A person looks at a starry night sky with binoculars.
Manitoba Skies

The Sky for August 2025

What’s Worth Watching in the Night Sky

The Sky for August 2025

August is a great month for stargazing. Besides the annual Perseid meteor shower, we have some planets gathering in the pre-dawn sky which will make a nice series of photo-ops for early risers. August is also a time when many people vacation to places farther from city lights, giving them the chance to see a really dark sky. Travel during the time near new moon will maximize your dak-sky experience, but even the Full Moon rising over the city skyline can remind us of our connection to the wider universe around us.

The Solar System for August 2025

Mercury is invisible early in the month as it passes near the Sun, but reappears in the morning sky just before sunrise for the second half of August this year. The closest planet to the Sun never rises very high above the horizon before the Sun does, so you will need a clear horizon and good timing to catch it. See calendar entries below.

Venus begins the month rising about 3 a.m. local time, but slowly slips sunward over the course of the month. It passes less than 1 degree from Jupiter on August 12 and is near the Beehive star cluster in Cancer the Crab at the end of the month. See various calendar entries below for details.

Mars is in the constellation Virgo, so low in the west-southwest that you probably won’t see it. It doesn’t slip behind the Sun until January 2026, but right now the angle of its orbit keeps it very low from northern latitudes like Manitoba. (Despite all the hype of supposed “big events” you might have heard about online.)

Jupiter rises in the northeast before 4 a.m. local time at the beginning of the month, and about 2 a.m. by the end of August. It begins to brighter Venus’ lower left, drawing closer and closer each morning until their closest approach on the morning of August 12, 2025. After this, Jupiter rises higher each morning as it moves slowly among the stars of Gemini.

Saturn rises about 11 p.m. at the beginning of August, and by 9 p.m. at month’s end, finally becoming high enough for reasonably-timed observations. Saturn’s rings are tilted almost edge-on to our line of sight, making them difficult to see in a telescope. Neptune is nearby for most of the summer (see below). The waxing gibbous Moon is nearby on the morning of August 12 (see below).

Uranus is in the morning sky a few degrees below the famous Pleaides star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters). It is too faint to easily see without binoculars, and even a telescope shows it as a faint dot that looks just like the other faint stars. A detailed star-charting app like Stellarium is required to track it down.

Neptune is in the same binocular field of view as Saturn for the entire month, but since it is even farther than Uranus it is invisible without optical aid. Neptune requires good binoculars or a small telescope to even spot, and a large telescope to make it out as anything more than a faint dot. Again, a detailed star chart like those produced by Stellarium is required to tell which tiny “dot” is Neptune.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. In August, Ceres is below and to the left of Saturn and Neptune, wandering among the stars of the constellation Cetus the Whale. You’ll need a chart like the one in the RASC Observer’s Handbook or an app like Stellarium to track it down. Ceres will be easier to spot in the fall as it gets closer and brighter.

Sky Calendar for August 2025

All times are given in the local time for Manitoba: Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event! All images are created using Stellarium, the free planetarium software.

Friday, August 1, 2025: First Quarter Moon

The Moon and Antares, 3 Aug 2025Sunday, August 3, 2025: The waxing gibbous Moon is just below the bright red star Antares, very low in the south this evening and into Monday morning.

The Moon and Saturn rise together on the evening of August 11, 2025.Monday, August 11, 2025: A busy night for observers. The waxing gibbous Moon is above and to the right of Saturn as they rise about 10 p.m. CDT. Over the course of the night, the Moon will move closer to Saturn as the pair rise higher and move across the sky. This showcases two of the most important sky cycles: the rising of Saturn and the Moon is caused by the Earth’s rotation every day, while the Moon gets closer to Saturn due to the Moon’s orbital motion around the Earth every month.

Also tonight and into tomorrow, the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak intensity – but this isn’t a great year for it. The nearly-full Moon’s light will overwhelm most of the faint meteors. Best time will be to in the early morning hours of the 12th, in the period from about 2am until dawn. During this period you might see a dozen or two meteors per hour, if you are in a dark sky and watch the sky continuously with no breaks. If you are up this late/early, watch for Venus and Jupiter’s conjunction just before dawn (see below).

Jupiter and Venus conjunction 12 July 2025Tuesday, August 12, 2025 (morning):  The peak of the Perseid meteor shower is offset by the bright Moon, but you can still expect a meteor every minute or two if you’re patient. Jupiter and Venus rises in the north-northeast about 3:20 a.m. local time, less than 1 degree apart and probably tinted orange by any smoke on the atmosphere.

Jupiter and Venus conjunction 12 July 2025They will rise higher and be due east by dawn.

The Moon and the Pleiades star cluster.Saturday, August 16, 2025 (morning): The Last Quarter Moon is approaching the Pleaides star cluster, growing closer each hour until the sun rises.

Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and the brighter stars as seen at 5:45 a.m. CDT on August 16, 2025.The morning of the 16th is probably your first chance to spot Mercury this season, early in the morning in the east, below and left of much brighter Venus and Jupiter. The chart shows the view at 5:45 a.m. local time; the blue circle represents the field of view shown in typical household binoculars, which will definitely help in tracking down the elusive inner planet. Over the next several days Mercury will rise higher and get brighter and easier to see.

The Moon, Jupiter, and Venus gather. 5am CDT 19 Aug 2025.

Tuesday, August 19, 2025 (morning): The waning crescent moon forms a ragged line with Venus and Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky.

Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon at 5:45 am CDT on August 19, 2025.Also look for Mercury very low to the horizon just before dawn.

The moon, Jupiter, and Venus on the morning of August 20, 2025.Wednesday, August 20, 2025 (morning): The waning crescent has passed Jupiter and Venus, now forming a right triangle with the two bright planets in the morning sky. Above and to the left at much fainter Castor and Pollux, the brightest stars in the constellation of Geminin the Twins.

Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon at 5:45 am CDT on August 20, 2025.Also look for Mercury very low to the horizon just before dawn.

