#AstronomyWeather
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sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for June 2025:

Clear sky: 6 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 9 nights
Overcast sky: 15 nights

Limited #astronomy this month due to cloud and bright nights but I did catch some noctilucent clouds.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Space
The glow from the rising Moon with trees in the foreground. The Summer Triangle asterism with the Milky Way passing through it. Green and blue noctilucent clouds. Different colours of noctilucent clouds, with golden yellow near the horizon and blue-green higher up.
July 22, 2025 at 9:36 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for September 2025:

Clear: 11 nights
Partly cloudy: 11 nights
Overcast: 8 nights

A good month. Despite all the clear nights, I didn't get much #astronomy done though. Real life sometimes requires my attention! 😀

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography
Star trails image from 24-25 September 2025. There is an aircraft trail crossing vertically across the trails. Some trees in the foreground as well as blurred clouds.
October 15, 2025 at 11:35 AM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for December 2025:

Clear sky: 5 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 11 nights
Overcast sky: 15 nights

Despite the cloud this month I did manage to see the Geminids meteor shower, albeit the night prior to the peak.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Space
The nearly full Moon seen through cloud on 3 December 2025. A subtly coloured halo of light surrounds the Moon, caused by ice crystals in the clouds refracting light from the Moon. A white Geminid meteor passing to the left of Orion on 12 December 2025 at 23:27 UT. A green Geminid meteor passing through the constellation of Eridanus at 00:40 UT on 13 December 2025. Trees in the foreground. Long streaks of light formed by the movement of the stars during a long exposure, with some trees in the foreground. Taken on 17 December 2025.
January 16, 2026 at 4:48 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for March 2025:

Clear sky: 13 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 8 nights
Overcast sky: 10 nights

A much better than average March. Lots of clear nights for some quality stargazing.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Space
Star trails shot looking south on 5 March 2025. Settings: 325 shots at 4s exp, 16mm fl, f/2.0, ISO-1600. A swirl of multicoloured lines from a long exposure and intentional camera movement picture of the star Sirius. Composite shot of planet Mercury showing its movement over about 4 minutes on the early evening of 8 March 2025. Taken with a DSLR and 300mm lens. Planets Venus (top right) and Mercury (lower centre, above the tree) on the evening of 8 March 2025.
April 13, 2025 at 9:11 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for June 2026:

Clear sky: 9 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 11 nights
Overcast sky: 10 nights

Despite the light nights I was able to capture various Jupiter, Venus and Moon shots as well as NLCs of course!

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Astrophotography
Jupiter (lower left) close to Venus (upper right) in the dark blue sky after sunset on 8 June 2026. Both planets sit above a rooftop. Shot of the 10% lit crescent Moon with planet Venus just above it. Both viewed through patchy cloud on the evening of 17 June 2026. Electric blue display of noctilucent clouds visible over the Teesside area on the night of 9-10 June 2026. A combined image of several long exposure shots that result in star trails. Bright display of noctilucent clouds on 28 June 2026 at 00:45 UT from North Yorkshire, UK. Taken with Canon 250D and 18mm lens at 1.6s exp, 55mm fl, f/5.6, ISO-800.
July 15, 2026 at 5:43 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for November 2025:

Clear sky: 3 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 6 nights
Overcast sky: 21 nights

A very cloudy month. I largely missed the good aurora display we had but that's the way it goes sometimes.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Astronomy
Long light trails of star movement as seen from North Yorkshire, UK on the night of 08-09 November 2025. Series of stacked shots using a Canon 550D with 16mm lens at 10s exp, 16mm fl, f/2.0, ISO-800. The 3.5% lit crescent Moon rising early on the morning of 18 November 2025. Some dark clouds are above the Moon and there is a tree branch to the right. The Moon is a thin yellow-white arc of light against a pale yellow sky. The unlit portion of the Moon can also just be seen as a faint circle against the sky. The constellation of Orion appearing through a gap in passing clouds. Sirius can be seen to the lower left of Orion. Red glow of the aurora seen through cloud on the morning of 12 November 2025.
December 19, 2025 at 8:26 AM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for February 2026:

