Intense display of Northern lights

What a strong display of Aurora Borealis that occured around 01.00 local time tonight! Despite moonlight and citylight the colors and pillars with movement all the way up in zenith was amazing!! So beautiful! Only 30km north of Stockholm..

Geminids coming up

This morning I actually witnessed a nice show with some Geminids, several bright ones!

Comet Catalina with moon and Venus

Like a celestial triangle the crescent moon with earthshine, planet Venus and the little green dot comet Catalina showed up early this morning. I went out 04.40 local time to witness this but I couldnt see the comet, it is around magntitude 6 at the moment, I didnt try with binoculars either, which is possible to see it. Well, anyway, a nice way to start the day..

The green light

A common Northern lights sight where I live, a green light low in the north.

Morning planets - triple conjunction

A very nice sight early in the morning, the conjunction between Mars (faint left), Venus (middle) and Jupiter (upper right). Look east early in the morning, this photo is taken around 05.15 local time.

Amazing Aurora in the backyard!

For a couple of minutes the corona occured and had a great display, just above my head in the backyard Vallentuna Sweden.

Andromedagalaxy

Kind of amazing, to see another galaxy 2,5 million lightyears away without optics! You will see it as a fuzzy oval object during clear dark nights.

Magic light again

Got a textmessage from my friend Uffe in Luleå http://www.juo.se/ that he had great Aurora in the south (!), just finished a film with my daughter and went out and saw this a short while before the clouds arrived..rather nice to be as south as Vallentuna.

Yesterdays fullmoon

Fullmoon taken with several close up photos at 4500mm to get a high res photo with nice contrast and colors.

A nice Aurrora display in moonlight.

A very nice display of Northern lights in Vallentuna last night. Just went a couple of km from the house to get a clear low north the view was like this. Colors easily visible and the dancing Aurora too..

New photos from last weekend with my son

My sons favourite starcluster the Plejades M45 (Seven Sisters). This beautiful open starcluster is easily visible without optics, some might think it is the little Dipper because of the shape. This amazing cluster of stars lies only 440 ly away in the constellation of Taurus. These young stars (only 100million years old) will only stay together for about 250million years and then seperate and become individual stars in our galaxy. You can see blue instellar clouds around the stars in the photo. So it is a beautiful group of young stars that we can enjoy - so get out and do it Smiley smile! Canon 6D and 85mm lens.

Is it not amazing, to be able to see another galaxy without Optics! The galaxy of Andromeda M31 is a beautiful spiralgalaxy "only" 2,5 million ly away. If you know where to look you can see it without Optics At a dark location. Amazing, another Island of stars, probably another place with life and maybe someone is looking At our galaxy from there At the same way. If you look closely you can even see the satellite galaxy below it. Now, you don't see the galaxy like in this photo, the sensor in the camera capture much more, but you will see it as a fuzzy dim oval object in the sky. Photo taken with 85mm lens and Canon 6D.

Airglow and milkyway shots..

Some Aurora activity

First Aurora for the season for me. I could see the green colors and pillars moving but I could not see the colors in the pillars. A little nice display outside Norrtälje last night.

Perseid Meteorshower 2015 and Starry sky photos

Staying at the beautiful island of Gotland Sweden on vacation with my family. Of course we stayed during the Perseids which were taking place during great conditions with no moonlight. We choose the location at Holmhällar ancient coralreef called Raukar just by the ocean with dark sky in the south. One night we counted around 200 meteors during 2,5 hours. The Milkyway looked like a long cloud in the nightsky and amazing many stars. Me and my son Olle saw a Bolid too, low in the north like a firework in the sky, green and fragments falling behind - Beautiful!!
Of course I went around in the night photographing the starry sky too, one night the airglow were amazing, we saw the green colors!
And back home in Vallentuna with lightpolluted skies I captured another Perseid last night above Carpe Noctem Observatory

Noctilucent clouds 2014 the Film

Nattlysande moln 2014 from P-M Hedén on Vimeo.

Short timelapse of the Aurora Storm in my backyard Vallentuna

Aurora in the backyard from P-M Hedén on Vimeo.

Zodiacal light and Starry Sky

Clear skies Saturday night so me and my son went out in the nationalpark of Färnebofjärden. We did a campfire and waited for the darkness to arrive. On the way we enjoyed a crescent moon with earthshine, very nice. Before astronomical twillight we noticed the nice light of the zodiacal light read more in the west, just above planet Venus and towards the open cluster M45.
And as ususal the photos get autocorrected very bad at the blogg!

Partial Solareclipse

I didn´t think Iwas able to see the partial solareclipse because of clouds but the sun made it through and the clouds worked as filter and I could see the solareclipse without filter and optics - really great!

More photos from last nights amazing display! Update APOD

A lot of photos to go through, here come some more..
I was honored with todays NASA APOD http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150319.html

Amazing Aurora in Stockholm City

Standing in the middle of Stockholm City and capture nice Aurora Borealis is not every night. Heavy lightpollution destroyed much of the show but it was a nice display. Later efter midnight when I arrived home in Vallentuna I enjoyed one of the finest displays I´ve seen so far south, the corona photo show my backyard - amazing!