A thin crescent Moon joins Mercury on the morning of August 21, 2025 at 5 a.m. CDT.Mercury and the Moon at 5:45 am CDT on August 21, 2025.Thursday, August 21, 2025 (morning): A razor-thin crescent Moon stands above Mercury as the dawn sky brightens. Look low in the east-northeast as the sky brightens. The chart to the right shows the view at 5:45 a.m. CDT; the blue circle indicates the field of view of typical household binoculars.

Saturday, August 23, 2025: New Moon

Sunday, August 31, 2025: First Quarter Moon

 

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Summer Meteor Showers

Outside of the regular events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.,

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Summer Meteor Showers

August is known for the annual Perseid meteor shower, which can often (but not always) produce a nice show for skywatchers. There are also about a dozen minor meteor showers that aren’t worth watching, that AI-driven social media pages are now picking up on and promoting as if they are something to see. Unfortunately, even the best meteor showers barely qualify for the name “shower”, so managing expectations is important.

Even a single meteor arcing across the sky can be a memorable sight, which is probably why many people “wish on a star” when they see one. Meteor observing requires no special equipment and is a casual way to enjoy the sky with the occasional “wow!” moments of a meteor. Don’t hype over numbers, and enjoy your time under the stars, and you will enjoy observing meteor showers.

What’s Going On

Meteor showers are basically caused when the Earth passes through a cloud of dust as it orbits the Sun. These interplanetary dust bunnies are left behind by comets or asteroids as they orbit the Sun. When our planet moves through one at high speed, the dust all burns up in our atmosphere, with each grain of sand or tiny rock becoming visible as a meteor (a.k.a. “shooting star”, “falling star”, etc.). Because we can predict their dates in advance, meteor showers are usually one of the first things put onto astronomy calendar websites.

But are meteor showers actually something worth watching? The answer depends on which meteor shower you’re looking at, and how much effort you’re willing to put in to seeing it.

The Effects of Light and Time

Most meteors are faint, and so if you have bright lights nearby then you won’t see the faint ones, which cuts your rates down significantly. Observing inside the city means you will see only a quarter or less of the predicted rates. To see a meteor shower well, you need to drive as far from city lights as you can.

If the Moon is in the sky, that’s like city lights you can’t drive away from. When the Moon is in the sky you can also lose about 75% of the meteors predicted.

And if that isn’t enough: meteor rates start very low in the evening, get stronger after midnight, and peak in the few hours before dawn. I have observed the Perseid meteor shower from inside the city before midnight and literally seen not a single meteor per hour. I ahve also observed the Perseids from a rural location with no moon, and seen 2 meteors per minute in the pre-dawn hours (120 per hour). So, these factors make a big difference in what you will see.

A meteor flashes overhead.
Meteor Observing

First, an important point: a typical meteor is only visible for a second or two. Any glance away from the sky during that hour and you might miss one. (Especially if you are glancing at an electronic device, which also ruins your night vision and makes it hard to see anything at night for up to five minutes!) So, to see the maximum number of meteors, you need to watch the sky, uninterrupted, for the whole hour. If you spend 25% of your time looking away from the sky, you will miss 25% of the meteors. To really appreciate the meteor shower, you need to commit to watching the sky without distraction.

Second point: on any given night throughout the year, if you are away from city lights on a dark, moonless night, you can expect to see between 1 and 10 meteors per hour. That’s the background rate in between meteor showers, the random dust in between the dust bunnies that is spread out across the solar system.

So, any meteor “shower” that lists a rate of less than 10 meteors per hour basically is no different than any other night. (OK, it *is* different scientifically, but for the average skywatcher you won’t even notice it.) This is why I’ve never promoted the dates of the Alpgha Capricornid meteor shower, which peaks on July 31 with a maximum theoretical rate of 3 meteors per hour. But I’m seeing social media posts announcing that it is on now and combining with the Perseids in a “rare” “double” “shower” “event” – and every one of those words is misused in this case. It happens every year, there are actually about 8 meteor showers active right now, and if you didn’t notice it last year it won’t be a big deal this year either. Complete hype, no substance.

So What Is Worth Watching?

In the summer, the answer is easy: the Perseids. That’s it. All the other minor meteor showers are underwhelming for the average skywatcher. The South Delta Aquariids, which peak on July 31, have a rate of between 5 and 10 meteors per hour, so if you are a hardcore meteor observer that’s one to try as well when (like this year) it lines up with the dark of the Moon.

In 2025, the Perseids peak when the Moon is nearly full, so even if you go out in the pre-dawn hours of August 11-12 (the peak night) you will likely only see 10-30 meteors per hour this year. For numbers, it’s not a great year because of the Moon. But, that means there’s no real need to drive far from the city; any reasonably dark space where you can see the sky will do this year.

It’s Not All About Numbers

Remember, though: the sheer number of meteors isn’t the only metric to use. I have seen single meteors that were so bright and beautiful they have stuck in my memory for decades. Often, evening meteors tend to be long and bright – so even if there aren’t a lot, the ones you see can be  well worth it.

The bottom line is: meteor showers are a good time to see shooting stars, but don’t expect a laser light show. Each streak of light you see is a piece of dust left over from the formation of the solar system, a reminder of the era when planetary collisions were common as they shaped our planet. Keep expectations low, and appreciate whatever meteors you do manage to catch. A night under the stars is always time well spent.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

The Sky for July 2025

July skies bring a return to darkness as the sun begins to set earlier each night. It also signals various summer activities and holidays for many. It’s during summer vacation that many people can most easily get away from the city into a darker sky, whether it is during a camping trip, visit to a cabin, or just a drive out of town. Even from a bright city, though, you can spot several interesting sights in the July sky.

The Solar System for July 2025

Mercury technically remains visible for the first week of July, but it will be a challenging observation. The planet is very low in the western sky 30 minutes after sunset, when the sky is still bright, and it sets soon thereafter. A pair of binoculars and a very clear western horizon without buildings or trees will be necessary to catch Mercury this month.

