Sirius is a double star system located in the constellation Canis Major, about 8.6 light-years away from Earth. It is the brightest star in the night sky and can be seen from almost everywhere on Earth where people live. Finding Sirius from Stellarium The system...
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Betelgeuse- Facts and Trivia
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star located in the constellation of Orion. It is one of the largest and brightest stars visible to the naked eye, and it is easily recognizable as the reddish star on the upper left shoulder of the Orion constellation. Betelgeuse- in...
Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet?
This is a that I am asked frequently and so will endeavour to answer it. Pluto is no longer considered a planet because of a reclassification by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006. Prior to this, Pluto was considered the ninth planet in our solar...
Uranus and Neptune – Why are they different colours?
Uranus and Neptune have plenty of similarities, and like siblings, the two are often compared to each other. But don’t let’s think they are twins just yet. One thing that set Uranus and Neptune apart is the thickness and opacity of their hazy layers. A study has found...
Leonid Meteor Shower
Head out in the early morning and check out the Leonid Meteor Shower What is the Leonid meteor shower? The Leonid meteor shower is an annual meteor shower that reaches its peak in mid-November. It is one of the major meteor showers and can be easily observed even by...
November Constellation – Orion
The good thing about late Spring and Summer in the Southern Hemisphere night skies is the most well recognized constellations are out! The constellation Orion is one of the most recognizable and prominent constellations in the night sky. For us down under it is better...
Northern and Southern Taurid Meteor Shower
A casual observer may watch the sky at night and see 3 to 5 sporadic meteors per hour more if you are in a dark location. However, on some nights, this number may increase markedly, and on projecting the paths of the meteors back, we find that many appear to radiate...
A casual observer may watch the sky at night and see 3 to 5 sporadic meteors per hour. However, on some nights, this number may increase markedly, and on projecting the paths of the meteors back, we find that many appear to radiate from a tiny area in the sky. This...
Halloween?
You can’t escape its clutches — just in time for #Halloween, the Pillars of Creation reach back out like a ghostly hand. (Some chilling perspective: these “fingers” are roughly 5 light-years long!) about 48,000,000,000,000 kms The eerie landscape is captured this time...