I’m just going to put this out there in case I may have capture the tumbling satellite USA 32 in the early hours of the 15th September at 1.28am  (AEST) 14th September (UTC/GMT) 15.28pm as seen in the southern sky.
 
After reading about the event on Spaceweather.com this morning, I thought I would share what I captured in case it was important…
 
I was busy capturing an image of the Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus) that’s in the Large Magellanic Cloud with the Seestar S50 telescope just after midnight. After approximately 30 minutes I saved an image and did a screen shot, then proceeded to continue with the exposure for another 30 minutes until 1.28am.
 
When I looked at the image again there was a streak of a satellite or plane that had ruined my picture, so I ended the photo session and didn’t really think much of it except I wondered what it could be as you don’t usually see satellites or planes at that very early time in the morning??? But being at a height of 775km above the Earth (as stated on Spaceweather.com see below) perhaps it was capturing sunlight at that time of night?
 
https://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=17&month=09&year=2026
 
Also it does not really look like a plane trail as there is no definite white and red flash line that usually is produced with longer exposures, this streak is quite uniform with a white flash and dot. I don't know which direction it came from but you can see it faded off with it coming into view or going away?
 
Anyway, I thought I would post it, please be kind, as I’ve only posted it in case the trajectory passed over South East Queensland at this time. Of course it may be a lone plane flying very high up in the sky, but I was out west in the country at my Stardust Observatory and usually planes are not operational at that time of the night here, best wishes to all, Noeleen :-D

Oh My! What a stunning sight to see in the eastern sky early this morning when I looked outside the window and started to see the sky turn this incredible deep vibrant pink colour, it was made even more beautiful by the pattern of the altocumulus clouds reflected in the water.
 
I only just had time to grab my iPhone as I knew from experience that something as beautiful as this only last a few minutes as the Sun begins to rise!
 
I also took a small movie where you can hear the birds calling; it was just so serene and beautiful, what a wonderful way to start a new day :-)

When I looked up I saw this interesting feature in the sky where some high Cirrus cloud broke away and showed like wispy tails being dragged down most probably by high winds…they are sometimes referred to as mares tails too.
 
Looking at the information on the clouds sheets below, I think I may have captured a subtype of Cirrus called either Cirrus Uncinus or perhaps Cirrus Floccus?
 
You never know what your going to see in the daytime sky so keep looking up and have your camera ready especially if there is cloud about.
 
To find out more about the clouds please go to this excellent website at (NOAA) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
 
https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/clouds/ten-basic-clouds
 
For a more in-depth dive into cloud formation here is another excellent website at
What’s this cloud?
 
https://www.whatsthiscloud.com/cloud-types/cirrus?srsltid=AfmBOopmr3RPZMI1KShh8r-NFxNK75XtT1t4zIueSfHVQGRtutn18JaD
 
And of course Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrus_cloud
 
My images were taken with my Canon Gx7 camera on manual focus, I always have my camera in my handbag for moments like these :-D

Crescent Moon Joins Planets
 
Oh my, how pretty it was this evening with the crescent Moon joining Venus, Jupiter and Mercury for a stunning celestial display in the western sky. The beautiful pink and purple colours of the sky after sunset just added another special magic to this wonderful event  :- )
 
Images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens on a tripod; exposure times were 8 seconds and ISO200.
 

​Oh how exciting! I didn’t have to drive up to Mt Tamborine to capture Mercury with Jupiter and Venus in the western sky, when I went outside this evening there it was above the roof tops just outside my front door…Woohoo :-D
 
Because of the light cloud in the sky you can also see a coloured corona around both Venus and Jupiter that looks quite pretty.

​The light causes the halos from the planets and even though Jupiter is the largest planet it’s Venus that looks the brightest because it’s a lot closer to us here on Earth.
 
My images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 18-400mm lens, the exposure time was 6 seconds and ISO 500.

​I really like the purple colour of the sky after sunset, every time I take these sorts twilight images the sky is always a different colour.

