The Waning Gibbous Moon & The Milky Way Above The Drinking Dinosaur | Our Celestial Adventure | 4th-5th June 2026
On the night of the 4th of June there was a lot of excitement about the possibility of a large auroral display due to several CMEs that were on their way to Earth, and so we went on a little adventure to see if we could catch a display. Unfortunately the aurora didn’t show up, but instead we were treated to another beautiful night sky sight.
Our Celestial Adventure
Due to the forecasted G3 geomagnetic storm there was a lot of excitement around the possibility of aurora that could be strong enough to cut through the perpetual twilight of the UK’s June skies. There was a lot of uncertainty about when the CMEs would arrive and with a small window of darker twilight everything had to line up just right for a display here in the UK.
In the run-up to nighttime, we kept all of our followers updated with the latest stats and made sure all our camera batteries were charged as we awaited dark(ish)ness to fall.
As we got closer to darker skies, we took a look at the cloud radar and decided to head to one of our favourite nearby aurora hunting locations, Flamborough. The cloud radar suggested that this area was least likely to be hit by the impending cloud that was heading in from the west. And so we gathered all our camera gear and set off.
Along the way the colours in the sky looked amazing, the late spring evening skies were a deep dark blue towards the South and looking North there was a beautiful gradient of colour with warm orange close to the horizon which gradually transitioned to light blue to a darker grey/blue higher in the sky.
We arrived at our destination and quickly checked the solar wind stats. Unfortunately, the stats were showing that the CMEs were still on their way. However, after checking the solar wind stats we realised there was an opportunity to catch the moonrise above a nearby landmark, and so we gathered our gear together ready for plan B.
Just before we set off we met another night sky photographer who was packing up to head off home, it’s always lovely to meet and chat to other night sky enthusiasts. After a lovely chat we noticed that the Moon was rising, and so we said goodbye and quickly set off to our planned shooting location.
When we arrived at our plan B shooting location, the Moon had only just fully risen above the horizon. The Moon was displaying a beautiful orange glow that was being reflected off the sea, and despite the twilight skies and the moonlight, you could still see a hint of the Milky Way stretching across the skies, it looked incredible! And so we quickly set up our camera gear and started shooting.
To be able to fit all of the foreground scene, and the sky into the same image we decided to shoot a vertical panorama (aka vertorama) with one of our favourite 24mm lenses. This is one of our favourite techniques to employ when your subjects are spread across a wide field of view and there is a lot of interest to capture. Shooting a panorama also has the added benefit of increasing the pixel count of your image and so once the panorama is put together, you end up with a more detailed image which also has less visible noise compared to a single photograph shot with a super wide angle lens.
The scene looked amazing by eye and we knew that we would end up with a pleasing image once it was put together.
We also shot a more zoomed in panorama with a higher focal length lens of the Moon rising above a boat on the horizon. Maybe when we have a little spare time we can have a look at processing this image.
Whilst we were shooting the moon we kept an eye on the aurora stats, but unfortunately the CMEs still hadn’t arrived and we were now within the dawn twilight. And so after we had finished shooting the Moon, we packed up and decided to head to a nearby beach to let Luna have a nice twilight walk and paddle in the rock pools.
Luna loves being at the beach, she had a great time exploring the rock pools, it is one of her favourite things to do when near the sea. Whilst we were walking we also met a little toad who had a look at us before jumping back into the nearby stream and we also met a tiny crab in the rock pools.
After a little while with still no sign of the CMEs we decided to head home. On the way back home we saw lots of beautiful wildlife including lots of little bunny rabbits and a beautiful deer.
All in all, even though we didn’t get to see any aurora it was an amazing night.
We captured lots of photographs on this evening and thought it would be nice to share the first panorama we captured with all of you. 😊
Our Photograph of the Moon, the Drinking Dinosaur and the Milky Way
In this photograph you can see the beautiful Waning Gibbous Moon rising above the North Sea and the land mass that is colloquially known as the Drinking Dinosaur. Despite the bright twilight skies and the light from the Moon, the light from our home galaxy the Milky Way can also be seen stretching across the sky. The bright core of the Milky Way can be seen on the right along, along with a few small patches of red/pink colour which are the glowing hydrogen regions in space that are known as the Eagle Nebula, the Omega Nebula, The Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula.
This image goes to show that even with the bright skies of June and the presence of a large Moon on the horizon, it is still possible to capture some detail of the Milky Way. We hope you like it!
5 photograph vertical panorama (vertorama)
📷 Camera – Nikon Z8 astro modded
🔭 Lens – Sigma Art 24mm f/1.4
🔲 Filter – Kase Neutral Night
🎛 Settings – sky – 10s , ISO 500, f/1.4
🎛 Settings – foreground – 20s, ISO 500, f/1.4
What Else Is in the Night Sky Throughout June?
If you would like to know more about the rest of the celestial treats that can be seen in the skies throughout this June, please watch our Night Sky Guide video for June 2026 on our Facebook and or on our YouTube channel @Astrodoguk. If you head over to YouTube, please subscribe to our channel to make sure you never miss any celestial events.
Share Your Experiences and Photographs!
We always love hearing about your celestial adventures and seeing your photographs! If you headed out to witness or capture photos of this special celestial event or any other sights in the night sky, please feel free to share your stories and photos in the comments below. 😊
Wishing You All Starry Skies!
All in all, it was an amazing evening, and we hope that you enjoy the photograph we captured.
As always if you head out to enjoy the night sky any time in the near future, we wish you good luck and clear skies! 💖✨🌌