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SPACE WEATHER
NOAA Forecasts |
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Updated at: 2026 Apr 08 0035 UTC
FLARE |
0-24
hr |
24-48
hr |
CLASS M |
35
% |
35
% |
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 Apr 08 0035 UTC
Mid-latitudes
|
0-24
hr |
24-48
hr |
ACTIVE |
10
% |
15
% |
MINOR |
01
% |
01
% |
SEVERE |
01
% |
01
% |
High latitudes
|
0-24
hr |
24-48
hr |
ACTIVE |
15
% |
15
% |
MINOR |
25
% |
25
% |
SEVERE |
20
% |
20
% |
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|
|
 |
|
|
|
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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.
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A METEOR SHOWER ON THE MOON: If you're looking for our story about Artemis astronauts seeing a meteor shower on the Moon, it's right here. In short: While flying behind the Moon, the crew watched 6 meteoroids slam into the lunar surface and explode--an unexpected display that surprised the astronauts and delighted scientists on Earth. Right now, NASA is checking to see if Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) detected any of the impacts. Even if it missed the explosions, LRO may be able to photograph the craters. We will continue to cover this story as new developments warrant. Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
A NAKED-EYE COMET IS COMING: Astronomers were disappointed on April 4th when sungrazing Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1) disintegrated in the sun's atmosphere. Forget about it. Comet PANSTARRS (C/2025 R3) is even better:
"Wow!" says Dan Bartlett, who took this picture on April 7th from June Lake, California. "NOW we have a comet!"
Comet PANSTARRS is approaching the sun for a safe close approach (0.5 AU) on April 19th. It will not disintegrate. On the contrary, it will emerge intact as a naked-eye object of magnitude +3 or better.
Between now and then, the comet may be found in the early morning sky shining through pre-dawn twilight. It is about as bright as a 5th magnitude star (data). Wide-field cameras with nighttime exposure settings will have no problem detectng the comet's long tail bisecting the constellation Pegasus. And the view through backyard telescopes is terrific.Set your alarm and take a look! Sky maps: April 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
more images: from Michael Jaeger & Gerald Rhemann of Weißenkirchen, Austria; from Larry Stevens of Portal, Arizona; from the Sormano Astronomical Observatory in Sormano CO Italy; from Georg Klingersberger of Kobernaußen, Austria
Realtime Space Weather Photo Gallery
Free: Spaceweather.com Newsletter
"METEOR CRATER" CRYSTAL PENDANT: Have you heard of Moissanite? It's a very rare mineral discovered in Arizona's Meteor Crater by 19th-century chemist Henri Moissan. At first, he thought it was diamond, but later realized it was even more rare. It came from meteorites! On March 4th, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched a Moissanite pendant to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $199.95. Almost indistinguishable from natural diamond, the 3-carat crystal is held by a sterling silver frame with the words "I Love You" engraved on the back. It's a truly out of this world gift.
The students are selling space jewelry to pay the helium bill for their high altitude ballooning program. Each pendant comes with a greeting card showing the item 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 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 07, 2026, the network reported 1 fireballs.
(1 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 8, 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) |
| 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 |
24.8 |
37 |
| 2026 FB6 |
2026-Apr-04 |
12.6 LD |
6.8 |
10 |
| 2026 FH6 |
2026-Apr-04 |
18.1 LD |
8.1 |
36 |
| 2026 FF7 |
2026-Apr-04 |
4.6 LD |
13.1 |
11 |
| 2026 FW6 |
2026-Apr-05 |
15.4 LD |
19.8 |
27 |
| 2026 GK |
2026-Apr-06 |
2.6 LD |
17.9 |
17 |
| 2021 GN6 |
2026-Apr-06 |
5.8 LD |
7 |
14 |
| 2011 FT9 |
2026-Apr-07 |
3.4 LD |
5.9 |
20 |
| 2026 GG |
2026-Apr-07 |
12.6 LD |
14.2 |
27 |
| 2024 TB7 |
2026-Apr-07 |
4.9 LD |
7.5 |
5 |
| 2002 TB70 |
2026-Apr-07 |
13.4 LD |
9.2 |
164 |
| 2026 GJ |
2026-Apr-07 |
14 LD |
17.1 |
16 |
| 2026 GE |
2026-Apr-08 |
0.5 LD |
10.8 |
7 |
| 2026 GD |
2026-Apr-09 |
0.7 LD |
12.7 |
17 |
| 2022 GE2 |
2026-Apr-10 |
12 LD |
9.2 |
15 |
| 2026 FE7 |
2026-Apr-11 |
8.9 LD |
7.8 |
29 |
| 2026 GC |
2026-Apr-11 |
13.6 LD |
8.2 |
39 |
| 2023 HB4 |
2026-Apr-12 |
16.8 LD |
8.7 |
15 |
| 2026 FV6 |
2026-Apr-13 |
7.5 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 |
93 |
| 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 |
| 2023 BM4 |
2026-May-30 |
12.2 LD |
5.7 |
64 |
| 2021 KN2 |
2026-Jun-03 |
8.9 LD |
8.9 |
7 |
Notes: LD means
"Lunar Distance." 1 LD = 384,401 km, the distance
between Earth and the Moon. 1 LD also equals 0.00256
AU.
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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.
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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. |
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information about sunspots based on the latest NOAA/USAF Active Region Summary |
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current counts of failed and deployed Starlink satellites from Jonathan's Space Page. See also, all satellite statistics. |
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Authoritative predictions of space junk and satellite re-entries |
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from
the NOAA Space Environment Center |
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fun to read, but should be taken with a grain of salt! Forecasts looking ahead more than a few days are often wrong. |
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from the NOAA Space Environment Center |
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the
underlying science of space weather |
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