🦇2025 we produced a great video about bat houses! If you plan on building some this winter - check out this great compilation of all the things you should know before you choose a spot to install one! (and feel free to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!) #BatFriends youtu.be/BhJZjQBonkE?...

As feared, the compression has wiped out most of the detail. Here’s a zoomed in portion

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I love capturing the lunar “limb” - the silhouetted part. It’s not something you can see with the naked eye, so makes using the telescope cool. I hope the compression here doesn’t mess with it too much.

That’s very cool, literally. In the next few hours I’ll also be setting up for an outreach event here in southern Australia where the local temperature is currently +35C. At least my scope will be next to an ice cream shop.🍦🔭

The first quarter #Moon and the 8”, 20 cm, 🔭 that was used with a hand-held iPhone to capture that shot during tonight’s frigid outreach event.

Hardy astronomers braving -25C temperatures at our outreach event tonight. 🔭

Yikes! -25C outside and we have some volunteers running telescopes 🔭 at our outreach event tonight. Luckily, we have indoor talks and planetarium as well!

From amazing celestial displays in our night sky, to incredible news from Mars, and even an extremely rare visitor from beyond the confines of our solar system, there were plenty of spectacular stories that developed over the past year. 🌠 https://ow.ly/8Va250XOLrg

For those who do want to understand the change, check out Sara Pritchard’s new book @sarabpritchard.bsky.social uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...

Merry Christmas! With a snow globe that froze a few days ago 🥶 My frozen bubble recipe - 200ml warm water - 35ml corn syrup - 35ml dish soap - 2tbs sugar #bubblemadness #frozen #winter

Keep an eye on the forecast for clear night skies, so that you don't miss out on the astronomical events occurring throughout the season. ✨❄️ https://ow.ly/pjm350XNZRC

You can see over 8000 human made images (97% of them with AltText) posted by over 600 #ArtAdventCalendar participants just by clicking or long pressing on the hashtag and selecting See Posts. I guarantee you it's better for your mental health than whatever else you're looking at on here.

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✨ Friendly reminder: TELUS Spark Science Centre is closed on December 25 so our team can recharge and spend time with their loved ones too. ✨ Special Holiday Hours: December 25 — CLOSED December 26 — 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM December 27-30 — 9:00 AM - 7:00 PM December 31 — 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Even a $5 donation helps us maintain our outreach program! Here is the secure link through our WCS Canada fundraising team - please indicate that you want funds directed to the bat program! Help bats as a gift! www.albertabats.ca/donate/

As the year comes to a close, we’re feeling grateful 🦇✨ In 2025, the Alberta Bat Program participated in 43 outreach events & reached 10,000+ people across Alberta. Year-end donations help us continue this work into the new year. Thank you for supporting bats this season 💚 Donate link in comments

Two #aurora substorms on the longest night of the year, #WinterSolstice. Imaged from northern Vulcan County, Alberta. #astronomy

If you missed out on the Newgrange solstice livestream this morning you can find it here. Really worth it for the authoritative, evocative commentary. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRgu...

Another diagram capturing the winter solstice, this one from my 1794 copy of ‘Astronomy Explained Upon Sir Isaac Newton's Principles, and Made Easy to Those Who Have Not Studied Mathematics’ by Scottish astronomer James Ferguson. Plate for the chapter, ‘Of the Different Seasons.’ ❄️ #booksky

Two #aurora substorms on the longest night of the year, #WinterSolstice. Imaged from northern Vulcan County, Alberta. #astronomy

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M1, the Crab nebula, is a supernova remnant located about 6500ly away in the constellation of Taurus. The supernova that created M1 was observed and recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054. The actual explosion would have happened 6500 years earlier. #astronomy

M11 is an open cluster located about 61oo ly away in the constellation of Scutum. Open clusters are groups of stars that were formed more or less at the same time in the same star forming nebula. This makes them useful in the study of how stars evolve through their lives. #astronomy

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Video of Winter storm in #Calgary. #abstorm

Apparently my view out the office window has been cancelled. #abstorm

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Early this morning (Dec 16) at 3:28 EST, #ULA launched 27 #Amazon #Leo satellites into low Earth orbit using its ultra reliable Atlas V rocket. Here is my photo using 3 long exposure images stacked together to show the NE ascent (streak) of the Atlas V rocket as observed from Orange Lake, FL.

This morning’s waning crescent #Moon. #astronomy

For #artAdventCalendar Day 15 Carstairs Redux 42×34″ 107×86 cm Oil on Canvas 2025

Did anyone see the Geminid meteor shower? On the night of December 13/14, a sensitive meteor camera operated by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Calgary Centre, recorded just over 300 #Geminids. The camera is located south of Calgary, Canada. Here is a radiant plot.

Vibert Douglas fought against gender discrimination in her field, earned an MBE for her war service, was a celebrated astrophysicist and one of the first individuals to receive the Order of Canada. This is her remarkable story. 🧵 1/8

What do you do when your dog wakes you up at 4:30AM on a frigid (18F / -7.8C) winter Monday morning? Get the telescope out (eVscope2) and start imaging from your backyard of course! Here is a sampling: 3I/ATLAS (5 mins), the Hamburger Galaxy aka NGC 3628 (10 mins), and M98 (10 mins). #Astronomy

A little cheeriness for everyone today. #ArtAdventCalendar

Reposting for those not bridged to BlueSky, and to add alt-text, because this is important! Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social posted this morning: "The number of active satellites in orbit has now passed the 14000 mark according to my estimates"

Tonight’s #sunset #panorama (may need to click to open fully) highlighted a Chinook Arch cloud form. #abstorm

For #ArtAdventCalendar Day 13 Forward Under Shared Skies 60×98″ 152x250cm Mixed media (oil paint, canvas, birch panel, collage) 2019 A collaboration w Cree-Metis artist Dawn Marie Marchand focusing on the sharing of artistic space and ideas between a non-Indigenous and Indigenous artist

New Release! SkyCalPro: V2.6.0 The maxium libration of the moon can be calculated using the "Phases and Orbital Data" option To understand libration, the image shows what's visible on the limb (edges) of a full moon at opposite librations. Next maxima on 18th Dec. #Astronomy skycalpro.com

Wooo it's up! New paper alert! I will write a summary thread about this paper tomorrow morning when I'm not quite as mentally exhausted! "An Orbital House of Cards: Frequent Megaconstellation Close Conjunctions" by Thiele, Heiland, Boley, & Lawler https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09643 Not […]