This is an AI Free Zone: Text created by Large Language Models is spreading across the Internet. It's well-written, but frequently inaccurate. If you find a mistake on Spaceweather.com, rest assured it was made by a real human being.
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EQUINOX AURORA WATCH: The first auroras of northern spring are only days away. A CME launched by yesterday's solar flare (M2.7) is expected to hit Earth on March 19th just hours before the vernal equinox. The timing is perfect for amplification by the "Russell-McPherron effect." NOAA is predicting a G2-class geomagnetic storm with possible mid-latitude auroras. Would you like an instant text message when the CME arrives? Sign up for CME Impact Alerts.
TEN THOUSAND STARLINKS: On March 16th, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base carrying 25 Starlink satellites. It was a routine launch for SpaceX, the 33rd of 2026. But those 25 Starlinks crossed a milestone. For the first time in history, more than 10,000 Starlink satellites were simultaneously circling Earth.
Click to view of dynamic plot of Low-Earth Orbit from Heavens Above
Consider where we started: When SpaceX launched its first operational Starlinks in May 2019, there were roughly 2,000 active satellites of all kinds orbiting Earth. Starlink alone now outnumbers the entire pre-2019 fleet five to one. The constellation has utterly transformed the orbital environment.
The numbers are sobering. Since 2019, more than 11,596 Starlinks have been launched. Of those, more than 1,500 have already reentered the atmosphere as SpaceX retires older satellites to make room for newer models. Each re-entry deposits about 30 kg of aluminum oxide into the upper atmosphere--an uncontrolled chemistry experiment on a planetary scale.
In case you're wondering how this might affect astronomy, consider this recent video of Comet Wierzchoś (C/2024 E1) from Gerald Rhemann:
Starlinks outnumbered the comet 10:1. "Satellite interference is a growing challenge--especially near dusk and dawn," he says.
With so many Starlinks circling Earth, the orbital environment is increasingly unstable. It's "an orbital house of cards," according to a study led by Sarah Thiele of Princeton University, which finds that a severe solar storm could kickstart widespread catastrophic collisions in as little as 2-3 days. SpaceX itself reported to the FCC that Starlink satellites performed roughly 300,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in 2025 alone.
Meanwhile, Starlink internet is awesome. Enjoy it while you can.
Extra: Because satellite megaconstellations are an increasingly important aspect of space weather and amateur astronomy, we've decided to track them. Look here. Every day we will update Starlink Statistics, eventually adding other megaconstellations when they become important.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
THE METEOR CRATER PENDANT: Have you heard of Moissanite? It's a very rare mineral discovered by 19th-century chemist Henri Moissan in Arizona's Meteor Crater. At first, he thought it was diamond, but later realized it was even more rare. It's a diamond lookalike that, until the 1950s, was found naturally only in meteorites.
On Aug. 2, 2025, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched this Moissanite pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $169.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever," the sterling silver frame bends around the Moissanite in a heart-shaped curve--all highlighted by glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets.
The students are selling space pendants to pay the helium bill for their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the jewelry in flight and telling the story of its trip to the stratosphere and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
Realtime Aurora Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Every night, a network
of
NASA
all-sky cameras scans the skies above the United
States for meteoritic fireballs. Automated software
maintained by NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office
calculates their orbits, velocity, penetration depth
in Earth's atmosphere and many other characteristics.
Daily results are presented here on Spaceweather.com.
On March 17, 2026, the network reported 17 fireballs.
(17 sporadics)
In this diagram of the inner solar system, all of the fireball orbits intersect at a single point--Earth. The orbits are color-coded by velocity, from slow (red) to fast (blue).
[Larger image] [movies]
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (
PHAs)
are space rocks larger than approximately 100m that
can come closer to Earth than 0.05 AU. None of the
known PHAs is on a collision course with our planet,
although astronomers are finding
new
ones all the time.
