The Full Moon in July occurs on the 10th at 20:38 UT (now). The July Full Moon is known as the "Buck Moon", a Native American term that refers to male deer which begin to regrow their antlers in July every year. 🔭 #stargazing More July celestial events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
🌕 🌟 In a few hours time, Antares the brightest star in Scorpius will be occulted by the Moon. The event commences around 16h UT on 7 July and will be visible from Antarctica, western Australia, South Africa and Namibia. 🔭 in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=... #stargazing
One for early morning stargazers... At 6h UT on 6 July, in the pre-dawn sky, Saturn will be located 0.97° South of Neptune. Mags. 1.0 and 7.9. 🔭 #stargazing
The Moon will reach apogee (farthest from Earth) on 5 July at 2h UT (now). At this time the Moon's distance from Earth will be 404,627 km or 251,424 miles and it will span an angular size of 29.5 arc-minutes.🔭 #stargazing
OK, looks like 3I/ATLAS is a comet! If it were an asteroid the image would be symmetric circles. The distortion is likely due to ices sublimating to form a gaseous tail.
🌎 Earth at Aphelion (farthest from the Sun) on July 3 at 20h UT (now). The Sun-Earth distance is currently 152.1 million km, or 5 million km (3.1 million miles) further than perihelion 6 months ago. 🔭 July 2025 Sky Calendar: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
The Moon is approaching Spica -- the brightest star in Virgo. The pairing will be closest at 20h UT on 3 July. Sky watchers in southern Argentina, southern Chile, the Falkland Islands and Antarctica will see the Moon occult Spica. 🔭 #stargazing More Info: in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=...
Look up this evening to see the innermost planet Mercury (mag. 0.5) next to the Beehive star cluster (M44). The pair can be found just above the western horizon about 1 hour after sunset. Best seen with a pair of binoculars. Good luck! 🔭 #stargazing #space
FACT THREAD on New Interstellar Object #A11pl3Z This story unfolded pretty fast yesterday for a few reasons. The object was discovered on July 1st UTC by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS team. A #NASA funded survey at the University of Hawaii. atlas.fallingstar.com 🔭🧪
Exciting news! Will try to image this interstellar visitor as soon as the weather clears.
🌓 2 July: First Quarter Moon at 19:29 UT (now). The days around First Quarter Moon are a great time to view craters and many other lunar features. Use binoculars or, better still, a telescope for some incredible views. 🔭 #Astronomy #Moon #Space July Sky Calendar: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
Sun bathing a big refractor to kill off some tiny spots of fungus that formed on its 6-inch lens. The telescope is tracking several degrees East of the Sun to allow UV light to do its work and without focussed sunlight damaging the internals. Lesson: Always dry off your scopes prior to packing. 🔭
🌟 Nova V572 Vel was discovered just a few days ago on June 25th 2025 and is currently mag 4.9 making it easily visible to the naked eye from a dark sky site. The nova is located in the far southern constellation Vela so it is a southern hemisphere object. 🔭 🧪 #stargazing #nova
🌟 The July 2025 edition of The Evening Sky Map is now available for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF includes a Sky Calendar and user-friendly sky maps for the northern & southern hemispheres, and for equatorial regions. Please share, and enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭 #astronomy #stargazing
🌙 In the next few hours the crescent Moon will pass close to Mercury (mag. 0.2). Closest approach occurs on June 27th at 8h UT when the innermost planet is 25° from the Sun. Look for elusive Mercury after sunset. It will be the "brightest star" nearest the thin crescent Moon. 🔭 #stargazing
🌟 In the next few hours the Moon will once again pass near Castor and Pollux -- the twins of Greek mythology and the brightest stars in the constellation Gemini. Closest approach occurs at 14h UT and 20h UT on 26 June, respectively. 🔭 #stargazing Books about Sky Myths: skymaps.com/myths/
25 June: New Moon at 10:32 UT (now). Start of lunation 1268. The next few days are a great time for evening stargazing. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) at skymaps.com/tesm/ and enjoy exploring the Universe with just your eyes, binoculars or a telescope! 🔭 #astronomy #stargazing #space
