Jason Nishiyama

Teacher, astronomer, political scientist and father. I wrote a book once: http://evl.link/df

Calgary: Alberta, Canada

Last Notes

2026-04-15 21:38:03 GMT

One of the ways we search for objects in the solar system is to take an image, wait for a period of time, then take another image and see what moved.
This GIF animation shows Pluto on two separate nights. See if you can find it.
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/116/410/874/587/045/249/original/efda746cca3bdc6a.mp4

2026-03-11 01:25:43 GMT

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Too many people get too into stuff like that. Costs them lots.

2026-03-11 01:14:20 GMT

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Indeed.
I know that I'm not seeing my money back, I'm just buying the dream really.
The rare times I've ever been in a casino for non-fundraising events I've spent upwards of $5.

2025-11-26 01:33:42 GMT

M13 is a globular cluster located about 24 kly away in the constellation of Hercules.
One of the more spectacular globular clusters visible in the northern hemisphere, it is relatively easy to find once you find the constellation Hercules. Looks good even in binoculars.
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/613/410/492/031/272/original/6db332d1c86378f2.jpg
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/613/419/013/254/704/original/c6e5d0f2219eaa36.png

2025-10-31 00:18:36 GMT

M27, the Dumbbell Nebula is a planetary nebula located about 1250 ly away in the constellation of Vulpecula.
A type of dying star, M27 was the first planetary nebula discovered, in 1764, by Charles Messier; though what it was wasn't known at that time.
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/465/887/894/571/882/original/3c8e800eb368984c.jpg

2025-08-21 22:06:53 GMT

M67 is an open cluster located about 2700 ly away in the constellation of Cancer.
It is an older cluster, on the order of a few billion years old. This means that most of the more massive stars that would have been in the cluster at its formation have long since evolved and died.
https://cdn.mstdn.ca/media_attachments/files/115/069/013/309/883/673/original/57061872ea3267b9.jpg

2025-03-30 18:04:08 GMT

Satellite incursions that made useless 88 of 180 images, sucking up about an hour of half-metre telescope time...
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/114/252/697/781/175/262/original/78a3f54b08ec6200.jpeg

2025-01-09 01:53:13 GMT

Supernova are often found in other galaxies as the supernovae are so bright they can often outshine their host galaxy.
Here on the left is the galaxy M101 while supernova SN2011fe was present. On the right is M100 much later once the SN had faded away.
I'll show the location in a following post.
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/113/795/884/645/791/130/original/d402a1a5f2f5b410.jpg
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/113/795/889/141/969/555/original/5dc7f35af5154ab9.jpg

2024-12-18 00:53:36 GMT

M75 is a globular cluster located about 68 kly away in the constellation of Sagittarius.
Globular clusters are balls of tens to hundreds of thousands of older stars. GCs are found orbiting our and other galaxies. We don't have a clear idea of how they formed.
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/113/671/085/462/867/838/original/9247279d0e6b181f.jpg

2024-12-17 00:11:34 GMT

M65 (galaxy on lower right) is a spiral galaxy located about 35 Mly away in the constellation of Leo.
Along with M66 (galaxy on left) and NGC 3628 (not in this image), M65 is part of the Leo Triplet of galaxies.
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/113/665/251/604/799/951/original/72d474c11de22657.jpg

2024-11-22 01:36:24 GMT

M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy located about 2.5Mly away in the constellation of Andromeda.
M31 is the closest large galaxy that looks like our Galaxy and is one of 3 large spiral galaxies in the local group (our Galaxy and M33 are the other 2).
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/113/524/035/049/654/961/original/9a431a7571d2c65b.jpg

2024-10-17 22:20:04 GMT

Albireo is a double star located about 357 ly away in the constellation of Cygnus.
Albireo appears as a single star to the unaided eye, but through even a small telescope resolves into two stars. It is uncertain if this is a binary system or just an optical double.
Albireo is interesting visually as it is one of the few objects in the night sky where the human eye can see the objects in colour.
https://cdn.mastdn.ca/media_attachments/files/113/325/077/796/954/359/original/173b142813b05521.jpg