Nighttime Adventures Now: Stars, Planets and Maybe Glowing Sand / Waves for Oregon, Washington

Published 05/30/26 at 5:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Vancouver, Washington) – Keep an eye above you in the northern hemisphere at night, as the sky has plenty of wondrous sights and surprises to take in. June can be bustin' out all over with astronomical spectacles. Beyond that, early summer can bring some particular wowers to the Oregon and Washington coastline, such as things that glow. And then there's always those crazy satellite sights. (Above: Hug Point near Cannon Beach / Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

From Seattle to Salem, Mass., and from New England to Ol' England, the best meteor showers don't really begin until July, and the really, really stellar stuff comes in August.

However, there is one meteor shower coming up, even if it's usually not a notable one. Some years – rather unpredictably – it goes bonkers. The June Bootids keep the human race guessing, with the sudden outbursts of a few here or there and then nothing. Normally, it's just a few a night, but on occasion you could see 100 in an hour's time. It differs year from year.

They start June 11 in 2026 and then go through about July 2, with the peak on June 27.

Throughout June, Venus is the star of the show. It shines brilliantly in the western sky in early evenings.

Lincoln City at night

Mars, Saturn and Mercury are also around all month.

Saturn, with a yellow tint, climbs higher above the eastern horizon before dawn as the month progresses. Mars is pretty darned red and remains low in the pre-dawn east, sitting below Saturn. Mercury is visible soon after sunset as well, positioned low in the west beneath Venus and Jupiter when the horizon is clear.

The crescent Moon joins them on June 16 and 17, creating a striking lineup that shifts noticeably from night to night.

Meanwhile, the Milky Way is back after disappearing from our view last month. It's pretty prominent again, according to various sky watching publications, so those in Washington, Oregon and the coastlines can get that nocturnal, galactic money shot once more.

Bioluminescence near Brookings / Steven Smith, Solution 7 Media

With the solstice coming up, satellites are still incredibly bright sometimes above us right now. Some burn brighter than any star at times and then suddenly dim as they pass into the path of sunlight and out again. It can be jaw-dropping to watch. See Now Begins the 'Season of Satellites' Above Oregon, Washington: Summer's Surreal Show.

Inner areas of the Pacific Northwest will get even better views of all this, such as southern Oregon, Columbia Gorge, just outside of Bend or east of the Cascades in Washington State. See Astronomy News, Updates from Oregon Coast, Washington Coast.

There's one thing only the beaches can create, however. On the coastlines of Oregon or Washington, glowing sand or glowing waves happen periodically – an incredible phenomenon known as bioluminescent phytoplankton. July through September are your better chances, but there's no way it can be predicted. Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff have encountered it in many different months of any given year, but summer's drier stretches allow it to stick around more and the rain doesn't wash it away (actually rainwater kills it). Bioluminescent Phytoplankton: What Makes Glowing Sand On Oregon Coast, Washington

For a real photographic adventure, head to the beach with a tripod and set things up for long exposures. You often don't see it with your eyes when it's in the water, but you would using a camera (if it's there).

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