MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After the Total Solar Eclipse in April, it was going to be pretty hard to follow-up such a rare event. Well, May delivered bringing a truly once-in-a-lifetime event to the Mid-South. From May 10th into the 11th, The Aurora Borealis known as the Northern Lights pushed all the way south into the lower 48 states. This made it visible all the way south to places like Florida. We were able to catch the color in our sky as supercharged particles were lit pinks and reds right over the Mid-South.
Our nighttime Weather Watchers sent in some great photos from that night right over the region.
While there won't be anything worth talking about viewing as we head into the middle of June, the weather will be very nice overall which will lead to some great nights to just take a look at the stars. We will be watching for some rain possibly on Sunday night. Other than that, conditions should be pretty good for looking at the sky this week.
Once we get to the end of the month, there will be a few things we can look at here in the Mid-South.
While this isn't something you can see, it does impact how much we get to look at the stars; the arrival of the Summer Solstice. On June 20th we will have our shortest night which is almost 5 hours shorter than what we see in the winter. The solstice marks the day when we will begin to lose daylight as we get later into our year.
The day after the solstice, we will get our Full Moon for the month of June. This month's moon is known as the Strawberry Moon. Wild strawberries ripen on bushes this time of the year which is why the Moon was named for the bright, red, berry.
Later on in the month, we will see the Moon once again in the night sky along with one of our larger planets. Saturn and the Moon will be visible in the morning hours on the 27th. If you look to the East/Southeast you will see the two very close to each other in the sky.
If you get any photos or have any questions on what we can see this month make sure to join our ABC24 Weather Watchers Facebook Group! By sending in your pictures you could be featured in next month's night sky article!
