What's Up in the Night Sky -September
August was a very exciting month. There was the Perseid meteor shower on the 11th; the Milky Way was at its best and will continue to be so through September; and the Curiosity rover made a very complicated and successful landing on Mars. More information came out confirming the existence… READ MORE
What's Up in the Night Sky -July
By Fred Barrett What a great Venus transit! I hope you all saw the excellent article by Julie Druker on the front page of the June 7th Frontenac News. Check the Frontenac News website archives if you missed it. July and August are the glory days for observing. The Milky… READ MORE
What's Up in the Sky - June 2012
By Fred Barrett Don’t you dare miss the Venus transit! It’s an event that won’t happen again for 115 years. It will occur between 6 p.m. and sunset on June 5. Please protect your eyes. Use #14 welder’s glasses or solar filters that can be bought at local optical shops… READ MORE
What's Up in the Night Sky - May
By Fred Barrett I want to give you plenty of warning for the transit of Venus across the face of the Sun on June 5. This is an extremely rare event. It begins in our area at roughly 6 p.m. EDT and you will be able to witness it until… READ MORE
What's Up in the Night Sky - April
By Fred Barrett Photo of the Moon by Fred Barrett Exciting news this month! I have been helping my fellow amateur astronomer Bob Hillier build his new observatory. We had a good fall and were able to clear the land and complete most of the construction. This past week we… READ MORE
What's Up in the Night Sky -March
By Fred Barrett This month let’s talk about naming stars! There’s nothing to stop you from naming a star after yourself. When I was very young, there was a very bright star in the north that I decided was mine and I named it “Fred’s Star”. There are commercial enterprises… READ MORE
What's Up in the Night Sky -February
By Fred Barrett Coronal Mass Ejections and spectacular views of the Aurora Borealis have been in the news lately and I thought that a review of Sun basics and what causes CMEs and flares was in order. The Sun makes up 99.8 % of the mass of the solar system… READ MORE
What's Up in the Night Sky - January 2011
By Fred Barrett Calling all observers! Send me your sightings. We can share what we have seen through this column. We live in a beautiful dark sky area. Don’t let what you have seen go unreported. This month I am going to give a few pointers on observing. You don’t… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – December 2011
By Fred Barrett The Sun is especially magnificent right now. It is close to its maximum sunspot level. This happens every 11 years and the maximum is predicted for 2012. We have a good number of sunspots right now and if this is before the maximum, the coming year should… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – November 2011
By Fred Barrett The Sun is especially magnificent right now. It is close to its maximum sunspot level. This happens every 11 years and the maximum is predicted for 2012. We have a good number of sunspots right now and if this is before the maximum, the coming year should… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – November 2011
By Fred Barrett Let’s talk aurora borealis this month! I’m sure some of you have seen recent displays of these spectacular rippling curtains of light in the sky. We are in the midst of what is called a Solar maximum. During a Solar maximum the Sun has a much greater… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – October 2011
By Fred Barrett This month pull out your binoculars and search the area shared by Cepheus and Cassiopeia. Throughout October they can be found by looking straight up at the zenith of the sky. Now shift your gaze 20 degrees (a fist width) to the northeast. Cepheus looks like a… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – September
I couldn’t have planned things better! I was searching through my sky charts for a good object for you to look for this month and I wanted it to be in the area where I challenged you last month. I thought it would be doubling your pleasure to practice in… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – August 2011
By Fred Barrett Last column I said that we were going to visit the huge constellation Ophiuchus this month. I changed my mind and decided to challenge you with finding two of the smallest constellations. They are the constellations Delphinus, the Dolphin and Sagitta, the Arrow. Small but exquisite, these… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – May 2011
By Fred Barrett Let’s have a look at Corona Borealis this month. It’s a small constellation and can be found between the constellation Bootes to its right and Hercules to the left. I hope some of you, using the techniques I mentioned last month, had a chance to practise finding… READ MORE
What’s Up in the Night Sky – April 2011
By Fred Barrett I’ve been giving you a good dose of hard science lately. I thought that maybe I should give that a rest for a while and change direction by offering up a few tips and techniques on basic observing. Some of you have written or talked to me… READ MORE