Venus is low in the eastern sky just before dawn. It rises about 3am this month, slowly climbing higher each morning before the sunrise. See also Jupiter, below.

Mars is in the constellation Leo, fading into the sunset twilight over the course of the month. The waxing crescent Moon is to the left of Mars on the evening of July 28th.

Jupiter rises up out of the morning twilight to greet Venus this month. Jupiter begins the month too low to see before sunrise, but rapidly rises higher to stand to Venus’ lower level by the third week of the month. The waning crescent Moon passes Venus and Jupiter on the mornings of July 21-23.

Saturn rises about midnight, the brightest object in an area of sky devoid of brighter stars. By 4 a.m. local time it is 30 degrees up in the southeastern sky. Saturn’s rings are tilted almost edge-on to our line of sight, making them difficult to see in a telescope. Neptune is nearby for most of the summer (see below). The waning gibbous Moon is nearby on the night of July 15-16.

Uranus is in the morning sky a few degrees below the famous Pleaides star cluster (also known as the Seven Sisters). It is too faint to easily see without binoculars, and even a telescope shows it as a faint dot that looks just like the other faint stars. A starcharting app like Stellarium is required to track it down.

Neptune is in the same binocular field of view as Saturn for the entire month, but sicne it is even farther than Uranus it is invisible without optical aid. Neptune requires good binoculars or a small telescope to even spot, and a large telescope to make it out as anything more than a faint dot.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. In June, Ceres in below and to the left of Saturn and Neptune; you’ll need a chart like the one in the RASC Observer’s Handbook or an app like Stellarium to track it down. Ceres will be easier to spot in the fall as it gets closer and brighter.

Sky Calendar for July 2025

All times are given in the local time for Manitoba: Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

If there’s a little box to the left of the date, you can click on it to see a star map of that event!

July 1, 2025 10:15 p.m. CDTTuesday, July 1, 2025 (evening): Mercury is at its best for the month (see entry in Solar System above), while Mars and the bright star Regulus are farther to the southwest.

Wednesday, July 2, 2025: First Quarter Moon

Thursday, July 10, 2025: Full Moon

Friday, July 11, 2025 (evening sky): Technically, the nearly-Full Moon eclipses Pluto this evening, but the event is totally unobservable because Pluto is so faint and the Moon is so bright. However, it’s likely this will be blown out of proportion on social media because everyone likes the Moon and Pluto.

Wednesday, July 16, 2025: The waning gibbous Moon is above Saturn tonight and into the early hours of tomorrow.

Thursday, July 17, 2025: Last Quarter Moon

July 20 3:45 a.m. CDTSunday, July 20, 2025 (morning): The Moon passes through the Pleaides star cluster beginning about 3:45 a.m. CDT, slowly occulting (eclipsing) each star in turn. This event will be visible in binoculars or a small telescope, and vividly demonstrates the Moon’s orbital motion around the Earth.

Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon as seen at 4:45 a.m. CDT on the morning of July 21, 2025 from southern Manitoba.Monday, July 21, 2025 (morning): The waning crescent Moon stands high above Venus in the east-northeast before sunrise.

July 21, 2025 4:45 am CDTTuesday, July 22, 2025 (morning): The waning crescent Moon forms a wide triangle with Venus (to its left) and Jupiter (to its bottom right) in the northeast this morning before sunrise.

July 22, 2025 4:45 a.m. CDTWednesday, July 23, 2025 (morning): The waning crescent Moon is to the left of Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky, low in the north-northeast.

Thursday, July 24, 2025: New Moon

Friday, July 25, 2025: The dwarf planet Pluto reaches opposition, the time when it is brightest and closest to Earth. For Pluto, though, “brightest” is relative: it’s still invisible without a large telescope.

Tuesday, July 29, 2025 (morning sky): The annual South Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks this morning before dawn. This is not a very good shower, only producing 10 or so meteors per hour. At least it happens near New Moon, so there won’t be any moonlight to hide the few meteors that do occur.

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Outside of the regular events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.,

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

New Asteroid Named for Ininiwak “Star Guy” Wilfred Buck

The International Astronomical Union has officially named an asteroid “Wilfredbuck”, in honour of Ininiwak (Cree) astronomer and science communicator Wilfred Buck of Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Buck is known across Canada and internationally as “The Star Guy” as he travels, sharing the star lore of the Ininiwak with students and community members.

The official citation, published June 30, 2025, reads: “Wilfred Buck (b. 1954) is a Canadian knowledge keeper of Cree/Ininewuk star lore. His Cree name, Pawami Nikititicikiw, means “dream keeper.” A member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, he has taught Cree astronomy all over the world, and is the author of Tipiskawi Kisik and I Have Lived Four Lives.

Buck stars in the planetarium show, “Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories”, currently showing daily in the Manitoba Museum’s Planetarium throughout the summer.

Asteroid (611326) Wilfredbuck was discovered in 2006 by Canadian astronomer David Balam using a telescope in Hawaii. The asteroid is a piece of rock about a kilometer in diameter. It orbits the sun in the main asteroid belt, a region of space between Mars and Jupiter that holds millions of asteroids.

A diagram of the solar system showing the orbit of asteroid Wilfredbuck relative to the other planets.
Asteroid (611326) Wilfredbuck (shown in white) orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt. [Image Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech]
Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

The Sky for June 2025

In many ways, June is a difficult month for Manitoba skywatchers. Sunset is very late as we approach the summer solstice, and the situation is just made worse by daylight savings time which began in March. Even at local midnight (which occurs around 1:30 am CDT for Winnipeg), the sky never gets truly dark from about June 1 to the second week of July – the best we get is “nautical twilight”, which is a deep grey instead of the near-black sky of true night. (Near cities, this effect is usually overwhelmed by light pollution anyway, but it all adds up.)

Yet June is the beginning of Milky Way season as well. After midnight the summer constellations are high enough to view, and the brightest part of our Milky Way Galaxy is on full display. You just have to stay up late to see it.

