Kym @ The Evening Sky Map

7 March: Mercury at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 11h UT (now). The innermost planet passes into the morning sky. 🔭
#stargazing

🌖 🌟 Over the next few hours, the Moon will appear near Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. Best seen in the morning sky with closest approach at 17h UT on 6 March. Spica's location near the ecliptic makes for regular close encounters with the Moon.🔭
Sky Lore Books: skymaps.com/myths/

Taken a few minutes ago during the Total Lunar Eclipse of 3 March 2026... 🔭

During totality, when the Moon is fully within the Earth’s shadow, the Moon will appear red-orange in colour. This is the colour of all the sunsets and sunrises in Earth’s atmosphere being projected onto the Moon's Earth-facing side.

More info: eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEplot/LEplo...

A Total Lunar Eclipse will occur between 11:04 UT to 12:03 UT on 3 March 2026, with greatest eclipse at 11:34 UT. Partial phases begin at 9:50 UT and end at 13:17 UT. 🔭

The total eclipse will be widely visible from east Asia, Australia, Pacific Ocean and the Americas.

Lunar occultation of Regulus 2 March 2026: The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis), creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including Russia, China, Mongolia and Japan amongst others. –…

⭐ Over the next few hours, the Moon will once again pass near the bright star Regulus. Closest approach is at 11h UT on 2 March 2026, with an occultation visible from eastern Russia, eastern China, Mongolia and Japan. 🔭
in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=...
#stargazing #moon

The Evening Sky Map is a 2-page monthly publication in the PDF format that features an all-sky map of the night sky, a calendar of celestial events, and a list of celestial objects visible to the naked eye, binoculars and telescopes.

🌟 The March 2026 edition of The Evening Sky Map (PDF) is now available for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF features easy-to-use sky maps for the northern & southern hemispheres, and for the equatorial regions. Please share, and enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭
#stargazing #space

A simulated image of the Moon created with SkySafari 6 Pro.

The Moon will be at its northernmost declination (+28.4°) in 2026 on March 25th at 23h UT (now). Then, in 2 weeks time, the Moon will be at its southernmost declination (–28.4°) in 2026. 🔭
#astronomy #Moon
February 2026 Events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/

A telescopic photograph of a First Quarter Moon showing well defined craters along the terminator.

🌓 24 February: First Quarter Moon at 12:28 UT (now).

The days around First Quarter are a great time to explore and view craters and many other lunar features. A telescope will provide spectacular views. 🔭

📖 NG Moon Map (Amazon): skymaps.com/a1/1566959535/
#stargazing #moon

A simulated image showing the close pairing of the planets Saturn and Neptune as they would appear through a 120mm f/5 refractor fitted with a 24mm eyepiece. Saturn has a distinct yellow colour and appears much brighter than blue-coloured Neptune. Image created with SkySafari 6 Pro.

The ringed-planet Saturn is in a close conjunction with Neptune at the moment. The planetary pairing will be located in the evening sky for several days, but requires a low-power telescope to view both planets at the same time. Good luck! 🔭
#stargazing

The Large Magellanic Cloud (dwarf galaxy) imaged from a Bortle 7 site. Many nebulae are visible in and around the galaxy. The largest and brightest is the Tarantula Nebula -- the most active region of star formation in the Local Group of galaxies. 🔭

Imaging rig: skymaps.com/ir0/

17 Feb: New Moon at 12:02 UT (now). Start of lunation 1276

🌟 The next few days remain a great time for evening #stargazing. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) (skymaps.com/tesm/) and enjoy exploring the Universe with just your eyes, binoculars or a telescope! 🔭
#space

A photograph of a black telescope on a white equatorial mount, with a red camera and a guide scope attached to the telescope.

The image was taken with the assistance of students from a local school who used an iPad to direct the telescope to the faint distant galaxy -- the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3660.
#astronomy #SuperNova #outreach

A monochrome telescopic image showing a star field with a faint spiral galaxy at the centre. The location of the supernova in an inner spiral arm of the galaxy is marked with a pair of lines. The supernova has the same appearance as other faint stars in the image, but is much, much brighter than the indistinguishable stars which form the faint spiral structure of the galaxy.

🌟 206 million years ago in a galaxy far, far away, a star exploded. The light from the Type II (core collapse) supernova 2026cff eventually reached Earth last week and was discovered on 6 February by the Zwicky Transient Facility. 🔭 🧪

Imaging rig details: skymaps.com/ir2/

🌘 The Moon will reach apogee (farthest from Earth) at 17h UT (now) on 10 February 2026. At this time the Moon's distance from Earth will be 404,576 km or 251,392 miles and span an angular size of 29.5 arc-minutes. 🔭
#stargazing

February 2026 Sky Calendar: skymaps.com/skycalendar/

The Evening Sky Map is a 2-page monthly publication that features an all-sky map of the night sky, a calendar of celestial events, and a list of celestial objects visible to the naked eye, binoculars and telescopes.

🌗 The Last Quarter Moon occurs on February 9th at 12:44 UT (now) marking the onset of moonless evening skies. This is an ideal time for stargazing over the next week or so. Download The Evening Sky Map (PDF) from skymaps.com/tesm/ and enjoy a night under the stars! 🔭
#stargazing

An illustration from an 1822 star atlas highlighting the constellation Virgo depicted as a winged female figure against a background of stars and constellations all of which are shown as line drawings. Brighter stars are indicated with larger star symbols. The more prominent stars are labelled with Greek letters, and a few are also labelled with star names. The position of the ecliptic is shown passing through the constellation Virgo. Image source: Plate 18, A Celestial Atlas by Alexander Jamieson (1822).

