Mars in Beehive under the Auroral Curtain
During Saturday’s (October 10th, 2026) G3 geomagnetic storm, one detail was somewhat overlooked: the planet Mars was at its closest angular proximity to the center of the M44 Beehive (or Praesepe) open star cluster. While this “meeting” event itself was visible from many parts of the world only in the early morning hours, there were regions where it could be observed for a significant portion of the night—specifically north of the Arctic Circle, where this beautiful celestial clustering appeared very low on the horizon due to the high ecliptic latitude. I was fortunate to be in a location with a clear view near Lansjärv, Sweden, where this lovely celestial encounter unfolded directly beneath the “curtain” of an exceptionally bright aurora. Its brilliance was so intense that it beautifully illuminated the landscape on an otherwise moonless night. A truly rare sight!
Used Canon Ra, Tamron 70-200mm/200mm, f2.8, ISO 10000, 1.6s exposure from tripod. I would like to thank to Josef Kujal and VoBaPhoto for support to achieve this shot.
Below is a gallery of the major auroral event on October 10th, 2026, taken with Samyang 12mm, f2.8, ISO 3200, 2s exposures from tripod. It was extraordinary show visible even from mid-latitudes. From Sweden, the show was extremely bright, dynamic, and very vivid.