The Solar System for June 2025

Mercury is in the evening sky this month, but angles conspire to keep it too low for easy viewing from Manitoba. Look for it very low in the northwest after sunset. Don’t confuse it with brighter Jupiter, which is descending into the twilight just a few degrees to the left of Mercury.

Venus is very low in the eastern sky just before dawn. It reaches “greatest elongation west” of the sun on June 29, but practically it remains low in the east all month. The crescent moon is nearby on the mornings of June 21 and 22.

Mars is in the constellation Leo, to the lower right of the “sickle” asterism that includes the bright star Regulus. Mars passes within one degree of Regulus on July 16 and 17. The planet and the star will be almost the same brightness, and binoculars will show a nice colour contrast – Mars a ruddy orange, and Regulus a blue-white.

Jupiter fades into the sunset this month, dropping behind the Sun from our point of view. It is in conjunction on June 24-25, passing directly behind the Sun.

Saturn rises about 3 am at the beginning of June, and by 1am at the end of the month. The rings are inclined only a few degrees from our line of sight and we’re seeing the unlit side of them. Neptune is nearby for most of the summer (see below). The last quarter Moon is nearby on the morning of June 19.

Uranus passes behind the Sun as seen from Earth on May 17, and is invisible all month.

Neptune is in the same binocular field of view as Saturn for the entire month, closing to within a degree at the end of June. Too far to see without optical aid, Neptune requires good binoculars or a small telescope to even spot, and a large telescope to make it out as anything more than a faint dot.

Of the five known dwarf planets, only (1) Ceres is close enough to be seen in binoculars or a small telescope. In June, Ceres in below and to the left of Saturn and Neptune; you’ll need a chart like the one in the RASC Observer’s Handbook or an app like Stellarium to track it down. Ceres will be easier to spot in the fall as it gets closer and brighter.

Sky Calendar for June 2025

All times are given in the local time for Manitoba: Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

Monday, June 2, 2025: First Quarter Moon

Sunday, June 8, 2025 (evening): Jupiter and Mercury are beside each other low in the northwestern sky after sunset.

Wednesday, June 11, 2025: Full Moon

Monday, June 16, 2025 (evening sky): Mars passes within one degree of the bright star Regulus in Leo.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025: Last Quarter Moon

Friday, June 20, 2025: The Summer Solstice occurs at 9:42 pm Central Daylight, marking the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere.

Tuesday, June 24, 2025: Jupiter is in superior conjunction, behind the Sun from our point of view on Earth.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025: New Moon

Sunday, June 29, 2025 (morning sky): Saturn is one degree south of Neptune in the morning sky.

Monday, June 30, 2025 (evening sky): The Moon is near Mars in the evening sky.

Monday, May 26, 2025 (evening): New Moon

 

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Outside of the regular events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.,

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

The Sky for April 2025

“April showers bring May flowers”, goes the saying, and it’s true that April does often have a lot of rain (or at least clouds) for Manitoba. On clear nights, though, we get a unique view away from our Milky Way galaxy and out into the darkness of intergalactic space. With fewer bright stars to guide you, contemplate the darkness between the stars: that’s what most of the universe is like.

The Solar System

Mercury is technically in the morning sky in April, but the angles dictate that it stays very low to the horizon (and probably invisible) from Manitoba. Southern hemisphere viewers get their best morning views this year of the elusive innermost planet.

Venus has moved between us and the Sun (well, just above the Sun) and is now low in the east before dawn.

Mars is still bright in the evening sky, forming an ever-changing triangle with the bright stars Castor and Pollux in Gemini.

Jupiter still shines brightly in the evening sky, high in the southwest after sunset in the constellations of Taurus.

Saturn has moved into the morning sky, but like Mercury it is very low to the horizon and probably invisible from Manitoba until near the end of the month. Saturn will be a summer feature this year, so wait a few months and you’ll get a great view.

Uranus sets very soon after the sun and is not easily observable this month. You’d need at least binoculars, and probably a small telescope, to be able to spot it, and even then it’s so far from Earth that it appears as just a faint “star” in a field of other stars.

Neptune is invisible without a telescope at the best of times, and this month is not the best of times. Neptune is near Venus in the bright twilight sky before sunrise and is unobservable this month.

Of the five known dwarf planets, none are visible with typical backyard telescopes this month.

Sky Calendar for April 2025

All times are given in the local time for Manitoba: Central Daylight Time (UTC-5). However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

Tuesday, Apr. 1, 2025 (evening): The thin crescent Moon is above the Pleiades star cluster in the evening sky. Both with fit comfortably into the field of view of typical household binoculars.

Wednesday, Apr. 2, 2025 (evening): The thin crescent Moon stands above and to the right of Jupiter in the west after sunset. in the evening sky. You should be able to see both in binoculars at the same time. Look for some tiny dots in a line very close to Jupiter – those are some of its largest moons! Callisto is the one farthest to the right and likely the one most easily seen in binoculars. Good eyesight or higher magnification may show a second dot closer to the bright planet – that’s Ganymede and Europa, which appear right beside each other tonight, merged into a single point.

Thursday, Apr. 3, 2025 (evening): The waxing crescent Moon is about halfway between bright white Jupiter (to its lower right) and reddish Mars (higher and to its left) in the west and southwest after sunset.

Friday, Apr. 4, 2025 (evening): The first-quarter Moon forms an almost-triangle with Mars and the stars Castor and Pollux. From bottom left, we have Mars, Pollux, and Castor.

Saturday, Apr. 5, 2025 (evening): The waxing gibbous Moon is to the left of Mars tonight. Both fit into the field of view of typical binoculars. This is a good chance to compare the reddish colour of Mars with the grey-white tones of the Moon.

