This is an AI Free Zone: AI is everywhere -- except here. Spaceweather.com is written by Dr. Tony Phillips, a carbon-based lifeform with 30 yrs of forecasting experience. If you find a mistake, rest assured it was made by a real human being.
|
|
|
THE SUN IS WAKING (PLUS A COMET): After weeks of relative quiet, the sun is waking up again. The action began during the early hours of April 23rd with a double M1-class solar flare: movie. It was a "sympathetic flare" caused by magnetic teleconections between two widely-spaced sunspots (4419 and 4420). These sunspots have since produced additional M-class flares including two M4-category events.
The double-flare launched a CME into space. SOHO coronagraphs saw that and more. Comet PanSTARRS (C/2025 R3) is also entering the field of view:
The comet will be visible to SOHO for the next few days as it passes almost directly between Earth and the sun. It could be a good show, and we will update our movie frequently.
Meanwhile, the CME shown above is not squarely aimed at Earth, but it might hit anyway. A NASA model suggests it will deliver a glancing blow on April 26th. This could spark a G1-class geomagnetic storm with auroras at high latitudes. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
THAT WAS *NOT* A SPIRAL GALAXY: Spoiler alert: It was SpaceX. "I caught a satellite fuel event this morning (April 21st) high overhead my location," reports Dan Bush of Albany, Missouri. It looked just like a spiral galaxy:
"This event produced a spiral structure that I've seen before, but this was quite small compared to other fuel dumps I've seen," says Bush. "I'm guessing a high orbit."
He guessed right. This was SpaceX launching a GPS III satellite for the US Space Force. Nicknamed "Hedy Lamarr" after the Hollywood actress whose 1941 patent on frequency-hopping technology helped kickstart modern secure radio, the satellite joins a constellation orbiting 20,200 km overhead.
What made the spiral? After the rocket released the satellite into orbit, it had leftover propellant in its tanks. Bush's atomated camera caught SpaceX dumping that fuel from the rocket's slowly-rolling upper stage--a safety measure to prevent accidental explosions. In the near-vacuum of space, the vented propellant expanded into a spiral of frozen droplets and ice crystals.
GPS III is three times more accurate and eight times more jam-resistant than older generation GPS satellites. Bush recorded the launch of the tenth in the series. Previous members have names like Sally Ride, Neil Armstrong and Amelia Earhart, so this is a distinguished series of spacecraft. Even their fuel dumps are magnificent.
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
SILVER SAPPHIRE SPACE PENDANT: It has just returned from the edge of space: The Silver Sapphire Space Pendant. Using a cosmic ray research balloon, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched it to the stratosphere above the Sierra Nevada mountains of central California:
You can have it for $219.95. Engraved with the words "I love you always and forever", this sterling silver pendant has a heart-shaped sapphire in the middle surrouunded by a ring of glittering 5A cubic zirconia nuggets. It is a visually striking necklace perfect for anniversaries and romantic birthdays.
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 Comet 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 April 22, 2026, the network reported 32 fireballs.
(21 April Lyrids, 11 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 April 23, 2026 there were 2349 potentially hazardous asteroids.
