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
The UFO Show by Jamie MacDonald
I don’t want you to miss the video below that was created by WOOD-TV Grand Rapids, so don’t miss it OK? WDIV Detroit shares that the UFO Wave that swept Michigan and the nation in March of 1966 was sparked by a rash of UFO sightings in Washtenaw County:
In 1966, a string of seemingly odd occurrences in Washtenaw County drew the attention of the entire country. The events centered on a sudden wave of UFO sightings, with reports by police and citizens in March 1966. The same lights were spotted by officers in Ohio, just across the Michigan border, and by observers at Selfridge Air Force Base. The sightings triggered investigations by the Civil Defense and U.S. Air Force.
On Sunday, March 20, 1966, the sheriff’s office received reports of a UFO landing in a wooded, swamp area of Dexter Township. Police spoke to Frank Mannor, a truck driver who had gone into the swamp with his son. Here’s what Mannor told police:
“We got to about 500 yards of the thing,” Mannor told interviewers. “It was sort of shaped like a pyramid, with a blue-green light on the right-hand side and on the left, a white light. I didn’t see no antenna or porthole. The body was like a yellowish coral rock and looked like it had holes in it—sort of like if you took a piece of cardboard box and split it open. You couldn’t see it too good because it was surrounded with heat waves, like you see on the desert. The white light turned to a blood red as we got close to it and Ron said, ‘Look at that horrible thing.’”
Jamie specializes in otherworldly photos as demonstrated by his phenomenal Stormy Weather gallery . Here are a few more from that gallery, but for sure click through because the Florida clouds are unreal. Follow him on Flickr or @MacDonald_Photo on Instagram for his latest!
“Those UFOs… Do They Really Exist?” was a news program about UFOs originally aired on Grand Rapids’ WOOD-TV in 1966 that was submitted for a Peabody Award that year.
Midtown Clouds by Andrew McFarlane
The good folks at EarthSky inform us that today (September 12, 2025) is International Cloud Appreciation Day. The Cloud Appreciation Society shares that it’s a day when people all around the world look up to appreciate the beauty of the clouds and contribute a photo of their sky to the Memory Cloud Atlas. The Atlas is an enduring and unifying record of people coming together from different locations and cultures in appreciation of our shared world and the most dynamic, evocative, and poetic nature of clouds.
Head over to the Memory Cloud Atlas to view the photos people have shared & share your own. You can also check out photos from 2024, 2023, and 2022!
I took this photo in August in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood looking east over Woodward & Barlum Apartments, about 2 blocks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. If you would like to support me, please feel welcome to do so through Patreon or just sharing this blog with your friends & family!
More clouds on Michigan in Pictures!
Super Moon Total Lunar Eclipse by Kenneth Raymond
Bridge Michigan shares that the supermoon tomorrow night (September 17) could be (literally) overshadowed by another astronomical event, a partial lunar eclipse:
Full moons are likely every month, but supermoons, which occur when the moon is closest to Earth, are rarer. Only 25% of all full moons are supermoons, according to NASA. The next ones are Oct. 17 and Nov. 15. But the September supermoon will be brighter and red because of the partial lunar eclipse, which is when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon, and casts its shadow on the moon.
“Supermoon is a popular science term for when full moons occur close to the perigee of the moon’s orbit about Earth,” said Seth Jacobson, natural science professor at Michigan State University.
“Lunar eclipses occur at full moons when the sun, Earth and moon are all in the same plane and in that order. In this case, the moon will simultaneously be closer and in almost the exact same plane, so we get a partial lunar eclipse and a supermoon at the same time. The chance of both occurring during the same full moon cycle is about 5% or once every one-and-a-half years,” Jacobson said.
The partial eclipse is predicted at 10:44.
I’ve featured this sweet shot Kenneth took this during the total lunar eclipse of Steptember 27, 2015 before & I will probably do so again! See more in his Night Sky gallery on Flickr and view & purchase his work on his website.
Another Angry Sky by Jeremy Vohwinkle
Beryl is the earliest category 5 hurricane since we classifying them 100 years ago & a pretty clear indication that climate change continues apace. Since we’ve all probably formed an opinion on that which can’t be changed, how about some other science? mLive meteorologist Mark Torrregrossa shares that the storms in Michigan due to Hurricane Beryl are NOT your ordinary rainstorms:
Tropical rain such as the heavy rain we are having tonight and Wednesday originates from a different part of the globe compared to most all other rains in Michigan. The rain now has some moisture in it from Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the deep southern states of the U.S. Most of our rain has moisture gathered from the air over the Pacific Ocean or the western and central United States.
