BA Sidewalk Astronomer

06/03/2026

If you're at the latitude of San Antonio, Orlando, or points south, Alpha Cen skims just above your true southern horizon for a little while late these evenings.
https://buff.ly/dlwHtVK

06/03/2026

Have you spotted near yet? These planets – the 2 brightest in our sky – are getting closer. They'll be reaching a beautifully close on June 8 and 9. As these worlds edge closer in your sky between now and then, it's the perfect opportunity to feel your place in our 3-dimensional solar system. Read more:
https://earthsky.org/tonight/venus-jupiter-conjunction-june-2026-charts-how-to-see/

📸 EarthSky.org

06/03/2026

Hercules and Ophiuchus stand almost head to head in the east and southeast this evening. Each has a star with an Arabic name that means “the head.”
In Hercules, it’s Ras Algethi (head of the kneeler); in Ophiuchus, Rasalhague (head of the serpent bearer).

06/03/2026

Get out there folks!!!!!!!!!!

BREAKING: In response to a series of solar flares and CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections), NOAA has issued a Strong (G3) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for June 4-5. While each event is unique, G3-level storms can be capable of driving the northern lights southward across mid-latitude states. The map below offers a loose representation of what might be expected (naked eye vs. camera-only) during a G3 event.

Remember, these are forecasts only. Exact timing and magnitude of impacts are still unknowns, so these forecasts should be used loosely until if/when energy arrives and we can better sample what we're looking at. For now, this is an exciting time amidst what has been a relatively quiet stretch recently. Stay tuned!

06/03/2026

06/03/2026

AstroBin Image of the Day: Rima Hyginus, by GIANNI MELIS

For additional details and full resolution:
https://www.astrobin.com/8n0xvm/

06/03/2026

Sky Today: June 3
Asteroid 3 Juno stands still in the sky tonight. Find it in far eastern Aquila, visible in the early-morning hours before twilight blooms.

Image credit: Stellarium/USGS/Celestia/Clementine

Read more:
https://vist.ly/56eqa

06/03/2026

Andromeda Through Gas and Dust (APOD: 2026 Jun 03)
Image Credit & Copyright: Nick Fritz Text: Keighley Rockcliffe (NASA GSFC, UMBC CSST, CRESST II)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260603.html

Explanation: Over 1000 years ago, Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi published humanity’s oldest known record of the Andromeda Galaxy in "The Book of Fixed Stars" (Bodleian Library MS. Marsh 144 p. 167). 800 years later, Andromeda became the 31st entry in Charles Messier’s "Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters". From “a small cloud” to “nebula” and now known to be our nearest major galaxy, Andromeda has remained a fundamental astronomical object. Today’s image, taken over 202 hours, shows how far we have come in our ability to observe our neighbor. The diffuse red and blue clouds are mostly foreground ionized hydrogen and oxygen well within our Milky Way. Pink-red clouds of hydrogen ionized by the energetic light of young stars trace the galaxy’s dusty spiral arms. M32 and M110 are satellite galaxies pictured orbiting the larger Andromeda. Despite its long history of observation through ancient unaided eyes to modern telescopes, Andromeda still holds countless secrets that astronomers will continue to search for, including how galaxies merge and evolve, as well as the nature of the dark matter that galaxies reside in.

https://www.instagram.com/astro_fritz/
https://kerockcliffe.com/
https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/keighley.e.rockcliffe
https://www.nasa.gov/goddard/
https://csst.umbc.edu/directory/
https://cresst2.umd.edu/

Starship Asterisk* • APOD Discussion Page
https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=260603

06/03/2026

Bright Arcturus shines pale yellow-orange high overhead toward the south these evenings. The kite shape made by the brightest stars of its constellation, Boötes, extends up from Arcturus nearly to the zenith after nightfall.
https://buff.ly/dlwHtVK