 |
| |
SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts |
|
Updated at: 2026 Mar 29 2200 UTC
FLARE |
0-24
hr |
24-48
hr |
CLASS M |
45
% |
45
% |
CLASS X |
10
% |
10
% |
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant
disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor
storm, severe
storm
Updated at: 2026 Mar 29 2200 UTC
Mid-latitudes
|
0-24
hr |
24-48
hr |
ACTIVE |
40
% |
30
% |
MINOR |
25
% |
10
% |
SEVERE |
05
% |
01
% |
High latitudes
|
0-24
hr |
24-48
hr |
ACTIVE |
10
% |
15
% |
MINOR |
25
% |
25
% |
SEVERE |
65
% |
40
% |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
This is an AI Free Zone: AI is everywhere -- except here. Every word on Spaceweather.com comes directly from the pen of Dr. Tony Phillips. If you find a mistake, rest assured it was made by a real human being.
|
|
|
ARTEMIS II AND THE SOLAR STORM: If all goes according to plan, NASA will launch the giant Artemis II rocket on April 1st, propelling astronauts to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era. Because of today's solar flare, a CME will reach Earth just before liftoff. This is not necessarily a problem for Artemis, though. The incoming solar storm does not appear to be rich in energetic particles. Moreover, it will likely be a glancing blow, not a direct hit. This storm is almost certainly not a show-stopper. Additional X-flares from sunspot 4405, however, could make mission planners re-think their schedule. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
X-CLASS SOLAR FLARE AND CME: Growing sunspot 4405 erupted again on March 30th, producing an X1.5-class solar flare. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the hours-long explosion:
Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the air above southeast Asia and Australia, causing a shortwave radio blackout in those locations. Ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at all frequencies below30 MHz.
Of greater interest is the CME. The explosion hurled a fast and massive CME into space, and it has an Earth-directed component. NOAA and NASA models disagree slightly. The NOAA model predicts a glancng blow while the NASA model suggests a more direct hit. Either way, G2 to G3-class geomagnetic storms are possible on March 31-April 1st. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
FAITHFUL HEARTS IRON SCULPTURE: Astronomers have long known that the element iron (Fe) is created in supernova explosions. Keep that in mind when you consider the Faithful Hearts Iron Sculpture. On Nov. 13, 2025, it flew to the edge of space onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $159.95. Handmade from the "stuff" of exploding stars, this iron sculpture celebrates a love that is powerful and enduring. It comes with a keepsake card showing the sculpture at the top of Earth’s atmosphere, and telling the story of its flight to the edge of space and back again.
Far Out Gifts: Earth to Sky Store
All sales support hands-on STEM education
SUNGRAZING COMET UPDATE: Sungrazing Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1) is getting very close to the sun. On April 4th it will skim just 160,000 km (0.23 solar radii) above the sun's surface--a true death dive. The event will be invisible from Earth, but space-based coronagraphs will be able to see what happens:
Astronomer Qicheng Zhang of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, created this diagram. "It shows the trajectory of of Comet MAPS through the SOHO/LASCO and GOES-19/CCOR-1 fields of view," says Zhang. "The comet approaches the sun from the lower left and will also depart to the lower left, if it survives perihelion (closest approach to the sun)."
"Even if the comet's nucleus fully disintegrates right now, the remnant will still rapidly brighten in the final hours as intense solar heating turns the dust into a trail of glowing gas," he continues. "In that case, a peak brightness around magnitude −2 would occur about ten hours before perihelion (Apr 4 ~04 UT)."
In 2011, Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) skimmed the sun at about the same distance and survived. It became a spectacular sight for weeks. Could the same thing happen to Comet MAPS?
"I'm pessimistic," says Zhang. "Images from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest that the nucleus of Comet MAPS is only ~0.4 km in diameter, which is on the lower side of estimates for Comet Lovejoy. Whether any of the comet still exists after April 4th remains to be seen."
Stay tuned!
Realtime Comet Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
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 29, 2026, the network reported 1 fireballs.
