A few things from today’s SpaceWeather.com:

VENUS & SATURN: Saturn and Venus are converging in the sunset sky for a beautiful close encounter this weekend. At closest approach on Saturday, June 30th, the two planets will be a mere 2/3rds of a degree apart. It’s a pretty sight for the unaided eye, and a great target for backyard telescopes. Even small ‘scopes will reveal the rings of Saturn and the crescent shape of Venus. Check http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and more information.

FIRST LIGHT FOR AIM: NASA’s AIM spacecraft is sending back its first pictures of noctilucent clouds from Earth orbit. The clouds photographed by AIM have the same intricate structure and electric-blue glow familiar to sky watchers on Earth, but the panoramic view afforded by the spacecraft’s 600 km high orbit is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Check today’s edition of http://spaceweather.com for one of AIM’s first light images plus an updated gallery of ground-based sightings.

The photo of the noctilucent cloud is breathtaking, an illusory, imaginary vision that is a quite real phenomenon right here on Earth.