Thursday, Apr. 10, 2025 (evening): After weeks of flirting as a triangle, Mars forms an almost-straight line with Castor and Pollux this evening. Nothing significant about this, other than it looks cool from our point of view here on Earth. (Mars is only 185 million kilometers away, while Pollux is 324 billion km and the six stars of the Castor system are 25 trillion km distant. Their apparent alignment is in in two dimensions as seen from this particular corner of the universe.)

Saturday, Apr. 12, 2025: Full Moon

Sunday, Apr. 20, 2025: Last Quarter Moon

Monday, Apr. 21, 2025 (evening): Tonight is the peak of the annual Lyrids meteor shower. Beginning around 11 p.m. local time you can expect to see a dozen or so meteors per hour from a dark sky location. The show intensifies after midnight and into the pre-dawn hours of the 22nd. As meteor showers go, this one isn’t at the same level as the Geminids of December or even the Perseids of August, but it’s a nice evening under the stars in cool spring skies before the mosquitoes hatch.

Thursday, Apr. 24, 2025 (morning): The thin crescent moon is visible off to the right of bright Venus in the eastern sky about a half-hour before sunrise.

Friday, Apr. 25, 2025 (morning): The thin crescent Moon has moved to the lower left of Venus. Both are visible in the eastern sky just before dawn.

Sunday, Apr. 27, 2025: New Moon

Tuesday, Apr. 29, 2025 (evening): The crescent Moon reprises its appearance with Jupiter, although this time they are too far apart to fit into the view through binoculars at the same time. The Moon is slightly below and to Jupiter’s right this evening after sunset.

Also tonight, Mars begins its approach to the Beehive star cluster (also known as Messier 44 or M44) in the constellation of Cancer the Crab. While the cluster is just a faint smudge in binoculars, a small telescope shows a few dozen stars. Mars will skirt the northern edge of the cluster during the first week or May, making for interesting pictures for small telescope users.

Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025 (morning): You might be able to glimpse Saturn through binoculars starting today if you’re up early. Start looking about 5:30 am local time. First, find Venus, which is the brightest (and probably only) “star” you will see in the bright twilight glow in the east. Put Venus near the “10 o’clock” position in your binoculars, and then look for a really faint object near the “4 o’clock” position. That’s Saturn. It will likely only be visible for a short window between when it rises and when the sky is too bright to see it/

Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025 (evening): The crescent Moon stands above Jupiter in the western sky after sunset.

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Outside of the regular events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.,

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

The Sky for February 2025

February is an often-cloudy month in Manitoba, but for those clear nights there are lots of planets to watch, as well as the last chance to spot the winter constellations before they disappear into the longer days of spring.

The planet Jupiter and two of its moons.

The Solar System

Mercury passes behind the Sun from our point of view early in the month, an event known as superior conjunction. It re-appears in the evening sky very late in the month on its way to its best showing of 2025 for northern hemisphere viewers in March.

Venus shines at its brightest this month, dominating the southwestern sky after sunset. In a telescope, Venus shows its crescent phase, which shrinks thinner and thinner as it moves between us and the Sun.

Mars is just past its best last month, but is still bright and easy to find in the southeast after sunset. By 10 p.m. local time it is high in the south, and sets in the west after 5 a.m. Mars forms a triangle with the bright stars Castor and Pollux, and you can see the planet’s orbital motion day by day as this triangle shifts.

Jupiter spends the month very close to the V-shaped star cluster known as the Hyades, which marks the face of Taurus the Bull. The bright reddish star Aldebaran makes a nice colour contrast with Jupiter’s clear white light. The group is high in the south as darkness falls, and is visible for several hours past midnight before setting in the west.

Saturn will finally disappear from view at the end of February, dropping lower and lower into the sunset twilight each day. What is the last day you can spot it with the unaided eye? It will depend on your eyesight, how clear your southwestern horizon is, and how clear the sky is. Saturn will swing behind the Sun and re-emerge into the pre-dawn sky in April.

Uranus and Neptune are both too faint to be easily seen with the unaided eye, although Uranus can be glimpsed as a very faint “star” from a very dark location, and both can be seen in binoculars. The trick is to tell which dot is a planet and which is a background star. An online app like Stellarium  can help you track down these challenging targets. Uranus is in the evening sky west of Jupiter and the Pleiades, but Neptune is over near Venus and quickly disappears into the twilight.

Of the dwarf planets, only Ceres is ever bright enough to catch in binoculars, and only at the right time. Unfortunately, this month Ceres is setting soon in bright twilight as it passes behind the sun in late March. The other dwarf planets – Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake – require very large telescopes or imaging to spot.

Sky Calendar for 2025

All times are given in Central Standard Time (UTC-6), the local time for Manitoba. However, most of these events are visible across Canada at the same local time without adjusting for time zones.

Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 (evening): The thin crescent Moon is very close to Venus in the evening sky. Neptune is just below the Moon but  invisible without a telescope.

Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025 (evening): The First Quarter Moon approaches the Pleaides star cluster as it did last month, but it doesn’t starts covering (or occulting) stars until it has almost set for Manitobans. Observers farthest west will be able to see the Moon successively cover and uncover dozens of stars over the course of an hour.

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 (evening): The waxing gibbous Moon is above Jupiter, forming a ragged line with the bright star Aldebaran at the bottom.

Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 (evening): The waxing gibbous Moon forms a small triangle with Mars and the two bright stars Castor and Pollux. The moon also occulted (eclipsed) Mars just a few hours before rising in Manitoba, similar to the event last month.

Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 : Also on this date, Mercury reaches superior conjunction, on the far side (and slightly below) the Sun from our earthly viewpoint.

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025: Full Moon

Friday, Feb. 14, 2025: The dwarf planet Ceres passes behind the Sun.

Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025: Last Quarter Moon

Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 (evening): Mercury may become visible in the evening sky beginning on this date. It is *very* low in the southwest after sunset, and sets soon after the Sun. Throughout the rest of February it rises higher and becomes easier to see.

Monday, Feb. 24, 2025: Mercury is beside much fainter Saturn, low in the southwest after sunset. Saturn will likely be invisible without binoculars. Over the next few days Mercury will rise higher while Saturn sinks lower, finally disappearing into the sun’s glare.