​It’s been very frustrating trying to catch this special close conjunction between Venus and Jupiter, I missed the night of closest approach on the 10th June because of rain and since then I’ve been trying to capture a picture of them together again…
 
Tonight you can see that Venus has now passed Jupiter on the ecliptic and is above Jupiter, there is also on show a pretty coloured corona around each planet with Jupiter showing a couple of its moons.
 
I only had a few minutes to take these images as that rolling cloud on the right completely took the planets again, but I got my pictures :-D
 
My images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens on a tripod. I use the excellent free Stellarium App to help me identify with the night sky.

~ Venus & Jupiter with halo of light surrounding the planets on 12th June 2026 ~

I only just managed to capture Venus & Jupiter before the clouds came rolling in and it began to rain, as you can see the two planets are now getting closer for there conjunction together on the 10th June 2026. Both Venus & Jupiter are in the constellation of Gemini, Mercury is also in Gemini low on the horizon.
 
I’m really intrigued by the images on Spaceweather from people in the northern hemisphere, as the orientation of the planets on the ecliptic are seen differently then seen by me here in the southern hemisphere. It shows us that not everyone sees the same view of the night sky on planet Earth because of our longitude and latitude :-D
 
Image taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens on a tripod, exposure time was 6 seconds and ISO500. Car headlights light up the tree in foreground; at this time of evening everyone is coming home from work.

Some of our images were linked on the front page of Spaceweasther.com including my image, to keep up with all the images being taken from around the world of this special event, please go to Spaceweather.com   https://spaceweather.com/
 
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=09&month=06&year=2026
​

We had another one of our beautiful clear evenings for tonight’s viewing of Venus & Jupiter in the western sky. They are now getting closer and closer together.
 
A conjunction of these two planets happened way back in 2002 so it’s quite a rare event to witness, hopefully the weather will stay lovely and clear for the next few nights until the 10th June when the two planets will be at the closest to one another :-D
 
Images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 28-400mm lens on a tripod, exposure times were 15 seconds for the wide field and 10 seconds for the close up of the planets.

​I only just got this image of the thin 2-day-old crescent Moon and Venus with the pretty sunset colours in the western sky. I was out on the footpath with my camera and tripod taking these images and showing all the people who were walking their dogs :-D
 
​My images were taken with a Canon 70D camera and Tamron 18-400mm lens on a tripod, with ISO 400; exposure times were 1/6th & 1/8th second. The video was captured in movie mode.

~ LEGO Wonders of the Natural World Northern Lights Diorama 40785 ~
 
I was given this lovely little LEGO collectible set from my daughter when she purchase one of her other LEGO sets as it was a FREE gift.
 
I did have fun making it as it reminded me of our visit to Norway in March 2018 to view the magnificent Northern Lights :-)
 
This LEGO Northern Lights Diorama (40785) is the 4th building kit in a LEGO collectible series dedicated to the wonders of nature. The scene depicts a Northern Hemisphere landscape with a skyscape featuring the aurora borealis.
 
It has snow-topped trees with an added glow-in-the-dark moon element and the colourful tiles that represent the Northern Lights and their reflections.

This Northern Lights diorama depicts a Northern Hemisphere forest landscape complete with model trees and a night sky featuring the aurora borealis…it’s quite beautiful in its detail.
 
Please find also a couple of photos of the real northern lights taken on board the Hutegruten Cruise Ship in Norway in March 2018 and also on Holland America Cruise Ship 'Koningsdam' in Alaska in May 2024.

Links to these blogs in Norway in March 2018 at:
https://www.mystardustobservatory.com/astro-blog/-an-explosion-of-auroras-in-the-night-sky-on-the-9th-march-2018
 
https://www.mystardustobservatory.com/astro-blog/wow-im-under-the-northern-lights-right-now-its-just-awesome
 
And more recently in Alaska in May 2024 at:
https://www.mystardustobservatory.com/astro-blog/-wow-northern-lights-seen-near-skagway-in-alaska-1st-may-2024
​