🌙 On June 23rd, the Moon reaches its point of perigee, coming nearest to Earth at 4:46 UT (now). At this time, the lunar body will exhibit an angular diameter of 32.9 arc-minutes and be 363,178 kilometers or 225,668 miles away. 🔭 June 2025 Sky Calendar: skymaps.com/skycalendar/ #stargazing
Over the next few hours the crescent Moon will appear close to the Pleiades star cluster (aka The Seven Sisters & M45). Closest approach will be at 4h UT on June 23rd. Simply look up in the pre-dawn sky to enjoy the view. 🔭 #stargazing Image taken with an Askar SQA55: skymaps.com/ir0/
🌟 Nova V462 Lupi was discovered on June 12th and is bright enough (mag. 5.8) to be easily seen in binoculars. Located roughly between Delta Lupi and Kappa Centauri, use this photo to find the nova amongst the myriad of stars in the southern Milky Way. 🔭 🧪 #stargazing
This image was taken only a few hours ago from a southern hemisphere dark sky site. It was an exceptionally clear night with the Milky Way stretching from horizon-to-horizon with Scorpius directly overhead. #stargazing
The constellation Scorpius is located in the brightest part of the Milky Way. Can you trace out the shape of the scorpion? Start from its head on the left, through its heart (Antares), around its curving tail all the way to its stinger (Shaula). 🔭 #astrophotography Image: 1x30s D750 + 60mm f/2.8
☀️ The June solstice occurs at 2:40 UT (now) on 21 June 2025. This is the instant when the Sun reaches the point farthest north of the celestial equator marking the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. 🔭 earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/52248...
The Moon will appear close to the ringed-planet Saturn over the next few hours. The event is best seen in the pre-dawn sky with closest approach at 2h UT on June 19th. Saturn is currently at magnitude 1.0 and its rings are near edge-on as viewed from Earth. 🔭 #stargazing
18 June: 🌗 Last Quarter Moon at 19:20 UT (now). This Moon phase marks the arrival of dark moonless evening skies for the next 7 to 10 days. So download a copy of The Evening Sky Map (PDF) from skymaps.com/tesm/ and enjoy a wonderful evening under the stars! 🌟 #Astronomy #Space
The red planet Mars and Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, currently appear close to each in the western evening sky. Closest approach occurs at 18h UT on 17 June when the pair will be separated by 0.7°. 🔭 Learn about #stargazing with our recommended Getting Started books: skymaps.com/learn/
You will soon find yourself hopping from star-to-star discovering the constellations and new celestial objects for yourself. Want to learn more? The 5th edition of Nightwatch (2023) by Terence Dickinson is highly recommended. More books for Getting Started are listed at: skymaps.com/learn/ 3/3
Start by reading the Instructions on the perimeter of the sky map. Then use the map and just your eyes to find a bright star, planet, or star pattern in the night sky. Use a pair of binoculars to see fainter stars and/or objects hidden by light pollution. 2/3
One of the best ways to explore the night sky is with The Evening Sky Map -- a 2-page PDF available each month as a free download at: skymaps.com/tesm/ #stargazing #astronomy #space 1/3
Thanks for sharing. It’s a lovely little scope with sharp views that is very easy to set up and use, including for solar observing and outreach. 🌞
I saw much the same yesterday and again today through this William Optics 66mm telescope equipped with a solar filter. The sunspot detail at 44x and 88x was excellent considering the small aperture of this scope. 🔭 #sun #astronomy
The Full Moon in June occurs on the 11th at 7:45 UT (now). It is referred to as the "Strawberry Moon" by some Native American tribes to mark the strawberry harvest season in June. 🔭 #astronomy #stargazing More celestial events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
The lowest altitude full moon in decades. Did not make past the trees near my house. This is the result of a full moon near the summer solstice combined with a "major lunar standstill". en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_s... 🔭 🧪
Congrats! Note, I returned my first set because they were out of collimation and had an oil? leak. Amazon replaced them and handled the return free of charge. The new pair were well collimated and they have provided me with excellent views of the southern Milky Way from dark sky sites. Clear skies!
