Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Best Places to See the Northern Lights in the US
Alaska offers by far the most reliable aurora viewing in the United States, sitting directly under the auroral oval for much of the year, but a strong enough geomagnetic storm can bring the northern lights within reach of the northern tier of the Lower 48…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Aurora Forecast Tools: How to Predict a Display
Aurora forecasting is genuinely less precise than ordinary weather forecasting, with reliable lead times often measured in hours rather than days. Knowing which tools to check, and being honest about their real limitations, saves a lot of wasted trips chasing a forecast that was never…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Best Cameras and Settings for Aurora Photography
Aurora photography shares a lot of gear with Milky Way photography — a manual camera, a fast wide lens, and a sturdy tripod — but it demands more on-the-fly adjustment, since the aurora itself is dynamic and can shift from faint and slow to bright…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Solar Eclipse Safety: How to View One Without Damaging Your Eyes
Solar eclipse safety isn’t an overstated precaution — looking directly at the Sun during any partial phase, even when most of it is covered by the Moon, can cause genuine, permanent eye damage, since the exposed sliver remains bright enough to harm the retina. Understanding…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
How to Photograph a Solar Eclipse
Photographing a solar eclipse safely and well means two very different workflows stitched together: a heavily filtered setup for the long partial phases, and a completely different, unfiltered, bracketed approach for the brief minutes of totality itself, if you’re lucky enough to be in its…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Next Total Solar Eclipses: Upcoming Dates and Paths
Unlike aurora activity or weather, which carry real forecasting uncertainty even a few days out, solar eclipse timing and paths are calculated with extreme precision using orbital mechanics, often published accurately decades or even centuries in advance. That predictability makes eclipse trip planning fundamentally different…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Best Solar Filters and Telescopes for Safe Solar Viewing
Choosing solar equipment starts with one non-negotiable rule: any filter must cover the full front aperture of a telescope, never the eyepiece end, and must be specifically certified for solar use. Beyond that baseline safety requirement, the choice comes down to white-light filters, a Herschel…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Solar Observation: A Complete Guide to Daytime Astronomy
Solar observation is the one branch of astronomy that happens in broad daylight — no dark sky, no late nights, just the Sun itself, viewed safely through dedicated equipment built specifically for the purpose. It’s also the branch where safety equipment isn’t optional in any…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Sunspot Viewing Guide: What They Are and How to Track Them
Sunspots are the most accessible target in solar observing — visible in even a modest, properly filtered telescope, genuinely rewarding to track over several days, and a direct, visible link to the Sun’s roughly 11-year activity cycle. What Sunspots Actually Are Sunspots form where concentrated…
Written by: Astronomy Guide Editorial Team
Posted on: July 8, 2026
Safe Sun Viewing Methods: A Complete Reference
Every method of viewing the Sun safely comes back to the same core principle: never let unfiltered sunlight reach your eye, whether directly or through any optical instrument, on any day — not just during an eclipse. This reference covers the safe methods for routine…