🌖 🌟 Over the next few hours, the Moon will appear near Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. Best seen in the morning sky with closest approach at 8h UT on 7 February. Spica's location near the ecliptic makes for regular close encounters with the Moon.🔭
Sky Lore Books: skymaps.com/myths/

A telescopic image of several sunspots on the Sun including a much larger sunspot complex. A narrowband filter in the green part of the visible spectrum (540nm) was used to take the image resulting in the Sun's surface appearing bright green in color. Credit: Kym Thalassoudis

Earlier today I captured this view of sunspots including the huge AR 4366 complex using a low-cost achromat refractor coupled to a Herschel wedge and a narrowband filter, and an ASI462MC camera. 🔭 🧪
#Sun #sunspots

A monochrome telescopic image showing a rich star field and a few small fuzzy objects which are galaxies. The location of the supernova in an outer spiral arm of the galaxy is marked with a pair of lines. The supernova has the same appearance as the fainter stars in the image, but is much, much brighter than the indistinguisable stars which form the faint spiral structure of the galaxy.

A few hours ago I captured this image of #supernova 2025ajmj in the galaxy IC 4366 (210 MLY). The Type Ia SN was discovered 29 Dec'25 by ATLAS. Images taken over 2 nights shows 2025ajmj is currently slowly fading as expected. 🔭 🧪

Imaging rig: skymaps.com/ir2/

More information including local times: in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=...

A simulated image of the Moon created in Sky Safari Pro. The image shows the waning gibbous Moon and the bright star Regulus shortly before the start of the lunar occultation on 2 February 2026 at 8:45pm local time.

🌖 ⭐ Over the next few hours, the Moon will once again pass near the bright star Regulus. Closest approach is at 4h UT on 3 February 2026. An occultation will be visible from parts of Northern America and Africa. Image shows view prior to ingress from NYC at 8:45pm on 2nd Feb'26. 🔭
#stargazing

A detailed telescopic photograph of the Full Moon against a black background. The image exhibits a range of gray tones that emphasize its craters, plains, and other surface features. The image was taken with a Sky-Watcher Maksutov-Newtonian telescope described at: skymaps.com/ir2/ Image Credit: Kym Thalassoudis

🌕 The Full Moon in February 2026 occurs on the 2nd day of the month at 22:09 UT (now). Step outside this evening and look up to enjoy the view. 🔭
February 2026 sky events: skymaps.com/skycalendar/
Imaging rig: skymaps.com/ir2/

🌟 Over the next few hours, the Moon will appear close to Jupiter -- the largest planet in the Solar System. Currently in Gemini, Jupiter is easy to find tonight -- it's the bright white "star" near the Moon. Closest approach is at 4h UT on 31 January. Simply look up and enjoy the view! 🔭
#stargazing

A simulated image of the Moon created by Sky Safari Pro. The image shows the waxing gibbous Moon as it will appear at perigee (closest to Earth) on 29 January 2026. Many craters and dark lava plain are depicted.

🌔 The waxing gibbous Moon will reach perigee (closest to Earth) at 21:46 UT (now) on 29 January 2026. At this time the Moon's distance from Earth will be 365,871 km or 227,342 miles and span an angular diameter of 32.7 arc-minutes. 🔭
#stargazing #Moon

The Evening Sky Map is a 2-page monthly publication in the PDF format that features an all-sky map of the night sky, a calendar of celestial events, and a list of celestial objects visible to the naked eye, binoculars and telescopes.

🌟 The February 2026 edition of The Evening Sky Map (PDF) is now available for download at skymaps.com/tesm/. The PDF features easy-to-use sky maps for the northern & southern hemispheres, and for the equatorial regions. Please share, and enjoy exploring the Universe! 🔭
#stargazing #space

A telescopic photograph of the Pleiades star cluster showing many bright white stars with light blue coloured nebulosity surrounding most of the brighter stars.

On the evening of 27 January, look up to view a close approach of the Moon and the Pleiades star cluster (aka The Seven Sisters & M45). Closest approach is at 22h UT. Enjoy the view. Use binoculars if available. 🔭
#stargazing #space
Image taken with an Askar SQA55: skymaps.com/ir0/

A monochrome telescopic image showing a star field and several small fuzzy objects which are galaxies. The location of the supernova in one of the galaxies is indicated with a pair of lines.

🌟 380 million years ago in a galaxy far, far away a star exploded. Now known as 2025ahkt the light from the Type Ia-91T supernova eventually reached Earth in mid-December 2025 and was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility in California.🔭 🧪
#astronomy #supernova

A telescopic photograph of the First Quarter Moon showing well defined craters along the terminator.

🌓 26 January: First Quarter Moon at 4:47 UT (now).

The days around First Quarter are the best time to explore and view craters and many other lunar features. A telescope will provide spectacular views. 🔭

📖 NG Moon Map (Amazon): skymaps.com/a1/1566959535/
#stargazing #moon

The Waxing Crescent Moon will appear close to Saturn over the next few minutes & hours. The pair is best seen from about an hour after sunset with closest approach around 10h UT on 23 January. To spot Saturn, look for the bright yellow "star" a few degrees from the Moon. 🔭

21 Jan: Mercury at superior conjunction with the Sun at 16h UT (now). The innermost planet passes into the evening sky. 🔭