Sky Events

Cosmic Showcase: What’s Up in the Sky on Sept 28–29, 2025

Meteor Showers and Fireballs This weekend’s meteor activity will be modest. No major shower peaks on Sept 28–29. The Orionids (parent comet Halley) have just started but are weak – current rates are well under 1 meteor/hour and won’t peak until Oct. 23 amsmeteors.org. The only notable shower is the Southern Taurids (from comet 2P/Encke), active Sept 23–Nov 12 with a broad radiant. AMS predicts a Southern Taurid rate of about 3/hour around local midnight (the radiant in Pisces, best near 1 a.m.) amsmeteors.org. All other named showers (epsilon Geminids, sextantids, etc.) are producing <1/hr amsmeteors.org amsmeteors.org. Thus most meteors will be

28 September 2025

Northern Lights, New Comet & Saturn Shine: Must-See Sky Events on Sept 25–26, 2025

Summary Auroras Dance Under Equinox Skies It’s aurora season! The autumnal equinox (September 22) is traditionally a prime time for auroras because of the way Earth’s magnetic field interacts with the solar wind this time of year. Researchers have observed that around the equinoxes, cracks tend to open in Earth’s magnetosphere, allowing even relatively minor solar activity to trigger auroral displays spaceweatherarchive.com spaceweatherarchive.com. This is known as the Russell–McPherron effect – essentially, “even a gentle gust of solar wind can breach our planet’s magnetic defenses” near the equinox spaceweatherarchive.com. Over the past week, the Sun has kept forecasters on their

25 September 2025

Astronomy · Northern Lights · Planetary Science · Space Events · Stargazing

Skywatchers’ Weekend Spectacle: Eclipse, Auroras & Saturn Dazzle Sept 20–21, 2025

Key Facts Meteor Showers & Fireballs Even without a major meteor shower peak, the night sky is still offering shooting stars this weekend. Several minor meteor showers are active, and combined with random “sporadic” meteors they can produce up to 10 meteors per hour under dark skies imo.net imo.net. The Moon is new on Sept 21 (invisible at night) imo.net, which means moonless dark skies ideal for meteor spotting in the predawn hours. Active meteor showers right now include: Most of the meteors this weekend will be sporadics, the random bits of dust and rock that hit Earth’s atmosphere every

20 September 2025

Astronomy · Eclipses · Night Sky Events · Planetary Science · Stargazing

Don’t Miss These Sky Events on August 14–15, 2025: Shooting Stars, Planet Alignments, and More

Perseid meteor shower remains active August 14–15, with Moonlight washing out fainter meteors and an expected rate around 10–20 per hour. Auroras could appear on August 14–15 due to solar activity, but forecasters expect only mild geomagnetic activity (Kp 5–6, G1–G2) and no major storm. Venus and Jupiter form a bright dawn pair around August 14–15, with Venus at magnitude -4 about 20–30° above the eastern horizon and Jupiter nearby. Saturn is near opposition later in August, at about magnitude +0.4, bright and high in the southern sky for late-night viewing. Mars remains visible in the western sky after sunset,

14 August 2025

Astronomy · Meteor Showers · Planets · Sky Events · Stargazing

Sky Show Spectacular: Twin Meteor Showers, Planet Parade & Aurora Hints (July 31–Aug 1, 2025)

Delta Aquariids peak on the nights of July 30–31 with rates up to 15–20 meteors per hour in the Southern Hemisphere and fewer than 10 per hour from mid-northern latitudes, under a slender 25–30% lit Moon that sets early. Alpha Capricornids peak around July 30–31, averaging 2–5 meteors per hour, but delivering slow, bright fireballs that can rival Venus in brightness. With both showers active and a few early Perseids, observers under dark skies could see several dozen meteors per hour during July 30–Aug 1. On July 31 the Moon is a 30% illuminated crescent near Spica in Virgo, with

31 July 2025

Astronomy · Aurora · Meteor Showers · Planets · Sky Events