On March 17, 2026 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
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Recent
& Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT) |
Miss Distance |
Velocity (km/s) |
Diameter (m) |
| 2014 EB4 |
2026-Mar-12 |
14.9 LD |
8.9 |
23 |
| 2026 ET |
2026-Mar-12 |
5 LD |
22 |
59 |
| 2026 EL3 |
2026-Mar-12 |
2.2 LD |
12.9 |
11 |
| 2026 EX2 |
2026-Mar-12 |
1.1 LD |
16.5 |
4 |
| 2026 EE2 |
2026-Mar-12 |
2.2 LD |
7.3 |
51 |
| 2026 EA3 |
2026-Mar-12 |
11.4 LD |
11.7 |
17 |
| 2026 EL2 |
2026-Mar-13 |
5.7 LD |
2 |
20 |
| 2026 ES2 |
2026-Mar-13 |
5.8 LD |
12.9 |
25 |
| 2026 EG1 |
2026-Mar-13 |
0.8 LD |
9.6 |
13 |
| 2026 EV2 |
2026-Mar-13 |
1 LD |
7.2 |
6 |
| 2026 EW2 |
2026-Mar-13 |
1.7 LD |
4.1 |
4 |
| 2026 EJ2 |
2026-Mar-13 |
12.8 LD |
17.1 |
37 |
| 2026 EU2 |
2026-Mar-13 |
0.9 LD |
6.7 |
13 |
| 2026 EN2 |
2026-Mar-14 |
4.3 LD |
16.6 |
17 |
| 2026 FD |
2026-Mar-14 |
8.6 LD |
10.3 |
23 |
| 2026 EP2 |
2026-Mar-14 |
6.2 LD |
19.8 |
32 |
| 2026 FC |
2026-Mar-14 |
2.1 LD |
10.2 |
9 |
| 2007 EG |
2026-Mar-15 |
4.5 LD |
7.8 |
44 |
| 2026 ET3 |
2026-Mar-15 |
0.1 LD |
11.8 |
4 |
| 2026 FF |
2026-Mar-15 |
3.8 LD |
9.9 |
20 |
| 2026 EC1 |
2026-Mar-15 |
4 LD |
12.5 |
15 |
| 2026 FE |
2026-Mar-15 |
5.1 LD |
8.9 |
13 |
| 2026 EU3 |
2026-Mar-16 |
3 LD |
4.7 |
11 |
| 2026 ET2 |
2026-Mar-16 |
2.1 LD |
4.9 |
8 |
| 2026 EY2 |
2026-Mar-16 |
4.1 LD |
10.3 |
11 |
| 2026 CR3 |
2026-Mar-16 |
19.5 LD |
9.1 |
75 |
| 2026 EZ2 |
2026-Mar-17 |
9.8 LD |
19.2 |
50 |
| 2015 VO142 |
2026-Mar-17 |
2.7 LD |
3.1 |
6 |
| 2026 DU17 |
2026-Mar-17 |
18.7 LD |
9.3 |
23 |
| 2026 DP10 |
2026-Mar-17 |
10.4 LD |
10.8 |
53 |
| 2026 FB |
2026-Mar-18 |
2.9 LD |
16.6 |
22 |
| 2021 FS |
2026-Mar-18 |
18.2 LD |
7.2 |
9 |
| 2026 FA |
2026-Mar-19 |
1.7 LD |
7.3 |
7 |
| 2026 EF2 |
2026-Mar-19 |
4.6 LD |
5.9 |
12 |
| 2026 ED3 |
2026-Mar-19 |
8 LD |
19.1 |
75 |
| 2026 DP15 |
2026-Mar-19 |
5.2 LD |
7.6 |
23 |
| 2026 EO2 |
2026-Mar-19 |
18.9 LD |
8.2 |
55 |
| 2026 EF3 |
2026-Mar-19 |
10.9 LD |
7.4 |
45 |
| 2026 DV17 |
2026-Mar-19 |
2.3 LD |
4.9 |
15 |
| 2010 RA91 |
2026-Mar-22 |
4.7 LD |
9.9 |
68 |
| 2026 ER3 |
2026-Mar-22 |
18.3 LD |
10.2 |
27 |
| 2026 EE3 |
2026-Mar-22 |
10.2 LD |
10.2 |
22 |
| 2022 FY |
2026-Mar-24 |
10.1 LD |
6.5 |
9 |
| 2026 EP3 |
2026-Mar-25 |
8.2 LD |
8.2 |
24 |
| 2025 SP20 |
2026-Mar-25 |
18.8 LD |
11 |
12 |
| 2025 GL |
2026-Apr-03 |
9.8 LD |
6.4 |
5 |
| 2019 FQ1 |
2026-Apr-03 |
9.6 LD |
10.1 |
13 |
| 2023 DZ2 |
2026-Apr-04 |
2.6 LD |
7.2 |
49 |
| 2021 GN6 |
2026-Apr-06 |
5.8 LD |
7 |
14 |
| 2024 TB7 |
2026-Apr-07 |
4.9 LD |
7.5 |
5 |
| 2002 TB70 |
2026-Apr-07 |
13.4 LD |
9.2 |
164 |
| 2022 GE2 |
2026-Apr-10 |
12 LD |
9.2 |
15 |
| 2023 HB4 |
2026-Apr-12 |
16.8 LD |
8.7 |
15 |
| 2013 GM3 |
2026-Apr-14 |
0.7 LD |
7.4 |
20 |
| 2026 AC4 |
2026-Apr-20 |
10.7 LD |
1.2 |
22 |
| 2022 UG2 |
2026-Apr-20 |
16.3 LD |
10.3 |
13 |
| 2025 HQ4 |
2026-Apr-21 |
16.4 LD |
12.5 |
22 |
| 2026 BK2 |
2026-Apr-22 |
10 LD |
8.1 |
219 |
| 2022 UU8 |
2026-Apr-25 |
8.7 LD |
4 |
9 |
| 2020 GE3 |
2026-May-09 |
11.1 LD |
6 |
21 |
Notes: LD means
"Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance
between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256
AU.
| |
Cosmic Rays in the Atmosphere |
