JA2015 cover image

July/August 2015 Issue

Canada’s role in the Thirty Meter Telescope, the Perseids and Pluto,
public observatories and more summer stargazing.

Buy a digital copy of the July/August 2015 issue.

Canada a Partner in the Thirty Meter Telescope

One hundred years ago, Canada was in the race to build the world’s largest telescope. A century later, Canada has stepped up to the plate again. Ivan Semeniuk

Perseids and Pluto This Summer

The Perseid meteor shower peaks under ideal dark sky conditions in August. In July, Pluto gets a visitor, inviting a look at Pluto’s hidey-hole in the summer Milky Way. Alan Dyer

Northern Nights: Stargazing in its Purest Form

Star partiers (and worriers), take note: The Perseids are coming! Ken Hewitt-White

Public Observatories Flourish in Rainy British Columbia

Two special venues for observation are available on the West Coast. David A. Rodger

Planet Fest 2015

Venus and Jupiter brightened our spring sky, with Saturn remaining for summer. Terence Dickinson

Scoping the Sky: Messiers Across the Midriff

Four globulars — three of them Messier objects — lie near the middle of Ophiuchus. While the clusters aren’t spectacular, each one is pleasingly different. Ken Hewitt-White

On The Moon: Ghost Craters of Nectaris

Sometimes even big craters can be surprisingly inconspicuous. You can see several fascinating examples on Mare Nectaris. Gary Seronik

Wilderness Astronomer: Canada’s Star Stories

Forget the ancient Greeks for a bit . . . there’s a sky full of constellations from this land. Peter McMahon

Constellation Corner: Hercules

Talk about a hard-luck story! The tale of woe surrounding the Greek hero Hercules is tough to beat. Ken Hewitt-White

And more!