🔭 Here are spiral galaxies Messier 51 (left) and 100, which I caught from my backyard last night. M51 is 31 million light years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici. M100 is 55 million light year away in Coma Berenices. To the lower right of M100 is the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4312.

“The alternation of light and dark is not a trivial background condition. It is one of the oldest organising principles of life on Earth.” It feels like we're on the cusp of crossing, if we haven't already, into uncharted territory for the planet's life systems. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

Amazing lunar images thread. I hadn’t even thought about radio images of our celestial neighbour. 🔭

Fun bat fact 🦇🩹: Bats are super-speed healers! Small holes in their wings can fully close in just 7–14 days. But timing matters- injuries before hibernation heal much more slowly, and may not fully recover while their bodies are in low-power mode. #TheMoreYouKnow

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Night-time lights in Asia in 2014 vs 2024 Credit: databandarr More about light pollution: brilliantmaps.com/light-pol...

You mean this patch, I’ve got mine.

For a few days after New #Moon, several mountain peaks near the south lunar pole catch sunlight and appear like isolated points of light beyond the continuous cusp of the sunlit Moon. This was captured on the #equinox, March 20, using an iPhone 12ProMax and a 20cm telescope 🔭 #astronomy

I love the thin crescent #Moon. Here are images from the #equinox, March 20, when it appeared in the west with #Venus. The expression ‘new Moon in the old Moon’s arms’ refers to when the sunlit crescent envelopes the dark portion that is only lit by sunlight reflected off the Earth (‘earthshine’). 🔭

Fish Creek Provincial Park Star Night April 11, 2026 - info for those in the #Calgary area who love to watch the night sky.

Upcoming Keynote Concert: Lunacy @ Telus Spark Lunacy is the tale of the human obsession with the moon, a connection that began millennia ago and thrives today with Artemis. April 18th www.sparkscience.ca/rasc-talks?s...

HEY YYC & AREA! We have a Fish Creek Star Night coming up on April 11! Free! Come hang out with us! calgary.rasc.ca/wp/?page_id=...

There was an earthquake in Alberta today, 4.5 on the Richter scale, 18 km NE of Morinville. Anyone feel/notice it? www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/recent/2026/... #Alberta

Astronaut Jeremy Hansen is taking Indigenous culture past the Moon: his mission patch was designed by Henry Guimond, an Anishinaabe artist, incorporating one Indigenous perspective about the seven sacred laws, which are represented by animals. 🧪 #ArtemisII

For a few days after New #Moon, several mountain peaks near the south lunar pole catch sunlight and appear like isolated points of light beyond the continuous cusp of the sunlit Moon. This was captured on the #equinox, March 20, using an iPhone 12ProMax and a 20cm telescope 🔭 #astronomy

I love the thin crescent #Moon. Here are images from the #equinox, March 20, when it appeared in the west with #Venus. The expression ‘new Moon in the old Moon’s arms’ refers to when the sunlit crescent envelopes the dark portion that is only lit by sunlight reflected off the Earth (‘earthshine’). 🔭

Also, the name ‘Steve’ is already taken, it’s a high-altitude auroral phenomenon discovered by scientists, citizen scientists, ground-based imagers and @esaearth.esa.int’s magnetic field Swarm mission. See www.esa.int/Applications...

The peak of my professional life was working on an experiment that flew on Artemis I. It was a challenge: it had to be completely self-contained, standby for 100 days then run for a week on batteries, detect launch & TLI, grow yeast, and fit under an airline seat. Incredibly, it worked perfectly. 🌙

It’s just wild to me that we didn’t know what the far side of the Moon looked like until the 50s. Here’s a globe from that era that lives in our university library. They used the far side as a legend, since they did have any images to use.

We had the honour of formally presenting our 2025 Peter Sim Public Education and Corporate Awards to the winners yesterday! Thank you to Dr. Stephen Jeans and @mountroyalu.bsky.social for their extraordinary astronomy outreach efforts! Read the Story here: www.mtroyal.ca/AboutMountRo...