Clear sky: 1 night!
Partly cloudy sky: 4 nights
Overcast sky: 23 nights

Only a single clear night this month! Still managed to get a bit of #Astrophotography done through gaps in the clouds.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy
The full Moon on 1 February 2026. Messier 43, also known as de Mairan's Nebula on 24 February 2026. Shot taken with a Altair Hypercam 585C through a Celestron NexStar 6SE telescope. Shot of the Moon on the night of 24 February 2026. The vertical feature in the centre of the image is the Vallis Alpes, or lunar Alpine Valley. The mountains around the valley are the Montes Alpes or Lunar Alps. Shot taken with a Altair Hypercam 585C through a Celestron NexStar 6SE telescope. The night sky with the Moon to the upper right of frame. Taken on 24 February 2026.
March 10, 2026 at 1:12 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for July 2025:

Clear sky: 7 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 13 nights
Overcast sky: 11 nights

July was all about noctilucent clouds, with a bright meteor thrown in for good measure! 😀

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Space
Smoke trail left by the bright meteor seen over much of the UK on the night of 2-3 July 2025. The meteor was seen at 23:50 UT on 2 July (00:50 BST on 3 July). Star trails and noctilucent clouds on 2-3 July 2025. Noctilucent clouds on 10 July 2025. Venus can be seen rising in the centre of the picture. The Pleiades open cluster can also be seen above Venus. Noctilucent clouds on 15 July 2025. The ripple-like waves typical of these clouds can be seen.
August 23, 2025 at 9:41 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for December 2024:

Clear sky: 2 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 8 nights
Overcast sky: 21 nights!

Worse than average weather for the month. Nevertheless I did manage to get out and take some pictures 😀

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Space
A Geminid meteor between the constellations of Gemini and Auriga. Captured on 14 December 2024 at 06:03 UT. The sky is a blue colour due to the full Moon nearby and the approaching dawn. A picture made up of a sequence of images from a timelapse of the planet Venus setting behind some trees and houses. The houses are illuminated in light green by some Christmas lights. Venus is a very bright circle against a background of fainter stars. The array of curved lines from a long exposure star trails picture, with a chimney in the foreground. Picture of the Winter constellations of Auriga, Taurus, Cancer, Orion, Gemini and Canis Minor.
January 17, 2025 at 5:44 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for January 2025:

Clear sky: 12 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 8 nights
Overcast sky: 11 nights

Plenty of clear skies for lots of #Astrophotography of star trails, meteors, Sirius, the planets and more! A good month. 😀

#AstroWeather #Astronomy
A densely packed series of arcs of light rotating around a point near the top of the image. These are star trails - an effect caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis. The trails cover 18:19 to 06:49 UT on 2-3 January 2025. A green and orange sporadic meteor passing through the constellation of Crater at 04:25 UT on 8 January 2025. There is a rooftop in the foreground. A chaotic multi-coloured swirl of light that is produced by a long exposure of the star Sirius while moving the camera. Composite image of four planets against a black background, from left to right, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
February 9, 2025 at 8:39 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for May 2026:

Clear sky: 6 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 10 nights
Overcast sky: 15 nights

A somewhat cloudy month, but May usually is for me. Nevertheless I managed a bit of #Astrophotography, especially of the Moon.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy
The full Moon rising on 1 May 2026. The Moon looks orange due to its low height at the time. A bright pass of the ISS on 12 May 2026. The track of the space station takes it close to the bright star Arcturus. The 6% lit crescent Moon seen through cloud on the night of 18 May 2026. Venus can just be seen to the left of the Moon, through the clouds. The creamy-white 97% lit Moon between two trees. Shot taken on 29 May 2026 with a Canon 600D and 300mm lens from North Yorkshire, UK.
June 12, 2026 at 12:11 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for April 2025:

Clear sky: 13 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 8 nights
Overcast sky: 9 nights

Above average number of clear or partly cloudy skies this month. Highlight of the month was the Moon occulting the Pleiades.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography
The crescent Moon showing earthshine near the Pleiades open cluster of stars on the night of 1 April 2025. A swirl of multi-coloured lines of light formed by the long exposure photo of the star Sirius. A star field with three small galaxies to the right of the image. Two small white dots to the left of the galaxies are marked, that being the position of asteroid 8 Flora over two consecutive nights. Shot of Mars between the open cluster M44, also known as the Beehive Cluster and the bright stars Pollux and Castor in Gemini. The objects are labelled and the fainter surrounding stars are shown. Taken on 20 April 2025 with a Canon 600D and 24mm lens.
May 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
December saw the second highest number of continuous overcast nights with 17. The month also made it into the top ten of highest total number of overcast nights with 21. #AstronomyWeather #AstroWeather
January 1, 2025 at 2:42 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for March 2026:

Clear sky: 6 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 10 nights
Overcast sky: 15 nights