 |
Recent
& Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:
| Asteroid |
Date(UT) |
Miss Distance |
Velocity (km/s) |
Diameter (m) |
| 2026 HE |
2026-Apr-17 |
11 LD |
6.8 |
20 |
| 2026 GA1 |
2026-Apr-17 |
12.2 LD |
7.8 |
21 |
| 2026 HP |
2026-Apr-17 |
3.5 LD |
7.4 |
14 |
| 2026 HG |
2026-Apr-17 |
2.8 LD |
8 |
6 |
| 2026 HJ2 |
2026-Apr-17 |
2.5 LD |
18.3 |
31 |
| 2026 GO2 |
2026-Apr-17 |
17.8 LD |
20.5 |
49 |
| 2026 HM2 |
2026-Apr-17 |
1 LD |
11 |
9 |
| 2026 GR2 |
2026-Apr-18 |
7.7 LD |
6.5 |
12 |
| 2026 FJ6 |
2026-Apr-18 |
15.8 LD |
9.8 |
89 |
| 2026 HC2 |
2026-Apr-18 |
14.4 LD |
15.4 |
26 |
| 2026 HQ |
2026-Apr-18 |
0.4 LD |
3.7 |
2 |
| 2026 HT1 |
2026-Apr-18 |
2.6 LD |
16 |
16 |
| 2026 GM1 |
2026-Apr-18 |
3.5 LD |
5.6 |
29 |
| 2026 HP1 |
2026-Apr-18 |
15.3 LD |
12.3 |
20 |
| 2026 HK1 |
2026-Apr-19 |
0.8 LD |
12 |
4 |
| 2026 HD1 |
2026-Apr-19 |
12.1 LD |
18.4 |
25 |
| 2026 HN |
2026-Apr-19 |
1.6 LD |
11.4 |
16 |
| 2026 HH1 |
2026-Apr-19 |
1.8 LD |
19.2 |
9 |
| 2026 HF1 |
2026-Apr-19 |
14 LD |
13.9 |
23 |
| 2026 HJ |
2026-Apr-19 |
0.3 LD |
6.5 |
3 |
| 2026 HF |
2026-Apr-20 |
9.8 LD |
5.5 |
33 |
| 2026 HG1 |
2026-Apr-20 |
3.3 LD |
6 |
12 |
| 2026 AC4 |
2026-Apr-20 |
10.7 LD |
1.2 |
22 |
| 2022 UG2 |
2026-Apr-20 |
16.3 LD |
10.3 |
13 |
| 2026 HJ1 |
2026-Apr-21 |
1.7 LD |
10.6 |
7 |
| 2026 HF2 |
2026-Apr-21 |
0.3 LD |
18.1 |
10 |
| 2026 GJ1 |
2026-Apr-21 |
8.7 LD |
22.2 |
67 |
| 2025 HQ4 |
2026-Apr-21 |
16.4 LD |
12.5 |
22 |
| 2026 GZ1 |
2026-Apr-21 |
15.5 LD |
10.2 |
50 |
| 2026 GL2 |
2026-Apr-22 |
7.1 LD |
10.4 |
32 |
| 2026 HY1 |
2026-Apr-22 |
3.9 LD |
9.3 |
22 |
| 2026 BK2 |
2026-Apr-22 |
10 LD |
8.1 |
219 |
| 2026 HL2 |
2026-Apr-22 |
3 LD |
5.5 |
6 |
| 2026 HK |
2026-Apr-22 |
10.8 LD |
18.7 |
26 |
| 2026 HR2 |
2026-Apr-23 |
1 LD |
11.7 |
10 |
| 2026 HO2 |
2026-Apr-23 |
12.1 LD |
8.4 |
28 |
| 2026 HZ1 |
2026-Apr-24 |
14 LD |
7.1 |
17 |
| 2022 UU8 |
2026-Apr-25 |
8.7 LD |
4 |
9 |
| 2026 HP2 |
2026-Apr-26 |
13.3 LD |
10.9 |
28 |
| 2026 HR |
2026-Apr-27 |
16.6 LD |
7.6 |
21 |
| 2026 GU1 |
2026-Apr-28 |
12.5 LD |
6.4 |
75 |
| 2026 HW |
2026-Apr-28 |
9.6 LD |
11.8 |
35 |
| 2026 GW3 |
2026-May-02 |
13.9 LD |
5.8 |
22 |
| 2026 HE2 |
2026-May-03 |
15.5 LD |
6.6 |
24 |
| 2026 GD1 |
2026-May-03 |
14.6 LD |
6.6 |
51 |
| 2026 HN1 |
2026-May-06 |
9.2 LD |
14.2 |
65 |
| 2026 HD2 |
2026-May-08 |
17.7 LD |
10.7 |
42 |
| 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 |
| 2023 BM4 |
2026-May-30 |
12.2 LD |
5.7 |
64 |
| 2021 KN2 |
2026-Jun-03 |
8.9 LD |
8.9 |
7 |
| 2018 GE |
2026-Jun-07 |
16.4 LD |
3.1 |
11 |
| 2016 VS |
2026-Jun-12 |
20 LD |
11.1 |
12 |
| 530520 |
2026-Jun-12 |
16.1 LD |
14.6 |
152 |
| 2003 LN6 |
2026-Jun-18 |
3.7 LD |
3.9 |
41 |
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! |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