Binoculars or a telescope will provide the best view. Start well beforehand to catch Antares at the instant it vanishes behind the Moon. In fact, Antares is a double star and its very close fainter companion is predicted to be occulted first, followed by Antares about 5 sec later. Good luck!
🌕 🌟 In a few hours time, Antares the brightest star in Scorpius will be occulted by the near Full Moon. The event commences around 9h UT on 10 June and will be visible from most of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and the southern Pacific. 🔭 in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=... #stargazing
Nice little meteor just blew up north of Tucson AZ. Bright skies under a near full moon. 🔭
On Sale at Amazon US -- 25x100mm Astronomy binoculars: skymaps.com/a1/B07BR68XVH/ These binoculars offer excellent best views of star clusters and nebulae in The Milky Way. But unlike this photo, you will require a heavy duty stand to hold them steady. #binoculars #stargazing
No stargazing for me! 🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️🌧️
🌔 At 11h UT on June 7 (now), the Moon will be at its apogee, the point in its orbit where it is the most distant from Earth. At this time, the Moon will be 405,554 kilometers (252,000 miles) away, with an angular diameter of 29.5 arc-minutes. 🔭 #stargazing #astronomy #space
Over the next few hours, the Moon will pass near Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo. Closest approach is at 15h UT with an occultation visible from Antarctica and Tasmania. 🔭 #stargazing June 2025 events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/ in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=...
On 5 June 1764, Charles Messier discovered M20, his 20th Messier object. Now known as the Trifid Nebula it is a combination of an emission nebula (reddish-pink), a reflection nebula (blue), a dark nebula (trifurcated appearance) and a star cluster. 🔭 🧪 Imaging rig: skymaps.com/ir2/ #astrophotography
An image trail of asteroid 424482 (2008 DG5) captured on June 2nd. The #asteroid is easy to image as it approaches Earth and will be closest on 6 June at 3.5 million kms. Its diameter is 420m est. and it is currently at mag. 13.8. 🔭 🧪 Imaging rig: skymaps.com/ir1/ #astronomy #astrophotography
A wonderful night of Astronomy outreach last night at a local community venue. Guests enjoyed views of a variety of celestial objects inc. the Moon, multiple stars systems, star clusters, a ruby-red Carbon star, Omega Centauri, the Sombrero galaxy and the occasional meteor. 🔭 #stargazing #outreach
🌓 ⭐ In the next few hours, the Moon will once again appear near the bright star Regulus. Closest approach is at 4h UT on June 2nd. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo (the Lion) and is located on the Ecliptic making for regular encounters with the Moon. 🔭 Lore: Skymaps.com/myths/
Venus is currently visible in the pre-dawn sky with a magnitude of −4.3, making it the second brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. Its brightness is due to highly reflective clouds that surround the planet.
At 22 hours UT on June 1st (now), Venus will display a distinct D-shaped phase. Known as Dichotomy, this occurs when Venus is perfectly half-illuminated by the Sun, thus resembling a Quarter Moon.🔭 🧪 #astronomy #stargazing June Sky Calendar: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
The Moon is currently near Mars in the evening sky. Closest approach occurs at 12h UT on June 1st. Additionally, keep an eye out for auroral displays which began a few hours ago and are predicted to persist into tomorrow. Good luck! 🔭 #stargazing
🚨 Oh wow. Calling the side of the world where it's still dark. Look up!! Look up!! The mega sun burp has arrived 😮 #AuroraAlert Notes: Get far away from streetlights & look for a silvery shimmer in the sky. Prop your smartphone up on a wall to take a long exposure & reveal the colours. 🤩 🔭🧪
Mercury will be at superior conjunction with the Sun on May 30th at 4h UT (now). The innermost planet will then gradually pass into the evening sky. #stargazing #astronomy
Scorpius is one of my favourite constellations because it actually resembles a stick figure of a scorpion. It was recognised as such thousands of years ago, perhaps kicking off the nightly pastime to fill in the rest of the sky. 🤷