Friday, Feb. 27, 2025: New Moon

Sky map for 28 Feb 2025 showing (from top) Venus, Mercury, and the thin crescent Moon.Saturday, Feb. 28, 2025 (evening): The young crescent Moon joins Mercury, very low in the southwest after sunset. You will need perfectly clear skies and a flat horizon to spot them, and you’ll need to balance the darkening sky against the setting moon. Scan the skies beginning about 6:20 p.m. with binoculars, just above the horizon. This is your best chance this year to spot the thinnest possible crescent Moon.

Northern Lights, Meteors, and other Cool Stuff

People stare up at the northern lights above them.

Outside of the regular events listed above, there are other things we see in the sky that can’t always be predicted in advance.

Aurora borealis, the northern lights, are becoming a more common sight again as the Sun goes through the maximum of its 11-year cycle of activity. Particles from the Sun interact with the Earth’s magnetic field and the high upper atmosphere to create glowing curtains of light around the north (and south) magnetic poles of the planet. Manitoba is well-positioned relative to the north magnetic pole to see these displays often, but they still can’t be forecast very far in advance. A site like Space Weather can provide updates on solar activity and aurora forecasts for the next 48 hours. The best way to see the aurora is to spend a lot of time out under the stars, so that you are there when they occur.,

Random meteors (also known as falling or shooting stars) occur every clear night at the rate of about 5-10 per hour. Most people don’t see them because of light pollution from cities, or because they don’t watch the sky uninterrupted for an hour straight. They happen so quickly that a single glance down at your phone or exposure to light can make you miss one.

Satellites are becoming extremely common sights in the hours after sunset and before dawn. Appearing as a moving star that takes a few minutes to cross the sky, they appear seemingly out of nowhere. These range from the International Space Station and Chinese space station Tianhe, which have people living on them full-time, to remote sensing and spy satellites, to burnt-out rocket parts and dead satellites. These can be predicted in advance (or identified after the fact) using a site like Heavens Above by selecting your location.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for more than thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

The Sky for December 2024

Winter nights start early and last long, making them perfect for star watching. Except for the temperature… and the clouds… Catch a clear December night, though, and you’ll be treated to the brightest stars and planets in the sky.

Comet Updates

The great fall comet, 2023 A3 (Tsuchinshen-ATLAS) has come and (mostly) gone, providing some beautiful views in October and November. It’s still in the evening sky, but only visible with telescopes as it rockets away from the inner solar system.

Another comet, Comet 2024 G3 (ATLAS), was discovered by the same program that helped find 2023A3 – the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS. This comet, a so-called “sun-grazer” will likely get quite bright, but only be visible in the daytime sky and from the southern hemisphere, so that means most Manitobans won’t be able to see it.

The Solar System

Mercury passes between Earth and Sun (and slightly above the Sun as viewed from Earth), so it remains invisible until the second half of December, when it appears low in the southeastern sky just before sunrise. On the morning of December 28, the thin crescent Moon is nearby, next to the reddish star Antares.

Venus spends the month in the evening sky, low in the southwest after sunset. The thin crescent Moon approaches on the 3rd, is nearby on the 4th, and is still close on the 5th, making a nice photo op. It stands a little higher at sunset each night, and sets about three hours after sunset. In a telescope, Venus displays phases like the Moon, and in December it is about 50% illuminated, a tiny half-moon shape at high power.

Mars rises in the northeast about 9pm in early December, and a bit after 7pm by month’s end. By midnight it is high in the south, providing the clearest telescope views. Mars reaches its best next month, its closest point to Earth on this orbit, but it’s worth looking at now.

The planet Jupiter and two of its moons.
The planet Jupiter’s intricate clouds bands and visible through a telescope. Two of its largest moons are seen at right. [Image: S. Young]
December 2024 belongs to Jupiter, The giant planet reaches opposition on December 7, 2024, rising at sunset, hitting its highest altitude in the south around local midnight, and not setting until sunrise. Jupiter dominates the evening sky, outshining everything else except Venus and the Moon. A small telescope will reveal some of Jupiter’s banded clouds, while its four largest moons are visible in binoculars as tiny “stars” in a line on either side of the planet.

Saturn is low in the south at sunset, and sets before midnight. The rings are nearly edge-on as seen from Earth, but visible in a telescope with more than about 30x magnification. Saturn edges closer to Venus and the setting sun each night, making it lower and harder to get clear telescopic views.

Sky Calendar for December 2024

Dec. 1 : New Moon

Dec. 4: The thin crescent Moon is below Venus, just after sunset, low in the southwestern sky.

Dec. 5: The thin crescent Moon is to the left of Venus in the southwestern sky, just after sunset.

Dec. 7:  Jupiter at opposition, visible all night.

Dec. 7: The crescent Moon is below and to the right of Saturn in the evening sky.

Dec. 8: The First Quarter Moon is to the left of Saturn in the evening sky.

Dec. 13-14: Peak of the Geminid meteor shower. The nearyl-full Moon will reduce the number of meteors seen, but you can still expect 20-40 meteors per hour in late evening and early morning.

Dec. 14: The nearly-full Moon forms a line with Jupiter and the bright star Aldebaran in the eastern sky.

Dec. 15: Full Moon

Dec. 17: The waning gibbous Moon is just above Mars as the pair rises in the East about 7:15 p.m. local time.

Dec. 21: The winter solstice occurs at 4:20 a.m. Central Time, marking the beginning of astronomical winter in the northern hemisphere (and the beginning of summer in the southern hemisphere).

Dec. 22: Last Quarter Moon

Dec. 22-23: The peak of the Ursids meteor shower, which radiate from near the North Star. They only produce a few meteors per hour, though.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

Bright Comet This October?

UPDATED 2024 Oct 10 0915 CDT

Manitobans will have a chance to catch a comet this October (2024). Comet C/2023 A3, a.k.a. Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS, will be visible in our evening sky beginning about October 11. This article will describe how to see the comet yourself and provide a day-by-day description of its period of best visibility.