…. The tropical clouds typically have a lower base, sometimes only one thousand to two thousand feet above the ground. You may feel like you can reach up and touch the clouds. Our ordinary rains would have a low base at five thousand feet and many bases are higher than five thousand feet.
…Now think about the different things that can be in a raindrop from Africa and the tropics. I haven’t seen any actual research on this but tropical rains can carry more and different nutrients within the drop. I call this rain, “the great green-up.” Look at your grass. Look at your vegetable and flower garden after the rain. If it’s not drowned out, your garden with go through robust growth this week. It will be like you fertilized it. It’s about to get nature’s “Miracle-Gro.”
Lots more in this fascinating article!
Jeremy took this way back in the summer of 2011 in Edwardsburg, way down in southwest Michigan. See more in his Landscapes gallery on Flickr & stay dry!!
I Dream of Clouds by Mighty Boy Brian
My heart is heavy this morning after watching a day of chaos in our nation’s Capitol & realizing that there’s nothing I or anyone can really say to those who reject the principles this country was founded upon. Stay safe everyone.
Brian shared this photo ten years ago. See more in his The Top Thirty album on Flickr & view more from him at brianwolfey.com and on Instagram.
Clouds over North Manitou Island by Mary Westbrook
Here’s a simply stunning shot of North Manitou Island off the Leelanau Peninsula at the beginning of August. Leelanau.com says that North Manitou Island:
…is managed as wilderness with the exception of a 27 acre area around the Village. Visiting the island is a primitive experience emphasizing solitude, a feeling of self-reliance and a sense of exploration. The primary visitor activities are backpacking and camping. Travel in the wilderness area is by foot only. Power on the island is provided by a photovoltaic array located in the Village.
North Manitou Island is 7-3/4 miles long by 4-1/4 miles wide and has 20 miles of shoreline. The topography varies considerably on the island from low, sandy, open dune country on the southeast side grades to the high sand hills and blowout dunes on the southwest side of the island.
I’ll add that it’s a super cool place to visit!
Head over to the Traverse Area Camera Club on Facebook for more photos by Mary from an amazing day on Lake Michigan! More Michigan islands on Michigan in Pictures.
The UFO Show by Jamie MacDonald
The UFO Show, by Jamie MacDonald
WDIV Local 4 / ClickOnDetroit shared a feature on the Michigan UFO Craze of 1966:
In 1966, a string of seemingly odd occurrences in Washtenaw County drew the attention of the entire country. The events centered on a sudden wave of UFO sightings, with reports by police and citizens in March 1966. The same lights were spotted by officers in Ohio, just across the Michigan border, and by observers at Selfridge Air Force Base. The sightings triggered investigations by the Civil Defense and U.S. Air Force.
A few days following the first reports, the lights were spotted again at various locations around Washtenaw County, with one deputy reporting something floating in the sky – described as looking like a “child’s top.”
On Sunday, March 20, 1966, the sheriff’s office received reports of a UFO landing in a wooded, swamp area of Dexter Township. Police spoke to Frank Mannor, a truck driver who had gone into the swamp with his son. Here’s what Mannor told police:
“We got to about 500 yards of the thing,” Mannor told interviewers. “It was sort of shaped like a pyramid, with a blue-green light on the right-hand side and on the left, a white light. I didn’t see no antenna or porthole. The body was like a yellowish coral rock and looked like it had holes in it—sort of like if you took a piece of cardboard box and split it open. You couldn’t see it too good because it was surrounded with heat waves, like you see on the desert. The white light turned to a blood red as we got close to it and Ron said, ‘Look at that horrible thing.’”
More from Click on Detroit.
More cool clouds from Jamie right here on Flickr and definitely follow MacDonald Photo on Facebook!
Here’s a part of one hour UFO special with Walter Cronkite from 1966:
Eminant, photo by Jamie MacDonald
View Jamie’s photo bigger and see more in his NiSi Filters slideshow.
More Michigan barns on Michigan in Pictures.
God’s Rays over Saginaw Bay, photo by Tom Clark
Awesome shot from one month ago on Saginaw Bay! View Tom’s photo bigger and see more in his Skyscapes slideshow.
More from Saginaw on Michigan in Pictures.
