Planet Mars and The Beehive Cluster under Auroral Curtain over Sweden

Planet Mars and The Beehive Cluster under Auroral Curtain over Sweden

Astrophotographer Petr Horálek: "During Saturday's 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!"

The Beehive Cluster (also known as Messier 41, M41 or NGC 2287) is an open star cluster in the constellation Canis Major. Located approximately four degrees south of Sirius, it forms a roughly equilateral triangle with Sirius and Nu2 Canis Majoris, visible together in binoculars. The cluster spans an area comparable to the size of the full Moon and contains about a hundred stars, including several red giants and white dwarfs.

Known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

Learn more about auroras: 
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east.

Image Credit: Petr Horálek
Location: Lansjarv, Sweden
Petr's website: https://www.petrhoralek.com
Release Date: Oct. 10, 2026

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