Wartburg College Observatory

08/27/2026

✨ Lunar Eclipse + Possible Aurora Tomorrow Night! ✨

We may get a double feature in the night sky tomorrow: a lunar eclipse from about 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., peaking around 11:13 p.m., plus a chance to see the aurora on the same night!

What makes this especially special? 👀 A lunar eclipse can only happen during a full Moon, when the Sun, Earth, and Moon line up so that Earth blocks the sunlight reflecting off the Moon. Normally, the bright full Moon can make it hard to see faint objects such as the aurora with the naked eye. But during a lunar eclipse, the Moon becomes much dimmer and takes on that beautiful reddish color, giving the aurora a better chance to stand out against the night sky.

If solar activity cooperates, the northern lights may also be visible, potentially making this an unforgettable night of skywatching!

🤞Fingers crossed for clear skies + a spectacular cosmic double feature! 🌌

Geomagnetic activity in response to CMEs that departed the Sun on 25 Aug is now anticipated to extend into 29 Aug. A G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm watch remains for 27 Aug for expected CH HSS influences and a G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storm watch is now active for 28-29 Aug.

08/25/2026

The maximum eclipse for us will occur at 11:13 p.m. CDT on August 27! 🌕🌑 The eclipse will begin around 9 p.m. and continue until approximately 1 a.m. the following morning.

A RARE LUNAR ECLIPSE IS COMING THIS WEEK!

Look up on the night of August 27–28, 2026, as the Moon passes through Earth’s shadow in a spectacular deep partial lunar eclipse. NASA reports that at maximum eclipse, about 96.3% of the Moon’s disk will enter Earth’s darkest shadow (the umbra)—making the Moon appear dramatically darkened and potentially reddish in color.

Unlike a total lunar eclipse, the Moon will not be completely immersed in Earth’s umbra. Instead, almost the entire lunar disk will enter the shadow, creating a striking near-total eclipse. The greatest eclipse occurs at approximately 4:13 UTC on August 28.

🌎 Where can you see it?
The eclipse will be visible from large parts of the Americas, Europe, Africa, and western Asia, although the exact viewing time and appearance will depend on your location.

🌑 Why does the Moon sometimes turn red?
During a lunar eclipse, sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere is filtered and scattered. The atmosphere scatters much of the blue light while allowing more reddish-orange light to reach the Moon, producing the famous “Blood Moon” effect. However, because this August event is a deep partial eclipse rather than a total eclipse, only the portion inside Earth’s umbra can take on that darker, reddish appearance.

✨ No special equipment is required to safely watch a lunar eclipse—just find a location with a clear view of the sky and look toward the Moon.

📅 Date: August 27–28, 2026
🌕 Event: Deep Partial Lunar Eclipse
🌍 Maximum eclipse: ~4:13 UTC, August 28
🔭 Best viewing: Wherever the Moon is above the horizon during the eclipse

A beautiful reminder that sometimes, all you need to witness a cosmic event is a clear night sky. 🌌

Source: NASA / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

12/14/2025

Look up TONIGHT! The Geminids are one of the most reliable annual meteor showers worldwide, thanks to their broad peak that lasts nearly 24 hours every mid-December. They originate from 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid or a possible “rock comet.”

For the best view, find a dark location away from streetlights. Dress warmly, lie flat, face south, take in as much of the sky as possible, and be patient. It takes about 30 minutes in the dark for your eyes to fully adapt to the darkness. The show lasts until early Dec. 15, so there’s plenty of time to catch a few shooting stars! ✨

11/17/2025

Following the amazing “light show” of last Tuesday’s aurora, tonight brings another celestial spectacle, the Leonids meteor shower! The streaks of light are debris from a 33-year visitor, Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. You can expect to see 10-15 meteors per hour, with the peak occurring after midnight. No telescopes are needed. Here in Waverly, fingers crossed for a clear night sky. If the rains/clouds give us a break, head somewhere dark and look up to watch the burning comet dust! If not tonight, don’t worry. Another strong one, the Geminids, will arrive in just a month. Stay tuned!

03/13/2025

This year's Pi Day (3/14 at 00:00) will kick off with a celestial spectacle—a Blood Moon! If you are up late tonight, look to the sky as a partial lunar eclipse begins at 12:09 AM (local time). The total eclipse will paint the Moon a dark red for over an hour (1:26 - 2:31 AM, with the dimming gradually fading by 3:47 AM. Night owls, don’t miss this rare and breathtaking event! (see detailed time below from Adler Planetarium)

02/27/2025

Look to the west this evening around 6:33 PM, just after sunset, for a stunning chain of ALL planets (except Earth) in the solar system! It begins with Saturn near the horizon, followed by Mercury. Just above Mercury—though hidden from the naked eye—lies Neptune. Brilliant Venus will shine prominently above. Uranus hides further away from its siblings - it may become visible in a dark-sky location as night deepens. Higher up, Jupiter and Mars will complete the planet lineup, remaining visible for most of the night. If the skies are clear tomorrow, you may catch this amazing display again right after sunset!

10/11/2024

Incredible northern lights lit up the sky this Thursday night, thanks to a G4 geomagnetic storm—another intense solar storm following the G5 storm in May! Solar flares, the solar system’s biggest explosive events, are behind these spectacular displays. The most powerful one ever recorded, the legendary "Carrington Event" of 1859, even sparked fires in telegraph stations worldwide! Luckily, Earth hasn't experienced a superstorm of that scale since. And with solar activity ramping up, we can expect even more stunning auroras this year!

05/11/2024

Changing Northern Light last night on campus! You might see green lights - the most common color - above the horizon, resulting from solar winds colliding with oxygen. As oxygen becomes thinner at higher locations, solar winds collide with nitrogen in the air more, emitting blue/purple lights. When red and blue/purple blend, you may also see pink/yellow lights. The most rare aurora color is red at the higher end of the aurora. This only happens when the solar activity is strong enough to trigger powerful emissions from the extremely thin oxygen at very high altitudes. We may see some northern light again tonight (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental). Cameras are more sensitive to these colors than our eyes. Look north tonight, and what color will you see?

04/12/2024

Pictures of the total solar eclipse are here! Thanks to the solar maxima we are reaching this year, we can clearly see solar prominence in pinkish-bright light during the total eclipse with our naked eyes! 🤩 20-hour drive, anxiously checking the weather for 7 days, multiple travel backup plans, changing locations in the last 30 minutes due to clouds... All worth it!

04/05/2024

T-minus three days until the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse on Monday! Free solar eclipse glasses can be picked up in the Science Center. You can also use a pinhole projector. DO NOT look at the Sun with your bare eyes or any sunglasses, even during a partial eclipse of 90%. As we get closer to Monday (i.e., 24 hours in advance), weather predictions will be much more solid and agree with each other better. Here are a few useful links to weather forecasts and solar eclipses. You can also save the image below with links to your device.
Solar Eclipse path and time: https://eclipse-explorer.smce.nasa.gov/
More info (path, safety, images/videos, resources, totality app) on Solar Eclipse: https://eclipse.aas.org/
National cloud coverage: https://www.windy.com/-Clouds-clouds?clouds,42.777,-92.408,5
Waverly cloud coverage: https://www.cleardarksky.com/c/WrtBrgCoObIAkey.html?1
National/Waverly weather with direct comparisons using different weather models
https://weather.us/ (search for the location you desire, then select any model under "ENSEMBLES" on the left, then you can see a line chart in the center. On top of the chart, you can choose the "Sun/Cloud" tab to check the cloud coverage)