PNW Astronomy & Stargazing 2022

One of the best things about living in the Pacific Northwest is the vast menu of #OptOutside adventures, be it the mountains, beaches, or other remote locations away from busy cities. Stargazing is becoming increasingly popular, as evidenced by the thousands of avid night photographers.  2022 has already had a few exciting astronomy events, including two significant Northern Lights displays, with more expected given a very active sun this year. 

Here are some exciting astronomical events to look forward to for the remainder of 2022:

May 15 - Lunar Eclipse

Photo courtesy of Kevin Roylance

June 14 - Supermoon - Buck moon

July 28-29 - Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower 

September 10 - Harvest Moon

August 12-13 - Perseids Meteor Shower peak

Photo courtesy of Dave Durkee

Aurora Borealis Viewing

You may have seen photographs of night skies filled with purple, yellow, green, and magenta-colored light pillars, also known as the Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis. This spectacular phenomenon is caused by interactions between the solar wind, which is the stream of charged particles emanating from the sun, and the Earth's magnetic field.

Photo courtesy of Steven Smith

The sun's 11-year cycle of activity has been picking up in recent weeks, and we will see more sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections going forward than in previous years.  If you're planning an aurora-viewing trip, try not to schedule it close to Summer Solstice; you need complete darkness to see catch the Auroras, and places in the auroral zone have precious little of it during the summer months. Be sure to be a good 90-minute drive from the city lights and allow your eyes to adjust to complete darkness. 

"There will continue to be aurora viewing opportunities in 2022," said Robert Steenburg, NOAA Space Scientist. "The solar cycle is indeed ramping up and as solar activity increases, so do the changes for Earth-directed blobs of plasma, the coronal mass ejections, which drive the geomagnetic storms and aurora."

Photo courtesy of Langkawi National Observatory

You can get an idea of how active the northern lights are likely to be in your area by keeping tabs on a short-term aurora forecast, such as the one provided by the Geophysical Institute. One predicting only the next half hour is available on NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Website. Also, a citizen science website called Aurorasaurus. For additional information, or to view/share night photography, head over to the Aurora Borealis Washington State Facebook Group.

Photo courtesy of SolarHam

6 locations for stargazing in Washington

Sunrise Lodge, Mt Rainier National Park

Neah Bay - Second Beach, Rialto Beach, Ruby Beach, & Cape Flattery

Tipsoo Lake, Chinook Pass

Artist Point / Mt. Baker Ski Resort

Gold Creek Pond, Snoqualmie Pass

Vantage, Eastern Washington

Photo courtesy of Mark Stewart

We wish you an exciting and successful rest of the year in terms of meeting your stargazing goals. Be sure to send any of your favorite captures to marketing.resg@gmail.com for a chance to be featured on our social pages!