AI writing is everywhere -- except here. This website is written by Dr. Tony Phillips, a carbon-based lifeform with 30 yrs of forecasting experience. Our guarantee: If you find a mistake, it was made by a real human being.

THIS IS WORTH WAKING UP FOR: Mars and Jupiter are having a close encounter in the pre-dawn sky and it is *so* pretty. The conjunction is best on Nov. 15-16 when they are only 1.2 degrees apart. Look almost straight up around 5:00-5:30 am when the planets are surrounded by the first glow of dawn. You won't regret the early start. Sky maps: Nov. 15, 16, 17.

CHINESE SPACE PLANE SIGHTINGS: China's mysterious space plane flew over California last night. Our Backyard Astronomy Service alerted multiple observers. Strangely, they all saw different things. Dr. Tony Phillips near Bishop saw nothing. Bill Parkhurst of Los Altos saw a brief flare. Richard Sears of Ballico saw this long bright streak:

"At peak brightness, it was about the same magnitude as the star Deneb!" says Sears. "Its brightest stretch was from 6:02 pm to 6:03 pm, just before it disappeared into Earth's shadow.

Parkhurst who saw the flare says, "I did not see the space plane initially, but it flared brightly all of a sudden at 6:00 p.m. for a few seconds. It appeared to be about as bright as Altair."

A satellite flare is sunlight glinting off a flat surface. The reflected beam sweeps across the ground in a narrow path, so observers just a few miles apart can catch it full-on or miss it entirely. Bishop, Ballico and Los Altos are much farther apart than a few miles; they lie on an east-west line 204 miles long. It is no surprise that the observers had such different experiences.

These reports suggest that the space plane has at least one surface capable of making it flare as brightly as the stars of the Summer Triangle. When will it happen again?The next flyby could be over your backyard.

Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Space Weather Newsletter

STARRY NIGHT WINE STOPPER: You can't buy this on Amazon. Only the Earth to Sky Store has the Starry Night Wine Stopper. On March 15, 2026, this impressionist stopper flew to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:

You can have it for $99.95. The Starry Night is an oil-on-canvas painting by Vincent van Gogh. Physicists say it accurately depicts Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the clouds outside his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, just before sunrise. The airtight rubber seal securely plugs bottles of wine or any other beverage.

With your stopper, you'll receive a gift card showing the Starry Night in flight and telling the story of its journey 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

On November 13, 2026, the network reported 14 fireballs.
(12 sporadics, 1 Northern Taurid, 1 omicron Eridanid)

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]

Recent & Upcoming Earth-asteroid encounters:

