Falling Skies: October 2026 Meteor Showers

Posted on by farlane
Thumb Barn Milky Way & Meteor by Charles Bonham

Thumb Barn Milky Way & Meteor by Charles Bonham

While the dates of meteor showers are more or less evergreen, I like to update the posts because the effect of the moon can be very different! In addition to being the season of cider, changing leaves, and Halloween, October also comes with two meteor showers. Our friends at EarthSky give you all you need to know to see the Draconid & Orionid meteor showers:

The Draconids, October 6-10 / peak October 8

The best time to watch the Draconid Meteor Shower is as darkness falls on the evening of October 8 through the wee hours of the morning on October 9. There’s a new moon on October 10 so the sliver of crescent moon won’t interfere with watching for Draconid meteors this year. The Draconid shower is a real oddity, in that the radiant point stands highest in the sky as darkness falls (great for the early to bed crowd!). That means that, unlike many meteor showers, more Draconids are likely to fly in the evening hours than in the morning hours after midnight. This shower is usually a sleeper, producing only a handful of languid meteors per hour in most years. But watch out if the Dragon awakes! In rare instances, fiery Draco has been known to spew forth many hundreds of meteors in a single hour.

The Orionids, September 26 – November 22 / peak October 21st

The predicted peak for the Orionid meteor shower is on October 21, 2026 but the Orionids are known to have a broad, plateau-like maximum lasting several nights. So several mornings around October 21 would potentially show you some meteors. Note that you’ll be competing with a bright, waxing moon — up for most of the night. It’ll be encroaching on your sky darkness more with each passing day. Full moon falls on the night of October 25-26. Still, don’t let that bright moon in early evening fool you! You will have a dark window before dawn for watching the Orionids around the peak mornings. They are known as the Orionids because they appear to radiate from the Club of the well-known constellation Orion the Hunter.

Charles shares that he found a Draconid meteor in this photo of a barn in Pinnebog from October 2024 after reviewing many different frames. You can see it right next to the left side of barn roof along with a hint of Northern Lights on the right side! Follow Charles on Flickr for his latest and see more in his Barns gallery on Flickr including some truly spectacular ones of this barn under the aurora!

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Celebrating the Southward Equinox

Posted on by farlane
Celebrating the Equinox by Heather Higham

Celebrating the Equinox by Heather Higham

The autumnal equinox takes place tonight at 8:04 pm. NASA urges us to Embrace the Equinox, sharing that the word “equinox” originates from Latin, and translates to equal (equi-) night (-nox):

The equinox marks the exact moment when the center of the Sun crosses the plane of our planet’s equator. The day of an equinox, observers at the equator will see the Sun directly overhead at noon. After the March equinox, observers anywhere on Earth will see the Sun’s path in the sky continue its movement further north every day until the June solstice, after which it begins traveling south. The Sun crosses the equatorial plane again during the September equinox, and continues traveling south until the December solstice, when it heads back north once again. This movement is why some refer to the March equinox as the northward equinox and the September equinox as the southward equinox.

Heather shared this photo waaaaay back in 2014. Follow @SnapHappyGal on Instagram and view & purchase her work on her website!

Lots more in the equinox archive on Michigan in Pictures.

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Astro farming for Perseids

Posted on by farlane
Astro Farming

Astro Farming by Kenneth Snyder

The Perseid Meteor Shower that peaks this week is often Michigan’s best meteor display, and it might be part of the best 24 hours of the year for sky watching! Star Walk is the app I use to determine what I’m looking at in the night sky, and they are touting Wednesday, August 12 as the biggest skywatching day of 2026. In less than 24 hours, the sky will put on three major shows — a six-planet alignment before sunrise, a total solar eclipse during the day or evening, and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower after dark. While we will only see a slight partial eclipse in Michigan, it is definitely a good time to be looking up!

Kenneth took these photos years ago & I’m low key embarrassed it took so long for me to feature after saving it! Check out more pics in Kenneth’s Sleeping Bear Dunes gallery on Flickr and follow Unified Photo on Facebook.

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Perseid Explosion at Day Farm

Posted on by farlane

Updating this decade old classic so WordPress keeps sharing it. Definitely watch Ken’s Perseid video at the end!

D H Day Farm ... perseid meteor shower

D H Day Farm … perseid meteor shower by Ken Scott Photography

Space.com has an interesting story about how the upcoming Perseid Meteor shower (peak August 11-13) came to be known as “The Tears of St. Lawrence” and also some of the science behind this annual August sky show:

Laurentius, a Christian deacon, is said to have been martyred by the Romans in 258 AD on an iron outdoor stove. It was in the midst of this torture that Laurentius cried out: “I am already roasted on one side and, if thou wouldst have me well cooked, it is time to turn me on the other.”

