Astro Bob's Astronomy for Everyone

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Aurora for night owls Saturday night late (June 13-14) the aurora has been putting on a minor show low in the northern s...
06/14/2026

Aurora for night owls

Saturday night late (June 13-14) the aurora has been putting on a minor show low in the northern sky for the Duluth region and Upper Midwest. Very colorful in the camera, less so with the unaided eye. It's still active as of 12:30 a.m. Central Time. Look in the lower third of the northern sky.

Mars on my mind I hoped to photograph the skinny crescent next to the Pleiades this morning (June 13), but clouds got in...
06/13/2026

Mars on my mind

I hoped to photograph the skinny crescent next to the Pleiades this morning (June 13), but clouds got in the way. Still, the waning Moon managed to extricate itself as did Mars. It took a little concentration but I managed to find the faint planet with my eyes in the growing twilight. Can you spot it?

Mars and Earth are far apart at the moment, so the Red Planet is near minimum light at magnitude 1.3 and tiny. Its apparent diameter — how big it looks in a telescope — is similar to the apparent size of Uranus, a planet 7 1/2 times its size. Every day, the distance between Earth and Mars shrinks. Next February, when we'll be closest in the current season, Mars will shine almost as bright as Sirius, the brightest nighttime star. Planets teach patience.

Amazing display of noctilucent clouds Friday night, June 12 The aurora tiptoed in during evening twilight Friday night b...
06/13/2026

Amazing display of noctilucent clouds Friday night, June 12

The aurora tiptoed in during evening twilight Friday night but clouds soon covered it up. Earlier, around 10:45 to 11:15 p.m. we got show of rare noctilucent (night-shining) clouds. They only come out late in twilight low in the northern sky around the summer solstice from late May through mid-July, at least in here in Duluth, Minn. region.

Tonight's display was EXPANSIVE with lots of delicate, wavy forms that glowed blue deep into twilight when all the other clouds had gone dark. I've seen them the past couple nights just 2-3 degrees above the horizon, but tonight they were 20 degrees up! I also included a photo of the clouds from June 10 from 11:20 p.m., when they were VERY low in the north. So low they were turning orange.

Noctilucent clouds float some 60 miles high in the mesosphere near the edge of outer space and form when water v***r freezes onto meteoric dust. Beware! They're easy to confuse with feathery cirrus clouds. The dark strands in the photo are cirrus.

What sets them apart is the how they glow blue at night when the first stars come out. That's the only time we can see them — 1 to 2 hours after sunset low in the north.

Northern lights expected Friday night, June 12-13 / Old Moon visits the Pleiades at dawn The lights may arrive early. Or...
06/12/2026

Northern lights expected Friday night, June 12-13 / Old Moon visits the Pleiades at dawn

The lights may arrive early. Or they may arrive late. But a moderate G2 geomagnetic storm is expected tonight when coronal mass ejections from June 9 and 11 stir up the Earth's magnetosphere.
From northern border states, much of the northern sky could be aglow with aurora. Farther south, observers would see a tamer show with activity closer to the horizon.

As always, bring your smartphone and check for aurora by aiming it north (include the horizon if you can) and taking a picture. Once tipped off by your phone you're more likely to see it with your eyes.

If you're up REALLY late watching northern lights, stick around to see the exceedingly thin morning crescent parked just 1.5 degrees to the right of the Pleiades cluster. Binoculars will give an awesome view. Bonus! Mars will shine one outstretched fist to the right of the moon.

Aurora alert Thursday night, June 11-12 and especially June 12-13 *** Update 11 p.m. — We have lights low in the north i...
06/12/2026

Aurora alert Thursday night, June 11-12 and especially June 12-13
*** Update 11 p.m. — We have lights low in the north in Duluth. Photo taken during late twilight.

If you live in the northern tier of states look north Thursday night when it gets dark and you might just see some auroral activity — an arc, rays or maybe better. Tomorrow night we're expecting a stronger, more extensive G2 display. I'll provide more details then.

The NOAA graphic shows the forecast extent of the northern auroral oval, where the aurora is likely to be visible around 10:30 p.m. Central Time. Because the northern lights glow at such high altitudes, the aurora is visible about 500 miles south of the oval. In other words, it doesn't necessarily have to "touch" where you live to see it.

Good luck tonight!

Mr. Mac pays a late night visit The fireflies have been adding a lot to the nights the past week. I love that they keep ...
06/11/2026

Mr. Mac pays a late night visit

The fireflies have been adding a lot to the nights the past week. I love that they keep wanting to get in my photos. Last night while photographing the aurora very late, one firefly — likely a member of the Mr. Mac (yes, a real name) species — entered the frame and gave a quick double flash. I saw it happen and hoped he might stick around for more . . . and he did! Five flashes in all.

Longer exposures increase your chances of catching a lightning bug in a photo. This one was 16 seconds because the aurora was relatively dim.

The Milky Way is really looking powerful these late nights. I used a 7.5mm fisheye to capture a chunk of it. The purple-pink glow at left is the aurora; the yellow at right is Duluth light-pollution. The pale green and red swirls are natural airglow caused by oxygen emissions in the atmosphere.

To round things out I included an orange-belted bumblebee feasting on a dandelion's sweet nectar. I feel like that bee on clear, June nights, standing there sucking in the starlight.

Prominent prominences!When I saw these spectacular prominences yesterday (June 9) through my scope's hydrogen-alpha filt...
06/10/2026

Prominent prominences!

When I saw these spectacular prominences yesterday (June 9) through my scope's hydrogen-alpha filter I knew I had to share the sight. They're the same pink "flames" you see around the sun in a total solar eclipse. The specialized filter removes most of the sun's white light except for a sliver of red, which allows you to see the chromosphere, the next layer up in its atmosphere. This is where the prominences hang out.

They look like trees. Those big ones are at least several times the size of Earth. I masked out the bright solar disk to create the eclipse effect.

Jupiter and Venus delight us The two current brightest planets were closest last night, June 9, with a separation of 1.6...
06/10/2026

Jupiter and Venus delight us

The two current brightest planets were closest last night, June 9, with a separation of 1.6 degrees. Skies started out clear in Duluth but about 10:30 in mid-twilight quickly turned overcast thanks to clouds caused by Lake Superior.

I caught the pair here, along with an unannounced visit from a Variable Triple Flash firefly, just before the heavens closed up shop. Mercury is also visible below center just above the horizon. If your weather was poor, Jupiter and Venus will still be a fabulous sight the rest of the week.

Plentiful planets I've been mum on Mercury for a couple days, but I wanted to make sure you knew it was also in the even...
06/09/2026

Plentiful planets

I've been mum on Mercury for a couple days, but I wanted to make sure you knew it was also in the evening sky not far from Jupiter and Venus. To find the smallest of the planets — it's just 1 1/2 times bigger than the moon — look a little more than a fist to the lower right of Jupiter-Venus about 45 minutes to an hour after sunset. Use binoculars. Even in a good sky Mercury looks somewhat faint right now. The photo shows it on June 5.

If you're up at dawn look low in the southeast for yet another planet, Saturn. It's all by itself and hard to miss about an hour and half before sunrise. In the top photo, taken June 6, a tree frames the planet between its branch tips.

Jupiter and Venus steal the show this week Be sure to look to the northwest this week during evening twilight. Venus and...
06/08/2026

Jupiter and Venus steal the show this week

Be sure to look to the northwest this week during evening twilight. Venus and Jupiter are so bright and so together the sight is almost unreal. Except it's 100% natural.

Conjunction — when they'll be closest — happens Tuesday night. I took this photo on June 6, when they were still a few degrees apart.

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