SPACE WEATHER BALLOON DATA: Almost once a week, Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus fly space weather balloons to the stratosphere over California. These balloons are equipped with sensors that detect secondary cosmic rays, a form of radiation from space that can penetrate all the way down to Earth's surface. Our monitoring program has been underway without interruption for 10 years, resulting in a unique dataset of in situ atmospheric measurements.
Latest results (Nov. 2024): Atmospheric radiation is sharply decreasing in 2024. Our latest measurements in November registered a 10-year low:
What's going on? Ironically, the radiation drop is caused by increasing solar activity. Solar Cycle 25 has roared to life faster than forecasters expected. The sun's strengthening and increasingly tangled magnetic field repels cosmic rays from deep space. In addition, solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) sweep aside cosmic rays, causing sharp reductions called "Forbush Decreases." The two effects blend together to bring daily radiation levels down.
.Who cares? Cosmic rays are a surprisingly "down to Earth" form of space weather. They can alter the chemistry of the atmosphere, trigger lightning, and penetrate commercial airplanes. According to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan school of public health, crews of aircraft have higher rates of cancer than the general population. The researchers listed cosmic rays, irregular sleep habits, and chemical contaminants as leading risk factors. A number of controversial studies (#1, #2, #3, #4) go even further, linking cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.
Technical notes: The radiation sensors onboard our helium balloons detect X-rays and gamma-rays in the energy range 10 keV to 20 MeV. These energies span the range of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.
Data points in the graph labeled "Stratospheric Radiation" correspond to the peak of the Regener-Pfotzer maximum, which lies about 67,000 feet above central California. When cosmic rays crash into Earth's atmosphere, they produce a spray of secondary particles that is most intense at the entrance to the stratosphere. Physicists Eric Regener and Georg Pfotzer discovered the maximum using balloons in the 1930s and it is what we are measuring today.
| |
The
official U.S. government space weather bureau |
| |
The
first place to look for information about sundogs,
pillars, rainbows and related phenomena. |
| |
Researchers
call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO
is the most advanced solar observatory ever. |
| |
3D
views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial
Relations Observatory |
| |
Realtime
and archival images of the Sun from SOHO. |
| |
information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary |
| |
current counts of failed and deployed Starlink satellites from Jonathan's Space Page. See also, all satellite statistics. |
| |
Authoritative predictions of space junk and satellite re-entries |
| |
from
the NOAA Space Environment Center |
| |
fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong. |
| |
from the NOAA Space Environment Center |
| |
the
underlying science of space weather |
 |
Got a chipped or cracked windshield that prevents you from seeing space weather events while driving? Get windshield replacement from SR Windows & Glass with free mobile auto glass service anywhere in the Phoenix area. |
| |
These links help Spaceweather.com stay online. Thank you to our supporters! |
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