Winter in Canada has its obvious challenges of keeping the snowy walkway clean as well as driving in snow and ice during our daily commute. And even though a clear moonless night reveals a gorgeous starry sky, the cold can cut short or even ruin a perfectly good observing session. This scenario often occurs during one of the best meteor showers of the year – the Geminids.

For thousands of years, the naked eye planets have been observed as they slowly moved across the starry sky. The word planet comes from the Greek meaning “wanderer” and for good reason. Today’s telescope transforms these dots into detailed worlds such as the rings of Saturn, the polar caps on Mars and the four Galilean moons orbiting the banded clouds of Jupiter.

The constellation Aquarius is one of the original forty-eight constellations catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century and appears on the ecliptic (zodiac). Also known as the “Water Carrier or Cup Carrier” this constellation is found in the southern part of the sky and measures less than 1,000 square degrees in area. The brighter stars that make up the asterism range in magnitude from 3.1 to 4.5, allowing Aquarius can be seen from the suburbs. 

The southernmost star of the Summer Triangle named Altair resides 16 light-years from earth. Referred as the “sweet sixteen star”, Altair rotates at 210 kilometres per second or a 100 times faster than our sun. This deforms the star causing it to be a bit wider at the equator and oval-shaped. This first magnitude sun is the brightest star of Aquila the Eagle. In mythology, the eagle belonged to the god Jupiter.

Travel out of the city on a clear moonless night, leaving the dome of light pollution behind you. Stepping out of your car, you are instantly greeted by thousands of stars. This is the true sky that many people never have the chance to see and enjoy from city limits. The night sky is a thing of beauty to grasp. no matter what season – even winter. It is, however, summer and early fall that we see an extra bonus high above.

The month of May month begins with the May 4 new moon and will provide dark sky conditions to enjoy the annual Eta Aquarid meteor shower. The entire shower takes place from April 19 to May 28 with the peak occurring on the morning of May 5. The parent comet 1P/Halley which also produces the Orionid meteor shower in October will produce about 40 meteors per hour and vapourize in the atmosphere at 67 km/sec.

Follow the handle of the Big Dipper as it arcs or bends to the star Arcturus in the constellation Bootes. Continue this imaginary curve to the first magnitude star Spica – alpha Virgo. At 250 light-years (ly) away, Spica shines 1,900 times more luminous than the Sun. It actually consists of two extremely hot B1 and B4 stars that are separated by a mere 0.12 astronomical units or 18 million kilometres.