Based on its behaviour up until October 10, I am tempering my expectations for this comet a bit. It’s still going to be a great sight, but it won’t be as bright as some have been predicting. The comet will likely need binoculars or a camera to spot it while it’s in the bright twilight over the week of Oct 11-16.

However, the comet’s tail is longer than expected, stretching nearly 45 degrees across the sky – that is about the distance from the horizon to halfway overhead. So even though the comet’s head sets soon after the sun, its tail might be visible sticking up above the horizon much later, when the sky has gotten darker. You’ll still want dark skies free of city lights, and binoculars or a camera, to get the best view.

(Note: While written for Manitoba, this article works for anyone in southern Canada, or at roughly the same latitude of 40-50 degrees North anywhere in the world. So, much of Europe and Asia will have similar views.)

(Second note: Comets are notoriously unpredictable. They can undergo outbursts that make them brighten 100x in an hour; they can also fragment or fizzle out without any obvious explanation. This article presents the best predictions available at the time of writing, and will be updated as conditions change.)

(Third note: While another potentially bright comet, Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS), was discovered recently, this comet will likely not be visible from Manitoba.)

Coloured circles show the orbits of the inner planets around the Sun. A white oval path dives through the plane of the solar system, showing the orbit of Comet 2023 A3.

In September and early October 2024, Comet 2023 A3 was visible from more southerly locations, with the best views coming from the southern hemisphere. This is due to the angle of the comet’s orbit to the plane of the solar system – it came in from the north when still faint, dove down to the southern reaches as it rounded the Sun in late September, and will now be rocketing northward again. The comet passes almost between the Earth and Sun on October 9, and after that will begin to appear in the evening sky.

There are two factors which influence the comets visibility in October: how far away from the Sun it is, and how far away from the Earth it is. In general, the comet is intrinsically brightest when it is closest to the Sun and closest to the Earth, but that doesn’t mean we can see it. When the comet it “brightest”, it will also be so close to the Sun from our point of view that it will be invisible. We have to wait until the comet moves farther from the Sun in our sky so we have a chance to seeing it in a semi-dark sky.

A sunset view of the sky showing the position of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS on October 11, 2024.

Oct 11, 2024: First Glimpse

Baring some unusually outburst from the comet, Manitobans will probably get our first view of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS right after sunset on the evening of October 11th. You’ll need a very flat western horizon, with as few buildings or trees in the way as possible; a flat prairie or even the ocean-like horizon of Lake Winnipeg will be perfect. You’ll also want to be away from any local light pollution – outside the city, and away from any streetlights or houselights that will interfere with your view.

Sunset is a few minutes before 6:30 p.m. local time, and as soon as the Sun is fully below the horizon, start scanning the sky along the horizon with your binoculars. Once they sky darkens a bit, you’ll spot Venus, a useful signpost to the comet for the rest of the week. The comet may become visible as a small fuzzy round spot in the bright twilight sky around 7:15 p.m., but the comet is setting so that as the sky darkens, the comet sinks into the murky air near the horizon. Just spotting it tonight will be an accomplishment and a harbinger of things to come.

Don’t give up once the comet official “sets” about 8 p.m. local time – that time is for the comet’s “head”. The tail is extending roughly straight up from the horizon and may become visible as the sky darkens. The geometry of the comet relative to the Earth and Sun changes daily this week, so it’s hard to say how long the tail will be or whether it is bright enough to see on its own – stayed tuned!

A sunset view of the sky showing the position of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS on October 12, 2024.

Oct. 12, 2024: Easier to Spot

In just a day, the comet has moved higher in our sky. From this point, things just get better in terms of the comet’s elevation, giving us more time to spot the comet before it sets. You’ll be able to see it longer after sunset, which means it will be visible in a darker sky. Darker skies will be required for spotting the comet’s tail visually, but a camera might pull some of the faint tail out of the twilight (see “imaging the Comet” below).

On October 12th, the comet will be higher in the sky than Venus, but you’ll still want a clear western horizon.

A sunset view of the sky showing the position of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS on October 13, 2024.

Oct. 13, 2024: Getting Better

The comet is more than a binocular field above the horizon tonight, so you’ll have to sweep around a bit to spot it. The comet should still be bright, and you might even see it without binoculars. The image shows the view at 7:30 p.m. local time, but you can afford to wait even later to see if the view improves as the sky darkens. The comet’s tail actually stretches well off the top of the map, and so even after the “head” of the comet has set, the tail may become visible as the sky darkens. Don’t go home too early!

A sunset view of the sky showing the position of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS on October 14, 2024.

Oct. 14, 2024: Elevation versus Distance

From tonight on, we see how the competing factors of the comet’s elevation above our horizon versus its increasing distance will play out. The comet is actually fading as it moves farther away from us and as the tail appears foreshortened (it’s pointing generally towards the earth, which should make it appear shorter but brighter). Improving the situation is the comet’s greater altitude above the horizon, and the chance to see it in a darker sky after sunset.

It’s still worth getting out early to see how early you can spot the comet, but the best views might come slightly later each night, perhaps as late as 8:00 p.m. local instead of 7:30 p.m. There will be a period of best visibility each night that will probably last for 15 minutes or so as the various factors of sky brightness, altitude, and sky conditions align, but forecasting exactly when that will occur is impossible. The more time you are out observing the comet, the more likely you will get a memorable view.

A sunset view of the sky showing the position of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS on October 15, 2024.

