Moon with Earthshine

Early this morning, the moon could be seen with earthshine. Earthshine occurs when sunlight strikes the Earth and the reflected light bounces onto the moon.

This makes it possible to see the entire lunar disk at times—even the dark portion not illuminated by direct sunlight. The phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "ashen light."

It is best observed during a new moon or when the moon appears as a thin crescent.

Andromeda galaxy

Did you know you can see a galaxy with the naked eye? It’s true, though you do need a dark, clear sky free of moonlight. You can make it out with the naked eye if you know where to look. As someone who’s been at this a long time, I use a trusty star atlas, but nowadays there are apps you can download for stargazing. Viewed through a small pair of binoculars, it is a spectacular sight. The Andromeda Galaxy—as it is known—lies about 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is a spiral galaxy containing billions of stars, much like our own galaxy, the Milky Way. These galaxies may eventually collide, as Andromeda is moving toward us, though that is a long way off; the predicted collision between Andromeda and the Milky Way is expected to occur in roughly 2–5 billion years, resulting in the formation of an elliptical "blob" galaxy dubbed "Milkomeda" or "Andromeway." This so-called "collision" is expected to be more of a gentle merging than a violent smash-up—it must be an amazing sight in the sky!

The image is a single 15-second exposure. 

Glowing mushrooms & Big Dipper

A dark and clear night in a nature reserve with high biodiversity. As usual, I’m looking for small things on the ground that fluoresce under UV light. And at one point, the ground lights up in yellow/green – incredibly beautiful waxcap mushrooms. Waxcaps are very important for conservation because they act as key indicator species for species-rich and valuable environments. Many species are extremely sensitive to changes, making their presence a sign of high biodiversity. 

In the sky, the Big Dipper can be seen, slightly obscured by a tree. The Big Dipper serves as a perfect 'window' to distant galaxies because the constellation is pointed straight away from the Milky Way’s dusty and star-packed disk. When we look toward the Big Dipper (which is part of Ursa Major), we’re gazing straight into deep intergalactic space, free from the obscuring gas and dust clouds that otherwise block the view along the Milky Way’s band.