The saint’s death was commemorated on his feast day, Aug. 10. King Phillip II of Spain built his monastery place the “Escorial,” on the plan of the holy gridiron. And the abundance of shooting stars seen annually between approximately Aug. 8 and 14 have come to be known as St. Lawrence’s “fiery tears.”

…We know today that these meteors are actually the dross of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Discovered back in 1862, this comet takes approximately 130 years to circle the Sun. With each pass, it leaves fresh debris — mostly the size of sand grains with a few peas and marbles tossed in. Every year during mid-August, when the Earth passes close to the orbit of Swift-Tuttle, the bits and pieces ram into our atmosphere at approximately 37 miles per second (60 kps) and create bright streaks of light.

Also check out Earthsky’s Perseid Meteor viewing guide!

Ken captured these Perseid meteors eleven Augusts ago over a 2 1/2 hour period at the D.H. Day Farm in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. He relates that the barn was being lit periodically by rogue lightning and that this is a composite of many meteor images, where each photo is rotated around the north star so that the ‘point of origin’ of the shower can be seen better.

See more in his Skies Above gallery on Flickr & follow Ken Scott Photography on Facebook for his latest!

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Spectacular Skies over Ludington

Posted on by farlane
Falling Skies in Ludington by Todd and Brad Reed Photography

Falling Skies over Ludington by Brad Reed

Ludington photographer Brad Reed shared a selection of absolutely incredible shots of the skies over Ludington & Lake Michigan on Wednesday. Click either pic to view them all!

Follow Todd & Brad Reed Photography on Facebook and view & purchase their work on their website or in their gallery in downtown Ludington!

Spectacular Skies by Brad Reed

Spectacular Skies by Brad Reed

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Fly High at the Grand Haven Kite Festival!

Posted on by farlane
When Pigs Fly by The Kite Festival at Grand Haven

When Pigs Fly by The Kite Festival at Grand Haven

The annual Kite Festival at Grand Haven takes place THIS Saturday (May 16th, 2026) from 10am – 5pm and Sunday 11am – 5pm at the Grand Haven State Park beach! (Wind and weather permitting)

PS: Thanks to Michigan Native Photography for reminding me – for sure check out his awesome pics on Facebook!

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Lyrid Meteor Shower and the dust of Comet Thatcher

Posted on by farlane
Lyrid Star Trails by Daniel Frei

Lyrid Star Trails by Daniel Frei

SpaceWeather.com is one of my go-to sources for information about what’s going on up there, and they explain that what’s going TONIGHT is the peak of the annual Lyrid Meteor Shower:

Every year in late April Earth passes through the dusty tail of Comet Thatcher (C/1861 G1, named by A.E. Thatcher in 1861), and the encounter causes a meteor shower–the Lyrids. This year the shower peaks on Saturday night, April 21st. Forecasters expect 10 to 20 meteors per hour, although outbursts as high as 100 meteors per hour are possible.

Lyrid meteors appear to stream from the bright star Vega in the constellation Lyra. In fact, Lyrids have nothing to do with Vega. The true source of the shower is Comet Thatcher. Every year in April, Earth plows through Thatcher’s dusty tail. Flakes of comet dust, most no bigger than grains of sand, strike Earth’s atmosphere traveling 49 km/s (110,000 mph) and disintegrate as streaks of light.

Lyrid meteors are typically as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper, which is to say of middling brightness. But some are more intense, even brighter than Venus. These “Lyrid fireballs” cast shadows for a split second and leave behind smokey debris trails that linger for minutes. Occasionally, the shower intensifies. Most years in April there are no more than 5 to 20 meteors per hour during the shower’s peak. But sometimes, when Earth glides through an unusually dense clump of comet debris, the rate increases.

Our friends at EarthSky share that the pre-dawn hours of April 22nd are best to see the Lyrid Meteor Shower & they also have info about catching a last glimpse of Comet Panstarrs.

Daniel took this photo back in April of 2013 and shares “I went out in an attempt to catch some meteors from the Lyrid Meteor shower. I was very unlucky and didn’t catch any. My methodology for shooting the meteors is to just find a composition and set it up to take as many 30 second exposures that I am willing to wait through. In this case, 182 exposures. This way if I don’t catch a meteor, I still get some star trails to show off.” See more in his Moon & Stars gallery on Flickr and view & purchase his work on his website.