Slightly below average results but not too bad for the time of year. Some nice #Moon shots captured this month.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Astrophotography
Orange-coloured full Moon on the night of 3 March 2026. Shot taken with a DSLR and 300mm lens at 1/1000s exp, 300mm fl, f/5.6, ISO-800. Shot of the night sky on 14 March 2026. Taken with a Canon 250D DSLR and 7Artisans 7.5mm fisheye lens at 13s exp, 7.5mm fl, f/3.5, ISO-1600. Messier 1, also known as the Crab Nebula, is a supernova remnant in the constellation of Taurus. Taken with a Canon 250D through SkyWatcher Evostar 72ED on a Star Adventurer mount. Settings: 74x 15s exp, 420mm fl, f/5.8, ISO-1600. Total exposure time 18.5 minutes. The bright star to the lower left is Tianguan (Zeta Tauri). Composite image of the 9% lit crescent Moon passing through the frame of my camera on 21 March 2026. The Moon displays earthshine, which is the unlit portion of the Moon being lit by reflected light from the Earth. Passing thin clouds result in the Moon having subtly different colours for each shot.
April 10, 2026 at 11:09 AM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for May 2025:

Clear: 10 nights
Partly cloudy: 6 nights
Overcast: 15 nights

Slightly better than average May. The highlight of the month was Mars crossing the Beehive Cluster.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Astronomy #Space
Shot of Mars close to the open cluster M44, also known as the Beehive Cluster. Taken on 2 May 2025 with a Canon 25D and 300mm lens. Star field of the stars in the constellation of Libra. The asteroid (4) Vesta is labelled as well as the star 16 Librae. The 63% lit Moon shining brightly against the blackness of space. Shot taken with a DSLR and 72ED telescope on a Star Adventurer mount. A white streak of light crossing a brightly lit background with a solitary bright dot right of centre, above the line. The line is the ISS and the dot the star Spica. The scene is lit by light from the nearby Moon.
June 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for February 2025:

Clear sky: 7 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 7 nights
Overcast sky: 14 nights

About average for Feb. Despite 9 consecutive cloudy evenings, there were still sights to see in the night sky.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Astrophotography
A nearly half-illuminated Moon taken with a DSLR and 300mm lens on 4 February 2025. Planet Venus setting behind some trees from 4 February 2025. Venus shows diffraction spikes caused by its light passing through the branches of a tree. This is a composite shot of the movement of Venus over about 45 minutes. Mars (the centre orange 'star') near the stars Castor (top, above left of Mars) and Pollux (lower, to the left of Mars) in Gemini on the evening of 2 February 2025. A night scene of various stars, planets and constellations with rooftops and trees in the foreground. The constellations are Orion, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Gemini, Auriga and Taurus. Mars is in Gemini and Jupiter in Taurus. Taken on 22 February 2025.
March 11, 2025 at 8:23 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for July 2026:

Clear sky: 6 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 11 nights
Overcast sky: 14 nights

About average weather for the month. July was all about noctilucent clouds and early Perseids.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Astrophotography
Noctilucent clouds shining brightly above a dark foreground of trees. The clouds are electric blue at the top, fading to light blue and then greenish to yellow near the horizon. The clouds feature band, whirl, knot and wave forms typical of these displays. Shot taken at 01:14 BST (00:14 UT) on 3 July 2026 from North Yorkshire, UK. Intricate blue and yellow-white noctilucent clouds as seen over the Teesside area on the night of 8-9 July 2026. Bright electric blue noctilucent clouds seen through gaps in cloud on the night of 26 July 2026 from North Yorkshire, UK. A bright orange Perseid meteor passing between Cygnus and Lyra. The meteor features a terminal burst (the final, bright flash as the meteor breaks apart) at the end of its trail. The meteor is pointing in the direction of the bright star Vega in Lyra. Shot taken at 01:41 UT on 31 July 2026 using a Canon 600D with 16mm lens at 10s exp, 16mm fl, f/2.0, ISO-800.
August 21, 2026 at 6:58 AM
sjbastro.bsky.social
Summary of the #AstronomyWeather for my local patch in 2025:

Clear sky: 104 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 101 nights
Overcast sky: 160 nights

Back to something like normal after 2023 and 2024 were less clear and more cloudy. Wishing everyone clear skies in 2026!

