Astronomy

Northern Lights over Wood Lake (Nick Clements/Facebook)

PHOTOS: Northern Lights display over the Okanagan

The Aurora Borealis graced the sky with a pink and green light show

 

Gary Boyle

Look up to the Kootenay skies this month and spot a bright comet

What better way to open the new year than by spotting a hopefully bright comet?

  • Jan 17, 2023

 

The Backyard Astronomer, Gary Boyle. Photo: Submitted

The ‘Mars Show’ coming to Kootenay skies Dec. 7

All of Canada, much of the United States will see this amazing sight

  • Dec 5, 2022

 

Gary Boyle

Total lunar eclipse coming Nov. 8

Next total eclipse which all of North America can witness will be on March 14, 2025

  • Oct 31, 2022
Gary Boyle
A fireball caught on camera Oct. 12 in Marysville, Wash. (Benjamin Souther video)

Fireball seen over B.C., Washington, Oregon sparks social media storm

Did you see the meteor?

A fireball caught on camera Oct. 12 in Marysville, Wash. (Benjamin Souther video)
Area of space where the deep field image was taken is as small as a grain of sand held at arm’s length. This cluster is 4.6 billion light-years away.

James Webb Space Telescope, a remarkable ringside seat to universe

Known as “The Backyard Astronomer,” Gary Boyle is an astronomy educator, guest speaker and columnist

Area of space where the deep field image was taken is as small as a grain of sand held at arm’s length. This cluster is 4.6 billion light-years away.
This image released by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, Thursday, May 12, 2022, shows a black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way black hole is called Sagittarius A*, near the border of Sagittarius and Scorpius constellations. It is 4 million times more massive than our sun. The image was made by eight synchronized radio telescopes around the world. (Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration via AP)

Astronomers capture 1st image of Milky Way’s huge black hole

‘It burbled and gurgled as we looked at it’

This image released by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, Thursday, May 12, 2022, shows a black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way black hole is called Sagittarius A*, near the border of Sagittarius and Scorpius constellations. It is 4 million times more massive than our sun. The image was made by eight synchronized radio telescopes around the world. (Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration via AP)
Kim Venn at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in 2022. (Courtesy of UVic Photo Services)

B.C.-led astronomy team discovers traces of the universe’s first stars

Metal-poor cluster on outer edge of Milky Way galaxy a grouping of ancient stars

Kim Venn at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in 2022. (Courtesy of UVic Photo Services)
Briefly seen over a road in Kent, Wash., this fireball was seen in multiple places in B.C., including Agassiz, Abbotsford and Peachland. The event was seen on Tuesday, April 26, between 8:45 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. (Screenshot/AMS)

VIDEO: ‘Fireball’ blazes across Fraser Valley night sky

Witnesses reported event as far north as Kamloops and as far south as Portland

Briefly seen over a road in Kent, Wash., this fireball was seen in multiple places in B.C., including Agassiz, Abbotsford and Peachland. The event was seen on Tuesday, April 26, between 8:45 p.m. and 9:05 p.m. (Screenshot/AMS)
Venus and Jupiter appear close together in the sky during a conjunction. (Wikimedia Commons)

Venus Jupiter conjunction this weekend kicks off a 5-day show in the skies

Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn will be visible, plus a meteor shower next week

Venus and Jupiter appear close together in the sky during a conjunction. (Wikimedia Commons)
An asteroid that circles our sun on a wide orbit between the planets of Mars and Jupiter is now named after Skookum Jim Mason, the Tagish adventurer and prospector who helped kick off the Klondike Gold Rush. (Pixabay Image)

Distant asteroid now bears Tagish adventurer Skookum Jim’s name

The renaming of the asteroid comes from a suggestion by the Yukon Astronomical Society.

An asteroid that circles our sun on a wide orbit between the planets of Mars and Jupiter is now named after Skookum Jim Mason, the Tagish adventurer and prospector who helped kick off the Klondike Gold Rush. (Pixabay Image)
Sid Sidhu said he may need a new telescope if he’s going to be able to see the asteroid named for him. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)

Humble B.C. amateur astronomer now officially out of this world

Jaskarn Singh ‘Sid’ Sidhu has an asteroid named after him, honouring his volunteer astronomy efforts

Sid Sidhu said he may need a new telescope if he’s going to be able to see the asteroid named for him. (Bailey Moreton/News Staff)
The sun is a huge ball of hot plasma, spanning the width of 109 earths lined up side by side like a string of pearls at its equator. Photo: Submitted

Dodging a solar bullet

Gary Boyle is an astronomy educator, guest speaker & columnist for the Canadian astronomical society

  • Mar 2, 2022
The sun is a huge ball of hot plasma, spanning the width of 109 earths lined up side by side like a string of pearls at its equator. Photo: Submitted
Photo: Submitted by Gary Boyle

If you’re outside in Trail tonight, look up for the meteor shower

The night of Dec. 13/14 is the annual Geminid meteor shower

  • Dec 13, 2021
Photo: Submitted by Gary Boyle
Mount Arrowsmith on Vancouver Island. (Nancy Randall photo)

Was bright light and loud boom over Vancouver Island caused by a meteor?

People from Victoria to Campbell River and Tofino report flash of light in sky on Dec. 12

Mount Arrowsmith on Vancouver Island. (Nancy Randall photo)
Gary Boyle is Canada’s Backyard Astronomer.

Here comes the lunar eclipse

A lunar eclipse is very safe to enjoy.

  • Nov 16, 2021
Gary Boyle is Canada’s Backyard Astronomer.
A lunar eclipse will happen next month, Nov. 18/19. Photo: Mathew Schwartz/Unsplash

Look up to see the Kootenay sky full of planets

“For thousands of years, the night sky was just a splash of random dots.”

  • Oct 28, 2021
A lunar eclipse will happen next month, Nov. 18/19. Photo: Mathew Schwartz/Unsplash
Stretching from the heaviest concentration of stars in the south all the way to the northeast is where we see the iconic “W” symbolizing Cassiopeia. Photo: Gary Boyle

Behold Cassiopeia, ‘The Queen’ in the Kootenay skies

By Gary Boyle - The Backyard Astronomer **************************************** As the sun sets…

  • Sep 2, 2021
Stretching from the heaviest concentration of stars in the south all the way to the northeast is where we see the iconic “W” symbolizing Cassiopeia. Photo: Gary Boyle
Perseids will be best seen this year on the night of Aug. 12 and Aug. 13. Photo: Pierre Martin

Look up to the Kootenay skies for a grand meteor shower

The Perseid Meteor Shower is now underway from July 14 to August 14.

  • Aug 5, 2021
Perseids will be best seen this year on the night of Aug. 12 and Aug. 13. Photo: Pierre Martin
Gary Boyle is an astronomy educator, guest speaker and monthly columnist for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He has been interviewed on more than 50 Canadian radio stations as well as television in Canada and the United States. Photo: Submitted

Embrace the Kootenay summer night for all it has to offer

Sunday night look for the moon in a crescent low in the low western sky just after sunset

  • Jul 11, 2021
Gary Boyle is an astronomy educator, guest speaker and monthly columnist for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. He has been interviewed on more than 50 Canadian radio stations as well as television in Canada and the United States. Photo: Submitted