Asteroid	Date(UT)	Miss Distance	Velocity (km/s)	Diameter (m)
2026 VJ11	2026-Nov-09	10.4 LD	20.1	36
2026 VC9	2026-Nov-09	8.3 LD	3.2	20
2026 VE16	2026-Nov-09	12.8 LD	11.3	21
2026 VU8	2026-Nov-09	5.5 LD	16.3	19
2026 VG11	2026-Nov-09	3.3 LD	15.7	28
2026 VA16	2026-Nov-09	2.8 LD	10.4	11
2026 VD13	2026-Nov-09	10.5 LD	10.8	20
2026 VW12	2026-Nov-09	6.3 LD	10.3	12
2025 UF5	2026-Nov-09	18.9 LD	1.9	10
2026 VQ4	2026-Nov-09	10 LD	10.2	13
2015 VH65	2026-Nov-10	9.7 LD	8	10
2026 VR8	2026-Nov-10	9.3 LD	15.3	32
2026 VH11	2026-Nov-10	20 LD	14.1	56
2026 VT3	2026-Nov-10	4.3 LD	9.8	13
2026 VK1	2026-Nov-10	9.6 LD	9.1	15
2026 VY11	2026-Nov-10	2 LD	8	8
2026 VD11	2026-Nov-10	1 LD	19.2	7
2026 VK5	2026-Nov-10	12.3 LD	9.8	22
2012 YD7	2026-Nov-10	18.6 LD	7.5	49
2026 VF11	2026-Nov-10	2.9 LD	7.9	8
2026 VA13	2026-Nov-10	12.4 LD	17.5	52
2026 VL8	2026-Nov-11	11.1 LD	14.2	20
2026 VN4	2026-Nov-11	8.6 LD	3.6	12
2026 VO8	2026-Nov-11	5.7 LD	15.1	20
2026 VW11	2026-Nov-11	10.7 LD	15.1	21
2023 VF3	2026-Nov-11	8.5 LD	8.8	19
2026 VR12	2026-Nov-11	0.3 LD	12	10
2026 VY	2026-Nov-11	18.4 LD	6.5	18
2026 VS8	2026-Nov-11	0.8 LD	14.3	4
2026 VQ11	2026-Nov-11	0.1 LD	13.9	2
2026 VX1	2026-Nov-11	8 LD	4.3	10
2026 VD16	2026-Nov-11	0.8 LD	7.9	6
2026 VC11	2026-Nov-12	0.3 LD	9.7	5
2026 VV12	2026-Nov-12	19.4 LD	6.6	12
2026 VY7	2026-Nov-12	11.7 LD	20	44
2026 VK8	2026-Nov-12	7.8 LD	22.6	34
2026 VU15	2026-Nov-12	0.2 LD	16.5	17
2026 VT15	2026-Nov-12	15.9 LD	17.4	35
2026 VH14	2026-Nov-12	4.9 LD	7.8	27
2022 MP2	2026-Nov-13	19.8 LD	3.8	23
2026 VP8	2026-Nov-13	3 LD	6.2	12
2025 VG5	2026-Nov-13	18.2 LD	4.9	16
2026 VO1	2026-Nov-13	9.8 LD	14.2	40
2026 VT12	2026-Nov-13	6.4 LD	20.2	32
2026 VV5	2026-Nov-13	15.2 LD	13	50
2026 VB8	2026-Nov-13	14.3 LD	7.4	14
2026 VO11	2026-Nov-13	9.6 LD	10.2	22
2026 VZ15	2026-Nov-13	19.3 LD	7.6	25
2026 VV15	2026-Nov-14	4.1 LD	15	22
2026 VS11	2026-Nov-14	11.6 LD	14	20
2026 VF7	2026-Nov-14	9.6 LD	7.4	34
2026 UY	2026-Nov-14	19.7 LD	4.3	64
2026 VV8	2026-Nov-14	3.6 LD	6.3	21
2026 VK13	2026-Nov-15	8.1 LD	8.6	18
2026 VW15	2026-Nov-16	5.1 LD	6.1	14
2026 VQ2	2026-Nov-16	19.6 LD	12.6	32
2026 VM3	2026-Nov-16	8.1 LD	3.7	12
2026 VJ13	2026-Nov-17	3.5 LD	10.4	13
2023 VE6	2026-Nov-17	18.4 LD	10.1	13
2026 VB13	2026-Nov-17	9.9 LD	20.5	31
2022 VB2	2026-Nov-17	7.8 LD	9	33
2012 VF46	2026-Nov-18	16.6 LD	11.2	68
2019 WT1	2026-Nov-18	19.7 LD	9.7	16
2018 NE1	2026-Nov-19	16.7 LD	13.3	74
2026 VA11	2026-Nov-19	8.8 LD	8.9	13
2026 TB84	2026-Nov-19	12.1 LD	9.9	66
2026 VD6	2026-Nov-20	10.5 LD	9.4	16
2026 VN11	2026-Nov-21	5.2 LD	7.1	42
2026 VD9	2026-Nov-21	10.2 LD	4.7	32
2026 VY15	2026-Nov-21	9.6 LD	13.2	28
2026 VQ5	2026-Nov-25	5.2 LD	11.7	57
2026 VV11	2026-Nov-25	16.3 LD	8.8	40
2025 CP1	2026-Nov-30	12.9 LD	10.8	6
2019 XF2	2026-Dec-04	3.1 LD	10.2	14
2023 XH3	2026-Dec-06	18.7 LD	16.5	14
2020 XC3	2026-Dec-08	14.5 LD	14.3	110
2016 NV	2026-Dec-08	14.3 LD	10.4	379
2010 VQ	2026-Dec-12	4.6 LD	4.3	10
2025 XN6	2026-Dec-12	6.9 LD	12.2	5
2026 QQ8	2026-Dec-13	3.5 LD	0.8	2
2026 LZ1	2026-Dec-14	14.4 LD	11.2	36
2025 YN	2026-Dec-18	18.3 LD	13.1	21
2018 FQ4	2026-Dec-19	16.7 LD	10.4	14
2021 PF7	2026-Dec-26	15.5 LD	7.7	10
2019 AY3	2027-Jan-04	20 LD	20	61
2023 FP1	2027-Jan-05	10.4 LD	2.7	17

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.

Essential web links

NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

The official U.S. government space weather bureau

Atmospheric Optics

The first place to look for information about sundogs, pillars, rainbows and related phenomena.

Solar Dynamics Observatory

Researchers call it a "Hubble for the sun." SDO is the most advanced solar observatory ever.

STEREO

3D views of the sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory

Realtime and archival images of the Sun from SOHO.

SolarMonitor.org

information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary

Starlink Satellite Statistics

current counts of failed and deployed Starlink satellites from Jonathan's Space Page. See also, all satellite statistics.

The Aerospace Corporation

Authoritative predictions of space junk and satellite re-entries

Daily Sunspot Summaries

from the NOAA Space Environment Center

NOAA 27-Day Space Weather Forecasts

fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong.

Aurora 30 min forecast

from the NOAA Space Environment Center

Live Aurora Webcam

from Lights over Lapland

Heliophysics

the underlying science of space weather

To get the best views of the cosmos, check out the Phoenix Window Glass Replacement experts for all your window and glass needs

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.

NASA Near Earth Asteroid Home Page

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