(1 sporadic)
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 30, 2026 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent
& Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT) |
Miss Distance |
Velocity (km/s) |
Diameter (m) |
| 2026 FQ5 |
2026-Mar-24 |
2.3 LD |
10.6 |
11 |
| 2026 FQ2 |
2026-Mar-24 |
6.3 LD |
10.4 |
12 |
| 2026 FX3 |
2026-Mar-24 |
3 LD |
9.7 |
22 |
| 2026 FG3 |
2026-Mar-24 |
8.1 LD |
21.6 |
29 |
| 2026 FT2 |
2026-Mar-24 |
4.1 LD |
8.2 |
16 |
| 2026 FN5 |
2026-Mar-24 |
1 LD |
11.9 |
16 |
| 2026 FM3 |
2026-Mar-25 |
0.6 LD |
5.4 |
5 |
| 2026 EP3 |
2026-Mar-25 |
8.2 LD |
8.2 |
23 |
| 2026 FR8 |
2026-Mar-25 |
2.3 LD |
8.3 |
15 |
| 2026 FG4 |
2026-Mar-25 |
4.7 LD |
10.9 |
7 |
| 2025 SP20 |
2026-Mar-25 |
18.8 LD |
11 |
12 |
| 2026 FB5 |
2026-Mar-25 |
1.3 LD |
10.3 |
7 |
| 2026 FM7 |
2026-Mar-25 |
1.5 LD |
7.6 |
14 |
| 2026 FP8 |
2026-Mar-26 |
2.8 LD |
20.9 |
14 |
| 2026 FB3 |
2026-Mar-26 |
7.4 LD |
13.1 |
17 |
| 2026 FB4 |
2026-Mar-26 |
1.7 LD |
10.4 |
9 |
| 2026 FA3 |
2026-Mar-27 |
7.5 LD |
13.8 |
17 |
| 2026 FR2 |
2026-Mar-28 |
18.1 LD |
11.6 |
26 |
| 2026 FX5 |
2026-Mar-28 |
7.7 LD |
12.2 |
15 |
| 2026 FL4 |
2026-Mar-28 |
4.9 LD |
19.3 |
14 |
| 2026 FO8 |
2026-Mar-28 |
10.7 LD |
7.8 |
17 |
| 2026 FU2 |
2026-Mar-28 |
2.4 LD |
13.2 |
11 |
| 2026 FF6 |
2026-Mar-29 |
7.7 LD |
19.8 |
35 |
| 2026 FG6 |
2026-Mar-29 |
1.8 LD |
10.2 |
11 |
| 2026 FN1 |
2026-Mar-30 |
8.5 LD |
9.9 |
18 |
| 2026 FA4 |
2026-Mar-30 |
16.3 LD |
11.6 |
21 |
| 2026 FV3 |
2026-Mar-31 |
10.9 LD |
11.1 |
23 |
| 2026 FZ6 |
2026-Mar-31 |
10.4 LD |
7.2 |
15 |
| 2026 FJ |
2026-Mar-31 |
7.7 LD |
2.2 |
12 |
| 2026 FV5 |
2026-Apr-01 |
11.7 LD |
5.6 |
12 |
| 2026 FC7 |
2026-Apr-01 |
19 LD |
11 |
24 |
| 2026 FH7 |
2026-Apr-01 |
1.9 LD |
8.3 |
15 |
| 2026 FQ8 |
2026-Apr-02 |
8.1 LD |
8.1 |
23 |
| 2026 FD4 |
2026-Apr-02 |
8 LD |
6 |
10 |
| 2026 FR6 |
2026-Apr-02 |
15.3 LD |
17.1 |
25 |
| 2026 FR4 |
2026-Apr-02 |
14 LD |
6.8 |
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 |
| 2026 FG5 |
2026-Apr-04 |
8.6 LD |
24.9 |
35 |
| 2026 FB6 |
2026-Apr-04 |
12.6 LD |
6.8 |
10 |
| 2026 FH6 |
2026-Apr-04 |
18.1 LD |
8.1 |
37 |
| 2026 FF7 |
2026-Apr-04 |
4.6 LD |
13.1 |
11 |
| 2026 FW6 |
2026-Apr-05 |
15.4 LD |
19.8 |
27 |
| 2021 GN6 |
2026-Apr-06 |
5.8 LD |
7 |
14 |
| 2011 FT9 |
2026-Apr-07 |
3.4 LD |
5.9 |
20 |
| 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 |
| 2026 FE7 |
2026-Apr-11 |
8.9 LD |
7.9 |
28 |
| 2023 HB4 |
2026-Apr-12 |
16.8 LD |
8.7 |
15 |
| 2026 FV6 |
2026-Apr-13 |
7.4 LD |
11.1 |
29 |
| 2013 GM3 |
2026-Apr-14 |
0.7 LD |
7.4 |
20 |
| 2026 FJ6 |
2026-Apr-18 |
15.8 LD |
9.8 |
95 |
| 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 |
| 2023 VR5 |
2026-May-16 |
7.5 LD |
2.3 |
10 |
| 2025 KR4 |
2026-May-18 |
15.2 LD |
5.9 |
22 |
| 2023 KH4 |
2026-May-24 |
5.5 LD |
7.9 |
14 |
| 2023 KZ1 |
2026-May-24 |
9 LD |
13.4 |
20 |
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! |
|
|
Baltimore Car Accident Lawyers
Onlinecasinoinformatie.com is an expert in comparing foreign online casinos for players in the Netherlands, offering reliable insights, clear reviews, and up-to-date information
Trusted casinos not connected to GamStop
Most Trusted seller for 1:1 super clone watches in the market
Premium quality super clone watches for sale with true 1:1 detailing
Buy Instagram Followers Text: from Smikky!
For the new best Norwegian casinos, visit nyecasino.com
Instant Famous, a reliable provider for followers, likes, and views on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and more.
NonGamstopCasinos.net compares Non Gamstop Casinos and UK Casinos & Betting sites not on Gamstop. Independent casino reviews & exclusive bonus offers for British Gamblers.
Zamsino is one of the most popular online casino guides in the world.
Kiwislots.nz is the best free spins no deposit guide in New Zealand!
Find your best no deposit bonus in Germany at BetterBonus
Adlerslots hat die besten neuen Boni ohne Einzahlung in Deutschland für dich zusammengestellt!
BonusZonderStorting.com is de nummer 1 site om online casino's zonder storting in Nederland te vergelijken.
Vind de nieuwste free spins-aanbiedingen ter wereld op Leeuwslots.com.
Visit prestigewatches for best super clone watches and rolex replica for sale
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
©2021 Spaceweather.com. All rights reserved. This site is penned daily by Dr. Tony Phillips. |