Tonight’s waxing gibbous #Moon. Tycho is the rayed crater at lower right. The white ‘blemish’ on the dark grey basalt mare on the terminator at left includes the crater Aristarchus and the sharp crater at the bottom edge is Vieta. 🔭 #astronomy

#meteor under the waxing gibbous moon today at 12:35am MDT March 30, 2026 at Crestone, Colorado USA #astrophotography #astronomy

Official sad news. White-nose syndrome infected bats have been found in our mountain hibernation sites. It's unclear what the mortality rate will look like by the time bats emerge in spring. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

If you want to do more than a symbolic gesture, consider leaving your outdoor lights off and minimizing your indoor lighting (close curtains!) overnight during the spring #bird migration period, typically to the end of May. @calgaryresponse.bsky.social @safewingsottawa.bsky.social

Come learn about the Moon in a musical way! Jay Ingram & The Lunatics are here in April to present Lunacy!🌙 TELUS Spark Infinity Dome Theatre Sat, April 18 Showtimes: 11:30 am OR 2:30 pm Purchase tickets via link in bio! RASC/Spark members receive $10 off per ticket! 💫✨

DID YOU SEE?! A couple of our local professional astronomers (and RASC Calgary members!) sharing their stellar knowledge and excitement about the night sky with Gina Martin at CTV Calgary! Check it out!

I had such a great experience getting to visit SNOlab earlier this week, an example of an organization doing fantastic science building on the historical measurements of solar neutrinos to the search for dark matter and life science experiments today. #Science #Physics #Astronomy

The proceedings of the 7th Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, summarizing all contributions and including links to the recorded talks on our YouTube channel, are now public! 🔭 #astroedu Read them here: zenodo.org/records/1911...

Watch the March edition of Ask An Astronomer with CTV News and Gina Martin! Featuring Dr. Phil Langill with the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory and Dr. Stephen Jeans of MRU and Ambrose University. Daylight Savings Time, Project Hail Mary, Black Holes and more! youtu.be/aMtUhWetrA0?...

Here’s a teaser for the March edition of Ask An Astronomer with CTV News and Gina Martin! Dr. Phil Langill with the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory and Dr. Stephen Jeans of MRU and Ambrose University! youtu.be/dkrZl9tGJ1o?...

✨ Turn off non-essential indoor and outdoor lights overnight 🌙 Close blinds or curtains after dusk ✨ Choose warm‑coloured, downward‑shielded outdoor lighting ✨ Encourage workplaces, schools, and neighbours to join in

🌙✨ Spring migration is underway, and most birds fly while we sleep. From March to May, millions of songbirds navigate at night using the moon, stars, and darkness. Artificial light can disorient them, pulling birds off course and increasing the risk of deadly window collisions.

Today NASA arranged for a special sunrise photo opportunity with the SLS on the launch pad. Here are some of my images. The start of Artemis II’s launch window opens on April 1st. Thank you to NASA’s KSC Office of Communications for this amazing opportunity. #artemisII

We experienced an #aurora substorm for a second night in a row, Sunday-Monday. My farmer neighbour in the valley was moving cattle late into the night. #astronomy

Dear Canadians: Transport Canada is running a survey on headlight glare. Get your feedback in by April 20: tc.canada.ca/en/corporate...

We experienced an #aurora substorm for a second night in a row, Sunday-Monday. My farmer neighbour in the valley was moving cattle late into the night. #astronomy

Tonight's view of the waxing crescent Moon and Jupiter (with Io at left) and the Great Red Spot. 🔭

Tonight’s Moon from the Balcony.

Saturday-Sunday #aurora was a banger! #timelapse. #astronomy

Saturday-Sunday #aurora was a banger! #timelapse. #astronomy

The Big Dipper visible through a break in a foggy cloud layer last night. My 📷

Folks, ASL interpretation will be available at this event for spoken word. If you know of anyone who might want to attend, please share with them!

Stop by to say hello to us at Booth 1130 if you’re attending the Outdoor Adventure Travel Show on Sunday! We had a fun day with everyone today! We’ve got STAR FINDERS! 💫🔭

It's spring break and I have some time to do some imaging. Last night I captured this trio of galaxies in Leo: Messier 105 (center) along with NGC 3384 (left) and NGC 3389 (lower). M105 & 3384 are 30-something million light years away, while 3389 is 63. 🔭

Bat fact: Bat wings are covered in tiny hairs that detect airflow -helping them steer, turn, and change speed in mid-air. 🦇

Thanks again to NatureAlberta and @naturenickpics.bsky.social for organizing & hosting my recent presentation "Same, but Different" comparing & contrasting the NA grasslands and the African Serengeti. If interested, it can now be viewed online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyH8...

We had two weather fronts hit overnight. One eventually brought snow, the other came from space. #Aurora #Timelapse #Astronomy

Come learn about the Moon in a musical way! Jay Ingram & The Lunatics are here in April to present Lunacy!🌙 TELUS Spark Infinity Dome Theatre Sat, April 18 Showtimes: 11:30 am OR 2:30 pm Purchase tickets via link in bio! RASC/Spark members receive $10 off per ticket! 💫✨