ALMOST NO CHANCE OF FLARES TODAY: All of the sunspots currently facing Earth are quiet and stable. NOAA forecasters say there is a slight 10% chance of M-class solar flares and no more than a 1% chance of X-flares on July 6th. It's going to be a quiet weekend. CME impact alerts: SMS Text
INTERSTELLAR COMET ATLAS: Interstellar Comet ATLAS (C/2025 N1) is "screaming through the summer Milky Way," says amateur astronomer Chris Shur. He photographed the dirty snowball passing by star cluster M23 over Arizona on July 4th:
"This was the view through my 10-inch Newtonian Astrograph," says Schur. "I took two 5 minute exposures and stacked them. You can see two positions of the comet in the inset."
Schur's photo reveals two of the comet's key qualities: It is dim (magnitude +18) and it is moving very fast (58 km/s). Both make Comet ATLAS challenging to photograph.
This comet will never slow down much; it's a permanent "screamer." However, it will brighten in the months ahead. If it behaves like other comets in the Solar System (a big IF), Comet ATLAS could brighten 600-fold to magnitude +11 in late October 2025. That would be invisible to the naked eye, but a relatively easy target for mid-sized backyard telescopes.
Monitoring is encouraged, because we have no real idea what this alien comet will do next. Submit your photos here.
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STERLING SILVER STARCAT: Are you looking for a far-out gift? Introducing the Sterling SIlver StarCat. On June 14th, this pendant hitched a ride to the stratosphere onboard an Earth to Sky Calculus cosmic ray research balloon:
You can have it for $199.95. The silver feline form is wrapped around a genuine moonstone with a matching 18 inch Italian sterling silver chain. It is 100% hypoallergenic.
The students of Earth to Sky are selling space pendants to support their cosmic ray ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the pendant 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
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