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Space
A sequence of two bright 'stars' going from top left to bottom right with a foreground of trees. The top bright 'star' is the planet Venus and the fainter bottom one is Saturn. The image is a composite, made up of individual shots taken 5 minutes apart as the planets set in the southwest on 18 January 2025. A green and orange sporadic meteor passing through the constellation of Crater at 04:25 UT on 8 January 2025. There is a rooftop in the foreground. A densely packed series of arcs of light rotating around a point near the top of the image. These are star trails - an effect caused by the Earth's rotation on its axis. The trails cover 18:19 to 06:49 UT on 2-3 January 2025. The constellation of Orion appearing through a gap in passing clouds. Sirius can be seen to the lower left of Orion. Taken on 23 November 2025.
January 17, 2026 at 11:12 AM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for January 2026:

Clear sky: 5 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 5 nights
Overcast sky: 21 nights!

The poorest January since I started recording the weather. Luckily clear for the Quadrantids meteor shower.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Astrophotography
A yellow Quadrantid meteor passing through Ursa Major at 00:15 UT on 4 January 2026. The meteor is just to the right of the handle of the 'Plough' asterism that forms part of Ursa Major. The twin stars Mizar and Alcor can be seen above left of the meteor. The sky is a blueish colour due to light from the full Moon. There some trees in the foreground. Shot taken with a Canon 250D DSLR and 16mm lens at 6s exp, 16mm fl, f/2.8, ISO-400. A multi-coloured swirl of light created by a long exposure of the star Sirius using a handheld DSLR with 300mm lens. The camera was intentionally moved during the exposure, creating the effect. Open cluster M41 in Canis Major from 14 January 2026. Shot taken with a 72ED scope and Canon 250D DSLR on a Star Adventurer mount. Shot made up of 18 stacked images at 10s exp, 420mm fl, f/5.8, ISO-1600. Image of the Orion Nebula taken on 14 January 2026 at 00:27 UT. I used an Altair Hypercam 585C camera through an Evostar 72ED scope on a Star Adventurer mount.
February 2, 2026 at 10:18 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch, for August 2025:

Clear sky: 10 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 7 nights
Overcast sky: 14 nights

August was all about the #Perseid meteor shower. Some lucky clear nights around the peak allowed me to capture some great #Perseids.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography
An orange and green Perseid meteor streaks downward towards a tree. Some cloud encroaching from the left of the shot. The night sky has a blue colour to it, due to the bright Moon lighting up the sky. Meteor captured at 00.51 UT on 8 August 2025. Settings: Canon 250D and 16mm lens at 10s exp, 16mm fl, f/2.0, ISO-800. A green, orange and pink Perseid meteor passing below the constellation of Cassiopeia and viewed through some patchy white cloud with a tree in the foreground. Shot taken on 12 August 2025 at 22.47 UT. Settings: Canon 600D and 24mm lens at 10s exp, 24mm fl, f/2.8, ISO-800. A green and orange Perseid meteor flashing amongst the stars of Draco and ending in the asterism of stars known as the head of Draco. Meteor captured at 01.08 UT on 13 August 2025. Settings: Canon 550D and 18mm lens at 13s exp, 18mm fl, f/3.5, ISO-800. An orange Perseid meteor streaking through some patchy clouds on 13 August 2025 at 02:00 UT. The meteor is between the small constellations of Delphinus and Sagitta. Settings: 10s exp, 16mm fl, f/2.0, ISO-800.
September 26, 2025 at 12:49 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for November 2024:

Clear sky: 9 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 7 nights
Overcast sky: 14 nights

Slightly better than average number of clear skies for November. I got to observe quite a lot this month.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography #Astronomy
Planet Mars near open cluster M44, the Beehive Cluster, in the constellation of Cancer. 46 stacked shots at 1.6s exp, 75mm fl, f/4.0, ISO-1600. Not tracked. The bright stars either side of the cluster are Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis. A multi-coloured, swirling line against a dark background. These are the colours produced by light from the bright star Sirius passing through our turbulent atmosphere. Moving the camera a little while taking a long exposure of Sirius helps to bring out the rainbow of colours. In effect, this technique 'freezes' the twinkling of Sirius to show all the colours on display. It is a fairly easy thing to do with basic camera equipment, that produces beautiful results. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the constellation of Serpens on 20 November 2024, near the double star Alya (top left). A lot fainter than it once was but nice to be able to still capture it. The bright track of the International Space Station passing below the Square of Pegasus and through the Circlet asterism in Pisces on 27 November 2024.
December 3, 2024 at 6:56 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch, for August 2026:

Clear sky: 9 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 11 nights
Overcast sky: 11 nights

This month was mostly about the #Perseids but I also caught the nova in Sagitta. I missed the lunar eclipse due to cloud.