Oct. 15, 2024: Fading Away

Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS will be visible above the western horizon at sunset until at least December, but at some point it will fade enough that you will need a telescope to see it. It will probably remain visible in binoculars until late October, but the changing angles will mean the tail fades quickly after this date. The comet will be more of a round puffball than the typical “comet with a tail” shape, but may still be fascinating to view. Remember, that puffball has likely never been this close to Earth before and may not return to our vicinity for tens of thousands of years, if ever, so this literally is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Imaging the Comet

As always, imaging will show more of the comet’s tail than is visible to the eyes, so you might see impressive images flooding your social media feed for days or weeks to come. Just remember, electronic cameras, even those in a typical cellphone, can show much fainter objects than our eyes can see. But there is something magical about viewing the actual light from an object, individual particles of light than have travelled millions of kilometers to end up inside your eyeball and stimulating your brain to see them.

If you manage to record images of Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS, we’d love to see them! Email them to space@manitobamuseum.ca. We’ll show the best ones on Dome@Home, our award-winning online astronomy show, which runs the last Thursday of every month on the Manitoba Museum’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

The Sky for October 2024

October is a great month for stargazing. Aside from the cooler temperatures and earlier sunsets, we have at least one reasonably-bright comet expected, and quite possibly two. The planets rise early enough to see before midnight, and the most distant object visible to the unaided eye comes into view.

Comet #1: 2023 A3 (Tsuchinshen-ATLAS)

This is the comet you’ve been hearing about on social media lately. It’s been limited to southern viewers so far, but now that it has rounded the Sun it will be moving into the northern skies quickly.

There is a full article on this comet, with day-by-day details, in preparation, but the short version is most Canadians won’t be able to spot it until after October 10 or so. It is not quite as bright as forecast, and so it won’t become visible in broad daylight or even in the very bright twilight sky. It will become visible in the evening sky after sun is it rockets between Sun and Erath, rapidly moving higher in the evening as it moves farther away.

Click here for more tips on spotting this comet.

Comet #2: A11bP7I (Soon-to-be Comet ATLAS)

This comet was discovered on September 27, and is so new that it doesn’t have a formal name yet – “A11bP7I” is a temporary designation. This comet is a rare kind of comet called a sun-grazer, which gets very close to the Sun and therefore can get very bright. Initial forecasts sound like this one could be even brighter than Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS, but we’ll have to wait and see. It will be at its best (whatever taht menas) around the end of october. More informations as it becomes available.

The Solar System

Mercury remains too low to see in the evening sky this month.

Venus is very low in the southwest in the evening sky this month, and remains very low throughout October. It is quite far from the sun, but the angle of the solar system is very close to the angle of Manitoba’s horizon in the fall, keeping the planet low. it is very bright, though, likely the first star you see in the evening if your southwestern horizon is clear.

Mars rises in the northeast before midnight, in the middle of the constellation Gemini the Twins. Mars is slowly approaching our planet and will be at its best this orbit in January 2025.

A simulated view of Saturn and its rings.

Jupiter Rises in the northeast about 10pm at the beginning of October, betweemn the horns of taurus the Bull. The largest planet stands high in the south at dawn, offering clear telescopic views. Its four largest moons are visible in binoculars as tiny “stars” in a line on either side of the planet; their positions change nightly as they orbit the giant planet.

Saturn is low in the southwest at sunset, and is visible all night. It rises only about 30 degrees up in the south at its best, though, so telescope views are still blurred by the Earth’s atmosphere. The rings are nearly edge-on, but visible in a telescope with more than about 30x magnification./

Sky Calendar for October 2024

Click on highlighted dates for a star chart showing the view!

Oct. 2 : New Moon

Oct. 5 (evening): The thin crescent Moon will be below Venus in the evening sky after sunset (likely invisible except with binoculars and very clear skies).

Oct. 6 (evening): The thin crescent Moon will be to the left of Venus in the evening sky after sunset.

Oct. 7 (evening): The thin crescent Moon will be just to the to the left of the bright star Antares in the evening sky after sunset. Venus stands farther to the right. The sky on October 7, 2024.

Oct. 9 (evening): Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS passes between Earth and Sun, passing just above the Sun from our point of view. The comet will likely be at its brightest today, but not visible because of its closeness to the Sun.

Oct. 10 (evening): First Quarter Moon. Also the beginning of likely period of visibility for Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS. See day-by-day coverage posts .

Oct. 13 (evening): Saturn will be the brightest “star”, far to the left of the waxing gibbous Moon tonight.

Oct. 14 (evening): Saturn will be the brightest “star” to the right of the waxing gibbous Moon tonight.

Also tonight, Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS passes another, much fainter, comet: Comet 13P/Olbers. Olbers is a periodic comet that has been visible in mid-sized telescopes for a while, and the two aren’t physically close4 to each other, but just in our line of sight from Earth.

Oct. 15 (evening): Comet Tsuchinshen-ATLAS passes near the globular cluster M5, a “faint fuzzy” visible in binoculars. Images of the comet on this night will probably also catch the globular cluster, which is a group of several hundred thousand stars which are among the oldest stars visible.

Oct. 17: Full Moon, the Harvest Moon.

Oct. 19 (all night): The waning gibbous Moon sits between the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters tonight, with bright Jupiter nearby to the lower left.The sky on October 19, 2024.

Oct. 20 (all night): The waning gibbous Moon is above Jupiter tonight as the two rise in the northeast about 9 p.m. local time.

Oct. 23 (morning): The nearly last quarter Moon is near a trio of bright stars. From top to bottom they are Castor and Pollux, in the constellation Gemini, and the red planet Mars.

Oct. 24 (morning): A similar view to yesterday morning’s sky, but with the Moon having moved through the trio to sit on the lower left of the scene.

Oct. 24 : Last Quarter Moon.

Oct. 28: The new comet A11bP7I makes its closest approach to the Sun. More updates as they become available.

Oct. 31 (evening): Hallowe’en, a great night to have your telescopes or binoculars out to show trick-or-treaters the sky.

Scott Young

Scott Young

Planetarium Astronomer

Scott is the Planetarium Astronomer at the Manitoba Museum, developing astronomy and science programs. He has been an informal science educator for thirty years, working in the planetarium and science centre field both at The Manitoba Museum and also at the Alice G. Wallace Planetarium in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Scott is an active amateur astronomer and a past-President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.