@narnian78, I agree that small telescopes can be really handy for observing objects like the Moon and planets. I'd also recommend binoculars as they have the advantage of portability.

Things have been rather quiet in the skies of late, though auroras were reported as far south as New Mexico (latitude 36.6N) last night. None were seen here, due at least in part to incredibly hazy skies from huge wildfires in Manitoba.

The sky is a milky gray by day and even by night. The past few nights I've only been able to see the Moon, and it was greatly dimmed and a deep orange or red color. Quite pretty and a bit eerie. Last week I was able to see the Chinese Tiangong space station a few times, but even it couldn't compete with the haze last night (it is smaller and fainter than the ISS, and lower in the sky from my latitude, all factors in making it harder to see in this haze).

The sunsets have been spectacular, and the haze has held down our temperatures a little (though 90F/32C is expected today; it was estimated it would be up to 5F warmer without the haze)