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Astrophotography
A green and orange Perseid meteor passing through the Summer Triangle asterism on the night of 7-8 August 2026. The meteor passed close to the bright star Altair in the constellation of Aquila. The Perseid was captured at 00:34 UT with a Canon 250D DSLR with 7.5mm fisheye lens at 20s exp, 7.5mm fl, f/3.5, ISO-1600. A green and orange Perseid meteor passing through the Square of Pegasus on 8 August 2026. The Perseid was captured at 00:36 UT with a Canon 250D DSLR with 7.5mm fisheye lens at 20s exp, 7.5mm fl, f/3.5, ISO-1600. A bright Perseid meteor captured just above the treetops on the night of the peak. Shot taken on 13 August 2026 at 02:43 UT. The Perseid meteor is in Cetus. Settings: 15s exp, 18mm fl, f/3.5, ISO-1600. Image of stars in the constellation of Sagitta with the nova Sge 2026 / V488 Sge marked with lines. The bright star to the upper left of the image is Delta Sagittae. Captured with a Canon 250D through an Evostar 72ED telescope on a Star Adventurer mount. Settings: 44x 6s exp, 420mm fl, f/5.8, ISO-1600.
September 14, 2026 at 6:27 AM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for April 2026:

Clear sky: 12 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 8 nights
Overcast sky: 10 nights

Better than average weather for the month. All those clear nights meant a lot of enjoyable #Astrophotography 😀

#AstroWeather #Astronomy #Space
This is a composite star trails image of the upper part of Orion, captured as it was setting behind some trees on the evening of 3 April 2026. The stars have been deliberately defocused to reveal the colours better. The upper centre yellow star is Betelgeuse. Bellatrix is to the lower right of Betelgeuse and the three belt stars can be seen at the bottom of the frame. The image is made up of 426 separate frames at 3.2s exp, 50mm fl, f/1.8, ISO-800. The 8% lit crescent Moon near the Pleiades open cluster in Taurus on the evening of 19 April 2026. Taken with a Canon 600D and 300mm lens at 1.3s exp, 250mm fl, f/5.6, ISO-1600. A meteor passing to the left of the 'Keystone' asterism in Hercules. Caught at 23:11 UT on 18 April 2026 with a Canon 250D and 7.5mm lens at 15s exp, 7.5mm fl, f/3.5, ISO-1600. The meteor is likely from the Antihelion Source - a diffuse source of meteors active all year round and located opposite the Sun in the night sky. Star trails shot showing the movement of the stars around Polaris, seen upper left of the image. Shot taken on 21-22 April 2026 with a Canon 600D and 16mm lens at 13s exp, 16mm fl, f/2.0, ISO-800.
May 9, 2026 at 3:41 PM
sjbastro.bsky.social
The #AstronomyWeather for my local patch - results for October 2025:

Clear sky: 7 nights
Partly cloudy sky: 7 nights
Overcast sky: 17 nights

A good month for #Astronomy, with the Orionids meteor shower, a couple of comets and some nice clear skies.

#AstroWeather #Astrophotography
Green Orionid meteor captured above the planet Jupiter on the morning of 22 October 2025, at 04:15 UT. To the lower left of the meteor is the open cluster M44, known as the Beehive Cluster, in the constellation of Cancer. Image of comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) taken on 23 October 2025 at 19:04 UT. The comet is a green diffuse object in the centre of the image, with a structured tail sweeping up and away from the head of the comet. Stars are around it and seen as small trails due to the stacking process. Equipment and settings: Canon 250D DSLR through an Evostar 72ED telescope on a Star Adventurer mount. 21 stacked images at 10s exp, 420mm fl, f/5.8, ISO-1600. The blue stars of the Pleiades open cluster, with some faint, wispy nebulosity around the brighter stars. Taken from North Yorkshire, UK on 25 October 2025 with a Canon 250D DSLR through Evostar 72ED telescope on a Star Adventurer mount. Settings: 47 stacked images at 15s exp, 420mm fl, f/5.8, ISO-3200. Image of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) taken on 25 October 2025 at 21:05 UT. The comet is a green diffuse object in the centre of the image. Stars are around it and seen as small trails due to the stacking process. Equipment and settings: Canon 250D DSLR through an Evostar 72ED telescope on a Star Adventurer mount. 20 stacked images at 13s exp, 420mm fl, f/5.8, ISO-3200.
November 17, 2025 at 8:22 AM