A LOPSIDED CME IS COMING: Last week, 3 CMEs missed Earth. Will this week be different? Another CME is on the way following an explosion in the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR2864 on Sept. 8th. NOAA analysts believe Earth could experience a glancing blow or near miss late on Sept. 11th. Aurora alerts: SMS Text.

SUNSPOT SUNRISE: Sunrise on Sept. 9th was something special. "This is how the sun came up over the Sierra del Cid--with a sun full of spots and mountaineers surrounded by pines," says photographer Jordi L. Coy of Spain.

Yes, this picture is real. Coy took it using a Canon 5D MK IV digital camera and a safe solar filter. "It is only one exposure," he says.

It's been years since images like this were possible. The last time the sun had so many spots was Sept. 2017 at the tail end of old Solar Cycle 24. New Solar Cycle 25 is matching and could soon exceed its predecessor. Stay tuned for more weird sunrises.

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NOT-SO-SECRET ROCKET LAUNCH: On Sept. 9th, the Russian military launched an optical spy satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Good luck keeping your spysats secret, Russia. Aurora season is beginning, and the Arctic landscape is crawling with photographers. Rayann Elzein sends this picture from Utsjoki, Finland:

"We had a nice surprise last night with a rocket launch at 11:07 PM (local time)," says Elzein. " Later when the sky became darker, bright auroras appeared. A fantastic start of the season."

more images: from Aku Kankaanpää of Kaustinen, Finland; from Peter Rosen of Luleå, Sweden.

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ARCTIC WOLF SPACE PENDANT: This wolf glows in the dark--and it's been to the edge of space. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus launched the lupine pendant to the stratosphere on board a cosmic ray research balloon. The payload of radiation sensors and jewelry traveled 107,611 feet above Earth's surface:

You can have it for $99.95. The students are selling these pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the wolf in flight and describing its journey to the stratosphere and back again.

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