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Michigan helped fly Artemis to the Moon

Posted on by farlane

Fly Me to the Moon by Morgan Andrew Somers

Given the state of the world these days, it’s probably not surprising that a lot of people are turning their eyes to the future and to outer space. Bridge Michigan’s Paula Gardner shares that this includes the State of Michigan that is opening a space innovation hub to seek a portion of what is projected to be a nearly $2 trillion sector:

Blades and nozzles in the four engines of the Artemis II rocket came from Moeller Aerospace in Harbor Springs, a state supplier to NASA contractors. Elmet Technologies in Lewiston Coldwater tooled more equipment. And NASA used solar particle forecasts from the University of Michigan.

All told, at least 78 Michigan-based entities contributed to the mission, said Mark Ignash, director of strategic initiatives at Michigan’s Office of Defense and Aerospace Innovation.

…The Michigan Economic Development Corp. is seeking proposals to establish the state’s first Space Innovation Hub. With up to $1.2 million budgeted for the first year, the hub is an early step towards connecting and growing the space-centered business in the state. 

Editor’s Note/Unpaid Promotion: I left the links in the text from Bridge so you can get an idea of the incredible depth they bring to their reporting. At a time when many news outlets are reducing local coverage or shutting their doors, it’s great to have companies like this bringing hard hitting & well researched journalism to the issues that impact the future of all Michiganders. For sure follow them at bridgemi.com or on any social media.

I shared this stunning photo of a plane flying across the April 8, 2024 eclipse taken in Flint by Morgan Andrew Somers two years ago. It was the third most popular photo of 2024, and for my money far and away the best pic of the eclipse taken from Michigan that I’ve seen & also kind of perfect for this post. Head over to the MASphoto Facebook for more including the answer to “is this photo fake” (no, it is not). View & purchase prints at morganandrewsomers.com!

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See the March 3rd Blood Moon Eclipse in Michigan

Posted on by farlane
Blood Moon over Grand Haven by Randy Riksen Photography

Blood Moon over Grand Haven by Randy Riksen Photography

The Detroit Free Press shares that Michigan’s chances of viewing the “Blood Moon” eclipse early tomorrow morning will depend on the weather:

The “blood moon” eclipse takes place during March’s full moon, which will occur in the early morning of Tuesday, March 3. The full moon’s peak and eclipse’s totality to coincide at 6:38 a.m., according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Clear skies permitting, the Worm Moon could be visible for part of the eclipse in Michigan, with the moon to set for local viewers during totality.

Our friends over at EarthSky explain that total eclipses can turn the moon a deep shade of red, and have lots more detail about viewing. They explain why this eclipse called a Blood Moon eclipse and that the shade of red on the moon will depend mostly on what’s happening in Earth’s atmosphere at the moment of the eclipse.

Randy took this photo of the October 2014 total lunar eclipse over the Grand Haven South Pierhead Lighthouse and says that keeping the camera still enough in the howling wind was a chore in itself!! View & purchase his work including some killer fishing photos on his website.

Lots more solar & lunar eclipse photos on Michigan in Pictures!

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Sun Pillar vs Sun Pillar

Posted on by farlane

Sun Pillars by Stephen Michael Mannina

Atmospheric Optics explains that the mesmerizing solar phenomena known as sun pillars are:

…Typically visible near sunset or sunrise, pillars can reach heights of 5 to 10 degrees, and occasionally even higher. While they may appear as vertical rays, they are actually the collective glints of millions of ice crystals. When it comes to colors, pillars are truly a sight to behold. They take on hues that reflect the sun and surrounding clouds, ranging from brilliant white to various shades of yellow, red, or purple. Depending on the locations of the cloud crystals, pillars can even manifest as several vertically strung patches of light. As the light interacts with the ice crystals in the atmosphere, it creates a stunning display that captivates observers.

Yesterday morning, I came across this photo by Stephen right before I saw him making a positive comment on a photo that Sean – the photographer I featured yesterday – had taken. This was soon after I had seen photos Neil Weaver had taken at an ice cave photography workshop along with fellow Michpics photographer Aubrieta Hope. It made me realize that a huge and underrated part of Michigan in Pictures is the community of real live human beings that are as passionate about their fellow photographers as they are about introducing people to their favorite parts of Michigan. That’s a long way of saying that I am going to be working on ways to showcase the people out there clicking the shutter. One way will be to revive the Michigan Photographer Profiles with a focus on the photographers on my Michigan Photographers page. Stay tuned!!

Thanks to Stephen for allowing me to share both of these awesome sun pillar shots. He’s facing a problem that many photographers face: figuring out which of these two photos is the best to submit for a photography contest? Have a vote? Share it in the comments below or on his Facebook post and for sure view & purchase his work on his website!

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